5 ms·

Would it be ok for a non-lawyer to hold himself out as a lawyer and accept money from “clients” who were fooled?

Gibbon1 8y ago
Difference between a lawyer and a realtor is a lawyer has to get a law degree and pass the bar exam and then really doesn't owe anyone shit. Realtor's are a cross between a MLM and a guild.
- paulie_a 8y ago
  Real estate agents are legally acting as a lawyer in a very specific scope in some states. They are considered to be one, again in a very narrow scope. And no Realtors/real estate agents in no way is anything close to an mlm. They work as an authorized extension of a licenced broker. They work on their behalf with oversight and receive compensation. But that is literally every job.
  - stan_rogers 8y ago
    Not lawyer, attorney (someone with the legal right to act on another's behalf in a legally binding manner). Where a lawyer is an attorney-at-law, a real estate agent (whether a "realtor" or not) would be an ad hoc attorney-in-fact.
- EvanAnderson 8y ago
  Being a real estate sales agent, in my US state, requires licensure. It's not a particularly difficult test, and arguably it has a component or protectionism to it, but there is also liability too. Realtors (a trademark of the National Asociation of Realtors) are members of a private organization.
gambiting 8y ago
Of course not. That's fraud and already illegal.
- throwaway2048 8y ago
  What makes it fraud, what makes them calling themselves a lawyer not valid, if not the law?
  - gambiting 8y ago
    Fraud is lying for financial gain. Lying for its own sake is not. You can say and pretend you are a lawyer as much as you like, but only as long as you don't do it to decieve someone for money.
    - throwaway2048 8y ago
      I read become a lawyer in 8 hours the howto book, am i still committing fraud?
      - not_kurt_godel 8y ago
        Yes.
        throwaway2048 8y ago
        So its almost like there is still a legal standard for what a lawyer is
        gambiting 8y ago
        I'm not sure what your point is. That's exactly what we are saying - there is a legal standard for actually being a lawyer. But, we are also saying there shouldn't be any repercusions for someone just saying that they are a lawyer in any non-financial, non-professional context. If you go out and say to someone "hey, I'm a lawyer and I am very smart" then this shouldn't be illegal in any way or form, just like saying you are a pope or Bonaparte isn't - you're just making an idiot out of yourself. As long as you don't go and act as a lawyer(try to represent people for money for instance) then knock yourself out. This should be double obvious seeing as we're on the internet, where you can say you are a noble-winning physicist or a NASA engineer and without a way to verify it it matters nothing. It is scummy, immoral, unfair to lie about it? Of course it is. But it shouldn't be illegal.

Difference between a lawyer and a realtor is a lawyer has to get a law degree and pass the bar exam and then really doesn't owe anyone shit. Realtor's are a cross between a MLM and a guild.

paulie_a 8y ago
Real estate agents are legally acting as a lawyer in a very specific scope in some states. They are considered to be one, again in a very narrow scope. And no Realtors/real estate agents in no way is anything close to an mlm. They work as an authorized extension of a licenced broker. They work on their behalf with oversight and receive compensation. But that is literally every job.
- stan_rogers 8y ago
  Not lawyer, attorney (someone with the legal right to act on another's behalf in a legally binding manner). Where a lawyer is an attorney-at-law, a real estate agent (whether a "realtor" or not) would be an ad hoc attorney-in-fact.
EvanAnderson 8y ago
Being a real estate sales agent, in my US state, requires licensure. It's not a particularly difficult test, and arguably it has a component or protectionism to it, but there is also liability too. Realtors (a trademark of the National Asociation of Realtors) are members of a private organization.

gambiting 8y ago

Of course not. That's fraud and already illegal.

throwaway2048 8y ago
What makes it fraud, what makes them calling themselves a lawyer not valid, if not the law?
- gambiting 8y ago
  Fraud is lying for financial gain. Lying for its own sake is not. You can say and pretend you are a lawyer as much as you like, but only as long as you don't do it to decieve someone for money.
  - throwaway2048 8y ago
    I read become a lawyer in 8 hours the howto book, am i still committing fraud?
    - not_kurt_godel 8y ago
      Yes.
      - throwaway2048 8y ago
        So its almost like there is still a legal standard for what a lawyer is
        gambiting 8y ago
        I'm not sure what your point is. That's exactly what we are saying - there is a legal standard for actually being a lawyer. But, we are also saying there shouldn't be any repercusions for someone just saying that they are a lawyer in any non-financial, non-professional context. If you go out and say to someone "hey, I'm a lawyer and I am very smart" then this shouldn't be illegal in any way or form, just like saying you are a pope or Bonaparte isn't - you're just making an idiot out of yourself. As long as you don't go and act as a lawyer(try to represent people for money for instance) then knock yourself out. This should be double obvious seeing as we're on the internet, where you can say you are a noble-winning physicist or a NASA engineer and without a way to verify it it matters nothing. It is scummy, immoral, unfair to lie about it? Of course it is. But it shouldn't be illegal.