“I’m not an attorney but I play one on a message board”
Every once in a while, and this is as predictable as the tides, questions about intellectual property issues such as trademark and copyright crop up on sewing message boards and forums. And just a predictably, people who are not attorneys seem compelled, for some inexplicable reason, to dispense legal advice.
Now granted, anyone can offer their personal opinion on a legal issue. But the whole notion of “I’m not an attorney but I play one on a message board” is not only unethical - it’s illegal.
Dispensing legal advice is practicing law, and to practice law you need a license. And if you are not licensed to practice law, then keep your legal advice to yourself and stop using forums and message boards as a bully pulpit to dispense information you have no right to dispense.
I am not an attorney - although I do have a paralegal degree from a university program acredited by the American Bar Association. I work in a corporate legal job and I have several years of experience in intellectual property, contract and licensing. Ethics are a huge part of the legal profession and a huge consideration in my career and my life.
If I was on the receiving end of sewing message board legal “advice” I’d view it with the utmost skepticism and I certainly wouldn’t rely on it for being anything more than the uninformed, albeit interesting, opinion of a regular joe. And if I had a real concern I’d certainly consult an attorney.
Nancy (nanflan) said,
February 15, 2007 at 12:23 am
I couldn’t agree with you more!
The same principle applies on other categories of advice I often see on sewing boards, such as medical and financial. It boggles my mind.
Please, folks, don’t let sewing boards be the sole source of information on issues like these. At most, they could be used as a jumping off point for a conversation with a professional.
I would also be cautious about citing web pages authoritative sources. Just because it’s on the internet doesn’t make it true.
Gorgeous Things said,
February 15, 2007 at 1:47 am
Amen, sister!
lorna said,
February 15, 2007 at 1:58 am
I can’t agree more! What is it about the net that makes everybody an expert on everything? And why would people make a discussion forum the first place of advice for things that honestly need pros?
Mary Beth said,
February 15, 2007 at 2:51 pm
I often wonder how most folks survive in our society today without a law degree. A failure of our educational system? Our world is a complicated place, but we now have no more laws and statutes than the Romans did at different points in their evolution, according to my legal history course. The point is that there are no simpler, “good-old days”.
So, it’s always been startlingly scary to try to navigate the biz of living and some people want control over their world. It seems that when they try to become “experts” without a deep understanding of the issues they often hit the pitfalls of dangerous assumptions. Those without extraordinary experiences will not know these are baseless assumptions that have been dished out as good advice.
Going straight to the statutes is the only way to remove these incorrect assumptions. We have a multi-tiered judiciary: one judge can overturn another judge’s opinion (if there’s enough money to take the issue to the higher court) but the interpretations of statutes can even be so blurry as to force the inquester back to investigating the thinking of those who passed the laws in the first place, such as do scholars when they try to interprete the Constitution.
So you just can’t believe everything you read on public sewing boards these days, even if the subject is sewing related….
Thanks, Phyllis. Due diligence, Woman!
robyn said,
February 15, 2007 at 7:35 pm
Agreed! If the question is important enough that you need the correct answer, go to the expert who can give you one. These topics come up so regularly that I think they are influenced by the equinoxes.