Re:We Are All Lawyers Now – The Rise of the Legalish
by gamblor956 on Tuesday October 23, 2018 @03:24PM
(#18286572)
Think about this: If I give you the simplest piece of advice in legal matters, I'm heavily encouraged to declare I'm not a lawyer and that you should contact one.
I would be surprised that a lawyer would tell you this, because I've never met a lawyer who would. I have met plenty of non-lawyers who think that this is a thing, and in fact on HN, every person who spreads this information is a non-lawyer.
In a nutshell, it boils down to attempts by various state bars a few years ago to treat NOLO and AVVO and other websites as offering legal advice without a law license. But the bars lost almost all of those court cases...because it's okay for people to offer legal advice if they're not a lawyer, the same way it's okay for people to offering medical advice despite not being a doctor.
What's not okay is claiming to be a lawyer or legal professional if you're not one, but offering that as the reason your advice should be trusted. If you make no claim to be a lawyer or legal professional, it's not reasonable for someone to rely on your advice. Of course, they could sue you--but they could sue you whether or not you disclaimed being a lawyer, and either way the case would come down to whether it was reasonable for them to rely on your advice without hiring a lawyer of their own.
I would be surprised that a lawyer would tell you this, because I've never met a lawyer who would. I have met plenty of non-lawyers who think that this is a thing, and in fact on HN, every person who spreads this information is a non-lawyer.
In a nutshell, it boils down to attempts by various state bars a few years ago to treat NOLO and AVVO and other websites as offering legal advice without a law license. But the bars lost almost all of those court cases...because it's okay for people to offer legal advice if they're not a lawyer, the same way it's okay for people to offering medical advice despite not being a doctor.
What's not okay is claiming to be a lawyer or legal professional if you're not one, but offering that as the reason your advice should be trusted. If you make no claim to be a lawyer or legal professional, it's not reasonable for someone to rely on your advice. Of course, they could sue you--but they could sue you whether or not you disclaimed being a lawyer, and either way the case would come down to whether it was reasonable for them to rely on your advice without hiring a lawyer of their own.