unauthorized practice of law - legal advice

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 If you spend any time looking into the duties of a Constable or Notary, you’ll often see disclaimers noting that they cannot provide legal advice. But what exactly is “legal advice”?

Legal advice is not just about knowing the words of the law—it requires a comprehensive understanding of multiple areas of knowledge that only attorneys are trained and licensed to provide. Specifically, a lawyer is expected to be proficient in all of the following before offering an opinion or guidance:

1. Statutory Law – The written laws passed by the legislature. Simply reading a statute doesn’t guarantee understanding; interpretation requires knowing how statutes interact with each other, how definitions apply across sections, and how underlying legal principles shape their meaning.
    
2. Case Law – Judicial rulings that interpret statutes and set legal precedent. These decisions often determine how laws are actually applied.
    
3. Common Law – The traditions and customary practices recognized over time. While common law can be overridden by statute or case law, it often serves as the foundation for both.
    
4. Legal Terminology – Words in law rarely carry their everyday meaning. Even a legal dictionary can mislead if statutory or case law in a specific jurisdiction assigns a different interpretation.
    
5. Administrative Law – Rules created by government agencies or departments that carry the force of law and regulate how statutes are enforced.
    
6. Client Circumstances and Goals – Sound legal advice requires knowing the individual’s situation and objectives. Attorneys are bound by confidentiality protections that don’t apply to notaries, constables, or paralegals. Without those details—and the legal training to apply them—non-lawyers cannot guide someone to the right legal path.
    

In short: Only a licensed attorney can provide legal advice. Constables, notaries, and paralegals may assist with certain legal processes, but they are not trained—or authorized—to evaluate statutory law, case law, common law, terminology, administrative rules, and client-specific circumstances in the way an attorney must.