Posted by MrsBrags7706
i THINK if someone NEEDS help and needs advice, they should be given it. Lawyers just want $ for advice. I worked for a lawyer once - NEVER again . . .
FM me if u need advice. Im not a lawyer but did work in a lawfirm.
I take umbrage at your comment. You are clearly misguided and misinformed. I'm sorry you had a bad experience working for a lawyer, but that doesn't mean all lawyers are money-hungry scum bags.
The problem has absolutely NOTHING to do with wanting to be paid money to give advice. My firm pays me more than enough to doll out all the advice I want. The problem is that we are contractually and ETHICALLY obligated NOT to give out advice like this on the internet or anywhere else to anyone who is not a client -- and for good reasons:
1. Conflicts of interest - If I'm out giving every tom, joe, and harry off the street legal advice, then I am going to know a lot about them and they are going to know about me. Every firm and every solo practice lawyer has to run conflicts checks before taking on any new conflicts. Conflicts of one lawyer are imputed to the entire firm... so my conflict would be imputed my entire firm (2,000+ attorneys). Of course, since no one knows I gave this legal advice, it wouldn't show up in our conflicts search... If it every came out, I'd be in big trouble, as would my entire firm. This is mandated by the NY State Bar Association and our ethical rules. Violation of these rules (which are long and complicated) can result in reprimand, suspension, or revokation of our licenses to practice law.
2. It also violates the terms of our employment and puts our jobs in jeopardy. I'm sorry, but I'm not about to lose my job or my license because people want free advice on the internet. It's got NOTHING to do with money. I can't even give my own family legal advice.
3. One of the reasons lawyer are so expensive is because of the massive amounts of malpractice insurance we have to carry. I'm not going to risk getting sued by just anyone asking a question on the internet.
4. Lack of information - If you're not my client and you want a 'quick answer' over the internet, then I'm not going to get all the facts I may need to give appropriate advice. This could lead to me getting sued or the person asking for advice getting in trouble.
5. Lawyers don't know all the laws off the top of our heads. We have to look up the law, generally in a legal search database online that is extremely expensive. To top that off, it requires a billing code. This means to do any reserach to give someone an answer, I'd have to charge it to an existing client. That's a gross voilation of the ethical rules and grounds for reprimand, suspension, or revocation of my license.
6. There is absolutely NO protection for the person wanting the legal advice. We wouldn't have a fiduciary relationship or any sort of contractual agreement. In the event we give her misinformation or bad advice, she has very little stand on to hold us accountable for that. If she tries (which most people would), then it could become an even longer, more expensive suit for both parties... Oh, and firm malpractice insurance isn't going to cover the cost of unauthorized advice given to a non-client.
Bottom line, we're ethically and contractually obligated NOT to give out legal advice like this, and it's NOT a smart thing for the lawyer or for the person asking for advice. Don't assume it's all about money. It has absolutely nothing to do with that at all.
To the OP, if you have a real legal problem, don't get advice from anyone on the internet who says they're a lawyer or worked for a lawyer... If you have a legitimate legal problem, go talk to a lawyer who specializes in what you need.
