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If our only understanding of the law came directly from consulting a lawyer, we'd all be very poor and very ignorant. There is nothing wrong with asking about

by srgseg 13y ago

If our only understanding of the law came directly from consulting a lawyer, we'd all be very poor and very ignorant. There is nothing wrong with asking about the experiences of others who may have asked lawyers similar questions, as long as we understand that we should directly seek a lawyer's advice in proportion to what is at stake. By sharing our legal experiences, we'd all become better at understanding the specific questions we should ask a lawyer, should the need arise.

logn 13y ago
Exactly. And it's not as though the OP or us reading necessarily want to go out and act on forum advice. Many of us are just curious and want to understand our laws and country better.
jacques_chester 13y ago
I disagree. As I said, law varies by place and subject. Those differences matter. Some subjects are generally consistent across jurisdictions. Some are not. Who knows which is which? The professionals. Who has the knowledge and experience to correctly interpret different experiences in different circumstances? The professionals. Intelligent people frequently form entirely inaccurate views of subjects in which they are not experts. We mock TV shows for having VB GUIs that track IP addresses. Lawyers feel a bit like this when non-lawyers begin swapping legal advice. > By sharing our legal experiences, we'd all become better at understanding the specific questions we should ask a lawyer, should the need arise. Lawyers are not unapproachable gods. They are service professionals like any other. You ring, make an appointment, and talk to them. It's really very simple. They will ask some questions and take some notes. If it's a simple matter they will give a simple answer. If it's more complicated they will ask to get back to you. Self-help and Stack Overflow is fine for writing most low-risk software, where bugs can be patched. It is a risky strategy with law. Some actions cannot be undone. You can't just revert to the "before I made that legal blunder" branch.
- srgseg 13y ago
  It is important that we all have a broad understanding of what is legal, what is not, and where we need to seek advice and proceed with caution. We can then supplement that knowledge with specific legal advice from a lawyer when appropriate. We cannot possibly achieve a broad understanding of the law if the only knowledge we have about how the law works comes directly from our own personal conversations with a lawyer. I'm thinking of purchasing a 50 euro piece of software from a company in Germany. Do I need to obtain customs authorization to purchase software from countries other than the US? Perhaps I need a permit to run German software? Maybe it's against the law to even visit a site in Germany unless I'm an EU citizen? Perhaps I need to start paying some of my income and corporation taxes to Germany if my business uses any German software? If we are completely clueless about what is legal and what is not, the costs of running all of these questions past a lawyer would bring the economy to a halt.
  - jacques_chester 13y ago
    Now you're just beating up a strawman version of my advice. As I noted elsewhere, most legal relationships, transactions, events and conditions exist without ever being noticed or cared about. That is as it should be. But in cases of high risk or uncertainty, go see a lawyer.
    - dboat 13y ago
      I think I understand where you're coming from, but think you're going too far. When you see people asking for legal advice and getting well intended information that is somewhere between useless and dangerous, it seems natural to warn people against doing that. However, there is a healthy space for discussion between the extremes of only discussing the law with lawyers, and credulously believing everything commenters tell you. The OP would be insane to act solely based on the comments he reads here, but there is value for everyone in having the discussion, even if people give bad advice and then other people set the matter right. All the better if the OP comes back and tells us later how it all worked out. I just sounds to me like you're trying to shut down an interesting discussion. I say "go ask a lawyer, but still go ahead and ask us too!"
RogerL 13y ago
This person is talking about doing something that could land them in jail. The only correct advice is "see a lawyer".

by srgseg 13y ago

logn 13y ago

Exactly. And it's not as though the OP or us reading necessarily want to go out and act on forum advice. Many of us are just curious and want to understand our laws and country better.

jacques_chester 13y ago

I disagree. As I said, law varies by place and subject. Those differences matter. Some subjects are generally consistent across jurisdictions. Some are not. Who knows which is which? The professionals. Who has the knowledge and experience to correctly interpret different experiences in different circumstances? The professionals. Intelligent people frequently form entirely inaccurate views of subjects in which they are not experts. We mock TV shows for having VB GUIs that track IP addresses. Lawyers feel a bit like this when non-lawyers begin swapping legal advice. > By sharing our legal experiences, we'd all become better at understanding the specific questions we should ask a lawyer, should the need arise. Lawyers are not unapproachable gods. They are service professionals like any other. You ring, make an appointment, and talk to them. It's really very simple. They will ask some questions and take some notes. If it's a simple matter they will give a simple answer. If it's more complicated they will ask to get back to you. Self-help and Stack Overflow is fine for writing most low-risk software, where bugs can be patched. It is a risky strategy with law. Some actions cannot be undone. You can't just revert to the "before I made that legal blunder" branch.

srgseg 13y ago
It is important that we all have a broad understanding of what is legal, what is not, and where we need to seek advice and proceed with caution. We can then supplement that knowledge with specific legal advice from a lawyer when appropriate. We cannot possibly achieve a broad understanding of the law if the only knowledge we have about how the law works comes directly from our own personal conversations with a lawyer. I'm thinking of purchasing a 50 euro piece of software from a company in Germany. Do I need to obtain customs authorization to purchase software from countries other than the US? Perhaps I need a permit to run German software? Maybe it's against the law to even visit a site in Germany unless I'm an EU citizen? Perhaps I need to start paying some of my income and corporation taxes to Germany if my business uses any German software? If we are completely clueless about what is legal and what is not, the costs of running all of these questions past a lawyer would bring the economy to a halt.
- jacques_chester 13y ago
  Now you're just beating up a strawman version of my advice. As I noted elsewhere, most legal relationships, transactions, events and conditions exist without ever being noticed or cared about. That is as it should be. But in cases of high risk or uncertainty, go see a lawyer.
  - dboat 13y ago
    I think I understand where you're coming from, but think you're going too far. When you see people asking for legal advice and getting well intended information that is somewhere between useless and dangerous, it seems natural to warn people against doing that. However, there is a healthy space for discussion between the extremes of only discussing the law with lawyers, and credulously believing everything commenters tell you. The OP would be insane to act solely based on the comments he reads here, but there is value for everyone in having the discussion, even if people give bad advice and then other people set the matter right. All the better if the OP comes back and tells us later how it all worked out. I just sounds to me like you're trying to shut down an interesting discussion. I say "go ask a lawyer, but still go ahead and ask us too!"

RogerL 13y ago

This person is talking about doing something that could land them in jail. The only correct advice is "see a lawyer".