Speak to a Lawyer for Legal Advice

Happy 2017!  I hope the new year is a good one for you.  In this post, I want to discuss why you should speak to a lawyer for legal advice; advice that will serve you well in this new year (and for years to come).

If I had to guess, I would say that more mistakes in law are made from people who receive “legal advice” from non-lawyers.  The biggest culprit, of course, is the Internet: today, it is easier than ever to create a official looking website that claims to be the authority on an area of law.  This occurs for all different types of legal matters, but especially for foreclosure defense: the Internet is filled with websites that attempt to explain foreclosure defense myths to vulnerable homeowners.

As the old adage goes, “saying something doesn’t make it so.”  Merely creating a website, or offering purported “legal advice”, does not make that information truthful.  Many times, such advice—while well intended—is flat out wrong.  The results can be devastating: I have seen claimants lose cases (and their homes) from relying upon advice with no basis in law.

Those offering such “legal advice” won’t tell you what I will write here: law is difficult.  TV lawyers may make our work seem easy, but the truth is that lawyering requires enormous time, effort, and yes, training.  Training is the key part of this: we require lawyers to attend law school and pass bar examination for a reason.  No, law school alone doesn’t fully prepare someone to practice law, but a legal education is essential for making tough legal decisions.  With this in mind, you should never, never, never trust anyone but a licensed lawyer for legal advice.  Speak to a lawyer for legal advice, and avoid the inevitable problems that come from taking poor advice from a non-lawyer.  The picture above is a coffee mug available for sale on Amazon; it is meant as a “gag gift”, but its slogan has an essential message: don’t replace the advice of a trained attorney with something found on a random website.

This post isn’t meant to discard the use of reputable websites and information sources that assist those with legal needs.  I am proud that this blog has helped many homeowners and other lawyers in making important decisions on legal matters.  This blog, however (like any similar legal resource) is merely an aid towards helping those with legal needs get the assistance they need (a reason why I encourage anyone with help in defending against a foreclosure to consult an attorney).