3 ms·

Where does this stand on "practicing law without a license?"

smolder 8y ago
A computer program isn't a person. IANAL and don't know about precedent, but as with many things in law, this probably needs to be fought about in court before it's really clear.
deckar01 8y ago
It is covered by the terms of service. "DoNotPay provides a platform for legal information and self-help. The information provided by DoNotPay along with the content on our website related to legal matters ("Legal Information") is provided for your private use and does not constitute legal advice. We do not review any information you provide us for legal accuracy or sufficiency, draw legal conclusions, provide opinions about your selection of forms, or apply the law to the facts of your situation. If you need legal advice for a specific problem, you should consult with licensed attorney.. As DoNotPay is not a law firm, please note that any communications between you and a DoNotPay may not be protected under the attorney-client privilege doctrine." Cached: http://web.archive.org/web/20180625190236/https://www.donotpay.com/terms/ http://web.archive.org/web/20180625190236/https://www.donotp...
Bartweiss 8y ago
Filing lawsuits doesn't require being barred, nor does offering legal advice. Rather, lawyers have special status for a bunch of specific roles: they can be present with a party in court as counsel, their employment for legal advice creates attorney-client privilege, and they can carry out various other roles like exercising power of attorney. In return, lawyers operate under a bunch of special restrictions. They're professionally liable for legal malpractice, they can be punished for operating outside of their barred jurisdictions (potentially even for things that a non-lawyer could do), and they can be liable for things happening under their attorney-client privilege. All of which is why they're so gunshy about giving advice to strangers online (which can imply an attorney-client relationship in a way that friends-and-family advice doesn't). 'Practicing law without a license', as far as I know, means someone who is not barred in a jurisdiction either taking any action reserved for barred lawyers or marketing themselves to clients in a way that creates an expectation that they are employing a barred lawyer. Things like 'legal advice clinics' with non-barred advisors are totally legal as long as they're clear about their status and lack of client privilege, and are pretty commonly staffed by law students. An app certainly can't take actions reserved for lawyers, and wouldn't naturally imply privilege, so as long as nothing in the text suggests a human lawyer is generating personalized advice there should be no issues.

A computer program isn't a person. IANAL and don't know about precedent, but as with many things in law, this probably needs to be fought about in court before it's really clear.

deckar01 8y ago

It is covered by the terms of service. "DoNotPay provides a platform for legal information and self-help. The information provided by DoNotPay along with the content on our website related to legal matters ("Legal Information") is provided for your private use and does not constitute legal advice. We do not review any information you provide us for legal accuracy or sufficiency, draw legal conclusions, provide opinions about your selection of forms, or apply the law to the facts of your situation. If you need legal advice for a specific problem, you should consult with licensed attorney.. As DoNotPay is not a law firm, please note that any communications between you and a DoNotPay may not be protected under the attorney-client privilege doctrine." Cached: http://web.archive.org/web/20180625190236/https://www.donotpay.com/terms/ http://web.archive.org/web/20180625190236/https://www.donotp...

Bartweiss 8y ago

Filing lawsuits doesn't require being barred, nor does offering legal advice. Rather, lawyers have special status for a bunch of specific roles: they can be present with a party in court as counsel, their employment for legal advice creates attorney-client privilege, and they can carry out various other roles like exercising power of attorney. In return, lawyers operate under a bunch of special restrictions. They're professionally liable for legal malpractice, they can be punished for operating outside of their barred jurisdictions (potentially even for things that a non-lawyer could do), and they can be liable for things happening under their attorney-client privilege. All of which is why they're so gunshy about giving advice to strangers online (which can imply an attorney-client relationship in a way that friends-and-family advice doesn't). 'Practicing law without a license', as far as I know, means someone who is not barred in a jurisdiction either taking any action reserved for barred lawyers or marketing themselves to clients in a way that creates an expectation that they are employing a barred lawyer. Things like 'legal advice clinics' with non-barred advisors are totally legal as long as they're clear about their status and lack of client privilege, and are pretty commonly staffed by law students. An app certainly can't take actions reserved for lawyers, and wouldn't naturally imply privilege, so as long as nothing in the text suggests a human lawyer is generating personalized advice there should be no issues.