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standard for determining what comments cross the line is generally "the application of law to facts specific to an individual seeking legal advice". Attorneys may use a disclaimer to reduce confusion, and "I am not your lawyer" is part of a typical disclaimer. There are "weighty obligations" that go
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An attorney who wants to respond to a chat room question should not give legal advice until the attorney and would-be client have explicitly discussed or created an attorney-client relationship.... Otherwise, the attorney needs to use a written disclaimer in the chat room, stating something like,
75:. The use of these expansions serves as a warning for the reader not to take the opinion as professional legal advice. Many jurisdictions have legal restrictions on actually giving or even appearing to give legal advice, or otherwise practicing as a
263:"This information is given for legal education only. It may not work for your specific situation. It is not legal advice, and I am not your lawyer. You have to find your own local lawyer to get legal advice and help with your problem."
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A person who provides legal services, who is not a licensed lawyer, or who is not otherwise authorized by law to provide legal services, may be engaging in the
Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL). In Washington UPL is a
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along with the creation of a lawyer–client relationship, particularly if an "online exchange includes legal advice relating to the client's specific facts". Courts have held that (in the case of
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without legal qualifications and official registration. Rendition of legal advice by a person who is not licensed to do so can be the basis for a charge of unauthorized practice of law.
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122:" These expansions serve the same general purpose as IANAL – to discourage the use of the information as professional advice.
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disclaimers without clear actions to indicate assent may not avoid the creation of a lawyer–client relationship.
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The term IANAL is reported to have been common on Usenet by the late 1980s and early 1990s.
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and are not making any recommendation to the particular addressee of their remarks.
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Usenet and chat abbreviation for the expansion "I am not a lawyer"
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Variations of IANAL can be applied to different fields, such as
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30:"IAAL" redirects here. For the village in Lebanon, see
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Santa Clara
Computer & High Technology Law Journal
187:. Washington State Bar Association. Archived from
216:Tim Hanrahan and Jason Fry (April 27, 2005).
8:
277:"The Ethics of Practicing Law in Cyberspace"
156:"Taking the case: is the GPL enforceable?"
134:, a glossary of computer programmer slang
185:"Unauthorized Practice of Law Pamphlet"
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275:Jennifer P. Hopkins (June 1, 2002).
249:. California Lawyer. Archived from
154:Jason B. Wacha (February 1, 2005).
218:"Readers Parse Text-Message Slang"
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279:. New Hampshire Bar Association
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316:at The Jargon File (catb.org)
58:unauthorized practice of law
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247:"Attorney Internet Ethics"
245:John Steele (April 2002).
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164:University of Santa Clara
298:"Tying knots with light"
69:This is not legal advice
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139:References
50:initialism
120:physicist
126:See also
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204:crime.
108:IANAMD
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42:Usenet
314:IANAL
192:(DOC)
116:IANAP
114:" or
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