Hacker News Reader

A good lawyer will rarely outright tell you something is a crime or not. An accountant may tell you not to do something because it's illegal. A lawyer will instead focus on how good a case could be made against you and what the tradeoff would look like.

View on HN

Strongly disagree on this. Where I am, a lawyer will tell you squarely if something is criminal. If the facts or law are unclear, they may advise about the balance of risk that creates, but the conclusion (if x, therefore crime) will be clear.

I was oversimplifying, I guess. Lawyers will generally tell you what law something may violate but they will offer context. Something can be legal or illegal depending on what information is available. A good lawyer will tell you not only whether something could technically be considered a crime but will also give you feedback on how to avoid doing that (which may change nothing about the actual thing you plan to do, just how you go about it).

If something is criminal is decided in court. A lawyer advises on how likely the court is to decide that way.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com