Leading the Way - August 2009
Education
Many of us, because we work in law, are asked “legal advice” questions from family, friends, etc. They think because we work in law, we should know it and be able to help them; especially if it is in a field we work in. But when should you not answer those questions and refer it over to an attorney?
The general public knows that paralegals and legal administrative assistants do a lot of the background work to help attorneys shine. They know we know a plethora of information about law – whether in our area of law or not. Some areas seem to overlap each other – for example, bankruptcy and divorce – and thus, people automatically assume we are geniuses in our area, and possibly other areas as well..
The best rule of thumb for friends or family asking us advice or for information is to think, “Is this a general information question?” In almost every state, there are rules that state that if it is a general information question – in other words, if the general public could understand the information that they can read online, we (as non-attorneys) can tell them that much.
You should never “stick your neck out” in law. It is always better to err on the side of caution. If you work for an attorney, then you can always ask that person if they have someone that you can refer business to. In this day in age, all referrals would always be appreciated. So the next time you are asked for help in a matter, remember (1) to err on the side of caution; (2) watch out for red flags; and (3) have a referral base ready.