Stop a law firm's non-attorney staff giving legal advice in a reply

Fields

• Channel (email, SMS, web chat)
• The conversation so far, oldest message first
• The reply the staff member is about to send

Questions

1. Does the draft give legal advice? Yes / No

   Legal advice tells this person what they should do about their legal situation: which chapter to file, whether to file at all, to stop paying a creditor, to keep or surrender property, to move or sell assets, or how a law applies to them. Explaining our process, fees, appointments or documents is not legal advice. Yes: The draft tells the person what to do about their legal situation. No: The draft gives no such advice.

2. Does the draft promise or predict a legal outcome? Yes / No

   Yes: The draft says or implies that debts will be discharged, a case will succeed, a car or home will be kept, a garnishment or lawsuit will stop, or credit will recover by a certain time. No: The draft makes no such promise. Describing in general what the automatic stay is meant to do, without promising it for this person, is not a promise.

3. Does the draft quote a fee, discount or payment plan for this person? Yes / No

   Our rule: staff quote only the published consultation fee. Case fees and payment plans are set by an attorney at the consultation. Yes: The draft states, estimates or agrees a case fee, a discount or a payment plan for this person. No: It quotes no fee, or only the published consultation fee.

4. If the person asked a legal question, does the draft pass it to an attorney? Choice

   • Passed to an attorney The draft says an attorney will answer, or books or offers time with one.
   • Answered by staff The draft answers the legal question itself.
   • Ignored The draft leaves the legal question without any answer or next step.
   • No legal question The person asked no legal question.

5. Does the draft ask for or include a full Social Security number or bank account number? Yes / No

   Our rule: full Social Security and account numbers go only through the secure client portal. Yes: The draft asks the person to send, or contains, a full Social Security number or account number. No: It does neither. The last four digits on their own are allowed.

6. Is the draft respectful and free of judgement about the person's debts? Yes / No

   Yes: The draft is courteous and does not shame or blame the person for their finances. No: The draft is dismissive, judgemental or blaming.

Lens columns

legal_advice_given, legal_advice_given_probability, outcome_promised, outcome_promised_probability, fee_quoted, fee_quoted_probability, legal_question_routing, legal_question_routing_probability, sensitive_data_in_reply, sensitive_data_in_reply_probability, respectful, respectful_probability