Avoiding the Unauthorized Practice of Law

摘要

No librarian has ever been prosecuted for the unauthorized practice of law (UPL), but the concept still makes many librarians nervous. UPL occurs when someone who is not a licensed attorney helps another person with a legal matter, says Anthony Aycock, the instructional support services manager at the North Carolina Justice Academy and author of The Accidental Law Librarian. It's a concern for anyone working around the law, including paralegals and law librarians. Public librarians also need to be diligent about avoiding UPL when they interact with patrons who have legal questions. "There's never been a case where someone sued a library or a librarian because they thought they were getting faulty legal advice or they did what the library said and lost their case; that's never happened. But because it could happen, that's what freaks a lot of librarians out," says Aycock. Talking to patrons about legal matters can seem risky, but by practicing answers to com-mon legal questions, knowing the best resources about the law, and remaining calm in any situation, librarians can avoid UPL and still help their patrons.