Unlicensed Practice of Law (UPL)
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Questions tagged [unlicensed-practice]
44 questions
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USA: Is "I am not a lawyer" disclaimer generally necessary?
Is it legally necessary to disclaim "I am not a lawyer" when engaging in casual conversation, writing Internet posts, etc. to avoid civil or criminal liability for one's comments? Specifically, in the absence of:
claims to be a lawyer or implied…
wberry
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I fancy myself an amateur lawyer. Can I represent someone in court, in the state of Maryland?
I live in Montgomery County Maryland. I am not a lawyer.
But I have significant legal experience. I have successfully sued people, watched many trials, I have successfully won dozens of trials for my own traffic violations. And I'm a former state…
Saqib Ali
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What is the purpose of a disclaimer like "this is not legal advice"?
If someone who is not a lawyer is giving out legal advice, does it make any difference if they include a disclaimer along the lines of "this is not legal advice"?
For the purposes of this question, I assume legal advice means one party instructing…
Stefano Palazzo
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Why do non-lawyers refer you to lawyers even when they know the answer?
We've all seen it: you ask a law question (a classic being "Am I violating X's copyright by doing Y?"), but they refuse to respond and instead tell you that you should be asking a lawyer, not them.
I have seen this happen all the time: even when the…
user541686
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Is it legal to write a software license if I'm not a licensed attorney?
I was hoping to create my own open-source license since none of the existing ones seem to work for what I want. However, someone mentioned to me that in the USA it's illegal to practice law without a license, and that creating a contract is…
Ky -
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Practicing Law without a License over the Internet
John Smith is a US citizen who is ordinarily a resident of California who is not and never has been admitted to the bar in any jurisdiction. He is travelling in the UK, and gives legal advice on British law over the Internet to Jane Doe, another US…
Samuel Front
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When practicing law pro se, can one have the assistance of a paralegal?
Lawyers often use paralegals and legal assistants to prepare legal documents. While only certified lawyers may practice law, paralegals can still prepare legal documents if a lawyer oversees the work and accepts responsibility for it. With this in…
The Editor
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Are prosecutors members of the bar?
In the so-called common-law countries (or common law adversarial system, or common law jurisdictions) are prosecutors members of the (state) bar? If so, is that a requirement?
If so, does that mean that they are somehow under the bar's disciplinary…
mario
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Can a power of attorney allow you to act "pro se" on behalf of the issuer?
Anyone can represent themselves in a court of law, if he or she doesn't want, or can't afford, a lawyer. On the other hand, only lawyers who have passed the bar in a state are allowed to represent others.
Suppose you have an aging parent (or other…
Libra
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Could open source software illegally provide legal advice?
There is a company called DoNotPay. It bills itself as "The World's First Robot Lawyer", and at least in January was providing services such as "Defamation Demand Letter", "Divorce Settlement Agreement", and "Sue Anyone in Small Claims Court", and…
User65535
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Why couldn't this character in 'Better Call Saul' be a paralegal or take a similar role?
In Season 3 of Better Call Saul,
Jimmy McGill receives a one year suspension from the New Mexico Bar Association. During this time, he does various odd jobs but what he doesn't do is help his (romantic and law) partner, Kim Wexler, who is buried…
RoboKaren
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Can non-lawyers help people study law and do small claims?
Can a self-taught enthusiast in an unrelated occupation, without a law degree, without any sort of formal legal education nor bar admittance, help other people study law? What would be the limitations?
For simplicity, let's assume an honest person…
cnst
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Why are pro se litigants allowed to practice law?
I see a lot about why people aren't allowed to practice law on behalf of another person, but I do not see any positive justification for allowing a pro se litigant to practice law on behalf of himself.
Is there a court case that decided pro se's are…
Mr. A
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Is it always unauthorized practice of law for a notary to suggest which notarial act?
If you look at the notary manuals from many of the states, or you look at the advice on some of the advice on notary training websites like the National Notary Association, you see advice like this:
A Notary may not even choose for the signer what…
Gerard Ashton
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How dangerous is it for British lawyers to give advice on Law Stack Exchange?
How risky is it for people to self-identify as legal professionals and answer questions here?
In Britain, precedent such as Chaudry v Prabhakar – 1989 can make British lawyers reticent to give informal advice, even when outside of a professional or…
Mark Booth
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