During my career as a freelance paralegal, I have encountered many desperate folks seeking a cheaper lawyer and not realizing they were asking me to participate in the unauthorized practice of law. Lawyers run a tight union, and they are generally ruthless in defending their turf and monopoly to provide legal services. In some states, the unauthorized practice of law is punished as a felony. Every state prohibits it.
Legal advice is generally defined as the assessment and application of principles of law to a particular factual situation. It involves the application of legal principles to facts in a manner that
(1) in effect predicts a specific resolution of a legal issue or
(2) directs, counsels, urges, or recommends a course of action by a disputant or disputants as a means of resolving a legal issue.
Merely providing legal information is not considered legal advice. Legal advice generally involves suggesting or predicting a course of action based upon the evaluation of a person’s or entity’s particular legal situation.
As a paralegal, I aim always to provide generally applicable legal information to non-lawyers and not legal advice.
In Kentucky, the Kentucky Supreme Court Rule 3.020 defines the practice of law this way:
"The practice of law is any service rendered involving legal knowledge or legal advice, whether of representation, counsel or advocacy in or out of court, rendered in respect to the rights, duties, obligations, liabilities, or business relations of one requiring the services. But nothing herein shall prevent any natural person not holding himself out as a practicing attorney from drawing any instrument to which he is a party without consideration unto himself therefor. An appearance in the small claims division of the district court by a person who is an officer of or who is regularly employed in a managerial capacity by a corporation or partnership which is a party to the litigation in which the appearance is made shall not be considered as unauthorized practice of law."
Does my booklet "How to Answer a Credit Card Debt Collection Lawsuit" involve a "service rendered involving legal knowledge or legal advice . . . in respect to the rights, duties, obligations, liabilities, or business relations of one requiring the services" within Kentucky's definition of the practice of law? Maybe I should move to California, home of NOLO Press, if it does.
Norman Dacey published "How to Avoid Probate," in 1965. This book became a bestseller and popularized living trusts as a way for ordinary people to avoid the costs and delays of probate.
The legal establishment, particularly bar associations, reacted strongly against Dacey. The Connecticut Bar Association sued him for unauthorized practice of law, as he was not an attorney but was providing detailed instructions on creating legal documents. This led to a significant legal battle that went all the way to the Connecticut Supreme Court. Grievance Committee v. Dacey, 154 Conn. 129 (1966)
The case raised important questions about the boundary between providing general legal information and engaging in the practice of law. Eventually, Dacey prevailed in his legal battles, with courts generally finding that publishing a book with legal information did not constitute the unauthorized practice of law.
Also: Dacey v. Connecticut Bar Assn. 170 Conn. 520, 368 A. 2d 125 (1976) and Dacey v. Connecticut Bar Assn. 184 Conn. 21, 441 A. 2d 49 (1981)
This controversy was one of the early battles in what later became a broader movement toward making legal information and self-help materials more accessible to the public.
The legal self-help landscape has transformed dramatically since Dacey's 1965 book. What began as a controversial outlier has evolved into a robust ecosystem of DIY legal resources:
Major developments:
Widespread acceptance of self-help materials: Legal self-help books, software, and online resources have become mainstream. Publishers like Nolo Press (founded in 1971) built entire businesses around legal self-help.
Digital revolution: Online platforms now offer interactive document assembly, automated forms, and virtual legal assistance. Companies like LegalZoom, RocketLawyer, and DoNotPay provide services that would have been unimaginable in 1965.
Court system adaptation: Many courts now provide self-help centers, standardized forms, and resources for pro se litigants, recognizing that many people either cannot afford or choose not to hire attorneys.
Unbundled legal services: Many attorneys now offer limited-scope representation, allowing clients to handle parts of their legal matters themselves while getting professional help for specific components.
The legal profession's response:
The organized bar's approach has evolved from outright opposition to a more nuanced position:
State bars now focus more on defining boundaries rather than blocking access completely
Many lawyers have adapted their practices to complement rather than compete with self-help options
The focus of regulation has shifted toward protecting consumers from fraudulent or incompetent services rather than protecting the profession's monopoly
However, there are still periodic battles over where to draw the line between information and advice
The unauthorized practice of law (UPL) remains a concern, but the debates now tend to center around specific practices of online legal service providers rather than the mere existence of self-help materials. Many states have clarified their UPL rules to account for modern realities while still addressing legitimate concerns about consumer protection.
The legacy of Dacey's book and the subsequent legal battles is a much more accessible legal system, though one that continues to navigate the balance between accessibility and protection.
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