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Unlicensed Attorneys - Avvo Answhores
Asked over 2 years ago - Chicago, IL
Is it ethical for an attorney to provide legal advice to people in states in which they are not licensed to practice law? What if that attorney has no experience on the subjects they give advice? Does anyone audit these answers as they are often unhelpful and sometimes just plain wrong? Is this website designed to help lawyers or people in need of legal assistance?
Attorney answers (2)
Lawyer agrees
An attorney should not opine on matters they know nothing about, period.
As to out-of-state attorneys, it depends; if the question concerns general principals, it can probably be answered by an attorney licensed in another state, however, there are certainly times when a "general principle" in one state is very different in another, so answers from within the state are likely to be best.
Avvo does audit answers to some degree, but, there's certainly an element of "buyer beware." No-one should rely only on avvo if they have a serious legal problem, but only to get a general idea of what they might expect.
As to out-of-state attorneys, it depends; if the question concerns general principals, it can probably be answered by an attorney licensed in another state, however, there are certainly times when a "general principle" in one state is very different in another, so answers from within the state are likely to be best.
Avvo does audit answers to some degree, but, there's certainly an element of "buyer beware." No-one should rely only on avvo if they have a serious legal problem, but only to get a general idea of what they might expect.
Yes, attorneys can give general legal advice to people in states where they aren't licensed. See? I'm doing it right now.
No, attorneys shouldn't opine on things they don't know the first thing about.
Yes, our user community audits the thousands of Avvo Answers that come in every week and flags those that are unhelpful or objectionable. Our customer care team reviews those answers. We will delete answers or even suspend attorneys from answering further questions in the event of abuse or unhelpful answers.
Avvo answers is a free, open and robust forum. While openness brings with it the occasional less-than-helpful answer, it also affords the upside - the thousands of consumers who are getting free guidance from Avvo every week.
If you don't like a given answer, mark it objectionable. Tag it unhelpful. Or, if you're an attorney, provide a better answer.
No, attorneys shouldn't opine on things they don't know the first thing about.
Yes, our user community audits the thousands of Avvo Answers that come in every week and flags those that are unhelpful or objectionable. Our customer care team reviews those answers. We will delete answers or even suspend attorneys from answering further questions in the event of abuse or unhelpful answers.
Avvo answers is a free, open and robust forum. While openness brings with it the occasional less-than-helpful answer, it also affords the upside - the thousands of consumers who are getting free guidance from Avvo every week.
If you don't like a given answer, mark it objectionable. Tag it unhelpful. Or, if you're an attorney, provide a better answer.
One or more answers have been taken down.
