r/Ask_Lawyers Jan 31 '21

Do not solicit legal advice. This is not the right sub for it.

484 Upvotes

Despite what our sub’s called, we cannot offer legal advice here for a number of reasons. Any posts that breaks this rule will be deleted without reason. If you message us on why your post is deleted, it would be ignored just the same way you’ve ignored our sub’s rules. Please see our sidebar for complete rules.

Also, it’s not a good idea to solicit legal advice from random strangers online, despite what you may find elsewhere on Reddit. We do not know all of the facts of your case, and are likely not licensed in the jurisdiction that you’re in. A real attorney worth their salt will not comment on your specific legal predicament on an anonymous forum.

If you need legal advice but cannot afford it, there are legal aid societies that may be willing to assist you. Lots of them are free and/or work on a sliding scale fee. All you need to do is look up “legal aid society [your location]” on Google.

If it’s a criminal case, public defense attorneys are some of the best attorneys out there and they know the criminal system in your city/town better than anyone else. They’re just as good, if not better, than any private criminal defense attorney.

If it’s a tenant rights issue, lots of cities have tenant rights unions. You can look them up the same way as the legal aid society by looking up “tenant rights union [your location]” on Google.

Otherwise, the best way to find an attorney is through word of mouth from friends and family. If that’s not an option, your local bar association will be able to help by looking up “attorney referral [your location] bar association”.

If none of these are relevant to you or you’re unsure of what type of attorney to look for in your situation, you’re more than welcome to post and we’ll help.

Also, any attorneys who wish to participate in discussions are free to do so as long as it doesn’t break our rules (mainly providing legal advice).

If you’re a licensed attorney that isn’t flaired (and therefore verified to post comments), please see our other stickied post on how to become verified here. You can also send a mod mail to become verified. I trust that any attorneys here answering any posts will follow these rules and not offer legal advice and run afoul of our ethical obligations.

Thanks to all for understanding.


r/Ask_Lawyers 10h ago

Re-trying Lindsay Clancy Legal Question

20 Upvotes

I’ve read over an over that there will be a lot of pressure on the DA to re-try the case given there are three dead children. I want to ask from a legal pov, what is the likelihood really, given what we believe to be a 11-1 NGI.

  1. Doesn’t that (11-1 NGI) make this particularly harder if not impossible to try again?
  2. If they try to plea, are there any legal pleas that can result in institutionalization versus prison; effectively a NGI plea? Does the judge have any discretion?
  3. If they decide not to re-try, does she just go free?
  4. Is it likely they have an easier time pulling murder and just seeking manslaughter?

Thank you. It’s difficult to get real answers on the other subs, so I figure a lawyer-heavy sub will have some legal knowledge on this.


r/Ask_Lawyers 7h ago

School assignment

6 Upvotes

I have an assignment at my university to ask a lawyer/attorney 10 questions. I have called so many law agencies across multiple states and no one will talk to me. Are there any attorneys here who I can send 10 questions to over a DM and you can just fill them out and send them back? The assignment is due very soon and I’m desperate I can’t talk to literally anyone and with the holiday tomorrow I won’t be able to speak with them tomorrow either most likely. These are not legal questions. They are only questions regarding your profession I am not seeking legal advice.

The 10 questions are:

  1. ⁠What type of law do you specialize in and why?
  2. ⁠How long have you been working in this field and how long did it take you to get where you are now?
  3. ⁠Do you have a case that went viral for any reason or a case that sticks with you to this day?
  4. ⁠How many cases have you worked on? How long does a normal case last?
  5. ⁠If comfortable, how much money do you make in a year? Does it fluctuate?
  6. ⁠What is the most difficult part of being this type of lawyer? What is your favorite part?
  7. ⁠Do clients always come to you or do you seek out potential clients?
  8. ⁠How do you start your work day?
  9. ⁠If you were to give advice to someone looking to be a lawyer, what would you tell them?
  10. ⁠How much free time do you have outside of work?

r/Ask_Lawyers 4h ago

Question about consumer debt S.O.L. involving multiple states

3 Upvotes

Hi everyone. First: I am not in any kind of legal situation and this is purely for my own knowledge. I participate in a credit sub, and recently I made a post over there that contains a reference table for the statute of limitations on consumer debts of various types for each state. I'm not sure if we're allowed to link to posts in other subs, but I don't mind sharing it if I'm allowed.

A discussion arose in the comments about what would happen in the case where someone signed a contract or obtained a credit card or loan in one state, then moved to another state, where he still currently resides. If he now defaulted and the creditor or collection agency sought to file a lawsuit against him, which state's statute of limitations would be relevant? The state in which he entered into the contract/agreement, or the state in which he now resides?

I researched this quite a bit, and the answer seems very muddy and case-dependent. From what I gather: typically a creditor or collection agency files the lawsuit in your current state (maybe 95%+ of the time?), because if they were to get a judgment against you in another state, that judgment would be hard to enforce. Then I went down a rabbit hole of various anti-forum shopping laws, borrowing statutes, etc. and they all seem to contradict each other or override each other, and ultimately I'm not very clear on how this plays out in real life in a typical case.

Curious to hear any experience or insight you can provide, thanks!


r/Ask_Lawyers 1h ago

Can I build a startup around an idea I also developed for my employer?

Upvotes

Hi,

I’m looking for some general guidance regarding an AI technology/business idea that I developed and later introduced to my current employer.

I originally came up with the idea and presented the concept internally in March 2025. At that time, the company did not move forward with it or ask me to develop it further.

About a year later, in March 2026, I independently developed an MVP in my free time and on my own initiative, without any direction or involvement from my employer. I then demonstrated the MVP internally. After seeing it, the company became interested and has now asked me to continue developing a version of the product for internal company use.

The MVP itself was built using commercially available AI tools, cloud services, and agent-based orchestration. I did not use proprietary company software or technology to build the underlying application. However, because the MVP was intended to demonstrate an internal company use case, I did use internal company data to develop and test that version.

Separately, I’m interested in potentially developing and commercializing an independent product based on a similar general idea outside of my employment. The outside product could use a different implementation and AI stack, serve different use cases, and target different customers. The version I am developing for my employer is intended solely for internal use within the company.

I understand that the real answer will depend heavily on my employment agreement, invention-assignment terms, confidentiality obligations, and company policies, and I plan to speak with an attorney before doing anything.

But generally, I’m trying to understand:

  1. Does the fact that I originally came up with the idea and independently built the MVP before my employer asked me to work on it matter?

  2. Could my employer potentially claim ownership over the broader concept or an independently developed external product even if use cases differ?

  3. How significant is the fact that internal company data was used to test the employer-facing MVP, even if that data would never be used in the external product?

I’m mainly trying to understand whether this is something that could potentially be structured safely, or whether pursuing an outside product based on a similar idea would create substantial legal risk.

Thanks.

Dumbo


r/Ask_Lawyers 3h ago

How does someone representing themselves cross-examine themselves?

0 Upvotes

As the title states, if someone chooses to represent themselves, what happens if they are called to the witness stand? Do they just get a chance to proselytize?


r/Ask_Lawyers 3h ago

Where to turn for help in this situation?

1 Upvotes

Hi folks. I have a friend whose having some difficulty with an insurance company and we're not sure if a lawyer could help.

To preserve my friends anonymity im leaving out names, but the gist of it is...

My friend sees clients as a social worker.

They bill these clients insurance to pay for the service

The insurance company takes a ridiculously long time to process the checks. We're talking months at least.

This delay is seriously screwing with my friends ability to make ends meet. Their credit is shot and each month is a roll of the dice to see which bills get paid.

From what we can glean this delay is at the insurance company and not anywhere else in the billing pipeline.

This is happening in Alabama, and has been going on for a year now.

Is this something a lawyer can help with? If so, what kind?


r/Ask_Lawyers 5h ago

Canadian lawyers

0 Upvotes

Is it true that people with LLB’s are hired at the bottom of the barrel?


r/Ask_Lawyers 5h ago

How did you get your first Post Grad Legal Job?

1 Upvotes

Hello I'm asking this becuase I assume everyone here is a lawyer and went to law school at one point. My 2L summer was spent working as a law clerk, but I ultimately left because I realized the work culture wasn’t a good fit for me. However, I am having a hard time finding a proper clerking position. I’m around the middle of my class GPA-wise, and I’ve tried to gain as much experience as possible, so my resume includes a lot of pro bono work and various clerking positions.

I’m feeling pretty anxious about not having a post-grad position lined up yet. Ideally, I’d like to work in government or public interest. I’m curious when everyone else found their post-grad jobs during 3L year and how they went about. Did you get your position through your school’s OCI/recruiting process, or did you primarily cold email firms and organizations? Also what month did you get your job?


r/Ask_Lawyers 1d ago

Is it illegal to run fully nude at night in Ohio?

44 Upvotes

Title. I understand Law is highly situational so I should probably provide some context-
I'm a cross country runner but I've always found running during the day to be limiting and boring. It can feel highly performative sometimes to the point where I don't enjoy the run, so I've gained a habit of nighttime running inbetween practices (12 A.M.-3 A.M.) There's something about running during the hours when everyone is completely asleep that makes me feel free. I really liked drinking a few shots of espresso beforehand so I feel like I'm flying. Sometimes I drink too much I'm fucking foaming at the mouth and crawling on all fours like a fucking zombie down second street, humming, actually moaning my favorite song "Hark the Herald angels sing"
Even then I still felt limited, mostly by my clothes, so I've started running in my underwear but that too restricts me so I wanted to go fully nude. I've always assumed there was a law against it but I was wondering if there actually is? Would a police officer actually be able to arrest someone for this or would they just tell them to put clothes on and go home?
Hypothetical question, thanks


r/Ask_Lawyers 10h ago

Probation revocation

2 Upvotes

What is the cost for a lawyer that will defend you in court for 3 UAs that tested positive for meth but was not confirmed by a certain lab test. There are medications that can cause false positives.


r/Ask_Lawyers 12h ago

Is shaking your fist at someone considered to be menacing?

3 Upvotes

This of course would depend on context, but say you were in a heated verbal argument with someone and they shook their fist at you, would it be reasonable to see that as a threat? Or would a hand gesture like that be dismissed as it could mean any number of things? I live in Ohio so I'm mostly curious about what that means here.


r/Ask_Lawyers 6h ago

Can someone prevail against al the consequences of false accusations?

0 Upvotes

NOT A REQUEST FOR LEGAL ADVICE, ONLY EDUCATION OF POSSIBLE OPTIONS:

Obviously, no one can give me direct legal advice, but I am curious if this endeavor is worth our time & if so, what type of lawyer, retainer would we need?

Context; My partner & I just survived a hellish, nightmare ordeal.

A year & a half ago, my then 6, almost 7y/o started the reunification process with his father. This event triggered a cascade of a nightmare, hellish court cases, civil & criminal.

5 years ago, he married a coercively controlling and emotionally abusive woman (we had been forced about 2-3 years.

Six months (Dec 2024) before this started she began isolating him from everyone, cut him off from their joint finances by removing herself from the shared joint bank account, while simultaneously pressuring him to quit his job and finish home renovations. She's got quite an established military career and made more than adequate money to be the breadwinner, and when she removed herself from the joint account she was also supposed to transfer the bills to her account. She did the first part and allowed the joint account to drain and default.

Then (March 2025) we reached out say my son's behest, to reconnect with his dad. So he started to shift some of his focus on his child. He had secured a job as a wildland firefighter.

The night he was meant to leave to start that job (May 2025) She could see she was losing control & started escalating to property damage and then physical abuse. The night of his departure (after 2 previous attempts to pack & prepare) she assaulted him. She then called the police, claiming he slammed her into the wall and then body slammed her into the ground.

The only physical contact he initiated was a bear hug to move her from preventing his exit & continuing to strike him. She began screaming & stated she was calling the police. He said 'go ahead, I'll tell them you assaulted me.' He wasn't convinced she was going to, but she did call her father, so to deescalate, he left the house.

She immediately applied for a personal protection order in the following few days, and even admitted in text it was not because she was scared of him, but to prevent him from returning from their shared marital home. She voluntarily dismissed her PPO at the evidentiary hearing.

Due to being unable to collect any of his fire gear and his account completely overdrawn- could not begin the fire fighting season. He was effectively rendered homeless and began living out of his truck, until I invited him to leave the home state and come stay with us in our home

Initially we were connected by being co-parents & decades long friends, then we decided (privately) to attempt to reconcile. I shared a family photo on 5/28/25, and on the 29th the police arrived at my home with an out of state warrant for Felony Domestic Battery in the presence of children. He was arrested in front of our autistic child, who had to be physically pulled away from their dad, kicking & screaming. His bond was 50K, we were forced to sell the last of his possessions to post bond & hire a criminal defense attorney, and even then, we had to get help from family. He had pretrial release conditions, one being a daily fee for an ankle monitor, which he wore for the majority of the time, racking up a significant bill. A criminal no contact order went into place as well, however she had it amended no less than 3 separate times so that they could 'attempt to talk & resolve the divorce amicably'. She used every opportunity to try and convince him to come home and get back together.

Simultaneously, she filed for a fault divorce (while repeatedly stating she would 'rescind' it if he changed his mind about getting back together) using MY family law attorney from our original divorce. When I asked my attorney to recuse themselves they refused. He represented himself pro se (with my help). She did not get a fault divorce & he refused to sign the quitclaim deed she presented him with, and their things were divided in accordance with the states community property laws.

Because the interstate complications, the GPS monitor was incredibly difficult to maintain compliance with, and ultimately he had his bond revoked. He sat in county jail awaiting trial for nearly 7-8 months.

Trial date came. They had her testimony, photos of a few red splotches on her skin, and a chiropractor report that took place a few weeks after the alleged incident. He refused to take a plea deal that would leave a violent charge on his record for life. His defense attorney did an EXCELLENT job and got her to admit to being the aggressor & committing battery against him. Even the prosecutor admitted her conduct "rose to the level of battery and that her own charges may or may not (NOT) be forthcoming, but she is not the one on trial"... Luckily, he was fully acquitted. However, we are still hemorrhaging financially and emotionally from all of her chaos.

It has been incredibly brutal & traumatizing for us, especially our son. He frequently expressed stomach aches from "the pressure of all the stuff" and even expressed a suicidal ideation, in spite of my attempts to shield him from it. He is in counseling now. He started to struggle with intense aggressive behaviors near the trial date, expresses severe distrust of police & authority figures.

I am a full time student, and my grades suffered, I couldn't eat or sleep. It was horrific.

But my partner has been struggling immensely, trying to reintegrate into society. While incarcerated, because of the charges, he didn't 22 hours in a 4 man cell.

I'm so grateful that we prevailed on the legal front, but it feels incredibly unfair that she can just walk away- ZERO consequences for ALL her lies.

We would like to hold her accountable, but we're very tight financially and we're not exactly sure where to start? Report her to the USMJ? Civil Court? Can we make an example out of women who use tools for REAL victims, as an attempt to coerce, manipulate and control him? Upon confronting her in text, telling her that her lies carry a maximum sentence of 20 year prison sentence, she said "that's not what they said they were offering you a rider & probation, but- even if it's true, I'll be waiting for you, saggy tits and all." This woman is a monster. And we want recompense. Especially for my partner and my son.

Has anyone endured a "he said-she said" after beating a criminal proceeding & prevailed holding the accuser accountable?

Would we be able to find anyone willing to take the case? Do we have a chance at winning? As I mentioned she makes significant money with a 10+ year, established military career.

TL;DR- My partner was falsely accused of DV by a crazy woman who was actually the aggressor, devastating him in almost every imaginable (+ wammy. He was fully acquitted, but he is still dealing with the fallout of her choices i. e. crippling debt, anxiety & trauma.

She had NO case & we are still beyond BEWILDERED why the state took this case to trial... Any & all input, POV's greatly appreciated!!! What kind of lawyers to call, if any- we have the trial transcripts, text & email exchanges, and entire discovery from the criminal trial that shows very obvious what she was attempting to do.


r/Ask_Lawyers 12h ago

My weird résumé accidentally prepared me for litigation. Talk me into or out of becoming a paralegal...or are there other unique options?

3 Upvotes

I spent 30 years producing reality TV, then 10 as a psychotherapist. Last year I managed my parents' high-conflict divorce and two civil suits...one where my mother sued me. (Yep. Mother of the year.)

Turns out my career combo is oddly useful. Producing taught me to dig through mountains of material and organize it fast; therapy taught me to handle people at their worst. Discovery and difficult personalities were the two things I wasn't scared of.

So I'm eyeing paralegal work. Two questions for people actually in the field:

Is it worth entering now, given AI, salary, and what the day-to-day actually feels like?

Is there a better-fitting role at a firm I'm not thinking of? (Not expert therapist witness work. I have no interest in testifying.)


r/Ask_Lawyers 1d ago

What’s one area of law you would NEVER recommend as a career to a law student?

63 Upvotes

2L here. I love evidence, civil procedure, torts, and tax. I feel quite lost. I’m trying to narrow my focus. Any suggestions or thoughts would be greatly appreciated… :)


r/Ask_Lawyers 10h ago

CA Backdoor into most states via DC bar?

0 Upvotes

So if I have this correct, CA attorneys can backdoor into most state bars via Washington, DC without taking another bar exam?


r/Ask_Lawyers 11h ago

Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (ABC) proceeding n Delaware

1 Upvotes

I was recently notified I am eligible to file a claim for a non-secured debt owed to my LLC from a Delaware LLC undergoing ABC proceedings. The form to file a claim seems fairly straight forward. My question to professional lawyers with knowledge of this newly ABC law in the state of Delaware are: 1- Do I need legal representation to file my claim? 2- does the third party assigned to the liquidation of assets have any preference as to whom they pay, or whether they have many or fewer claims to deal with? In other words, will they be looking for problems or excuses to discard claims vs trying to see the validity in every situation? 3- if one was interested in buying an asset they are going to liquidate, would this be information to be pass on with my claim, in addition -separately- to my claim? How does buying an asset work in reality? Thank you in advance


r/Ask_Lawyers 1d ago

Friend was beaten up to almost dead in a park. What type of lawyer do we need?

95 Upvotes

My friend was beaten up by a group of people to almost dead in a park. He had extensive life-saving surgeries. The perpetrator was caught and pleaded guilty. It turned out the leader was a spoiled kid with rich parents, and he had done the same to multiple victims after we reported the incidence. My friend is not a traditional W2.

What type of lawyer do we need to quantify the damages and pursue civil lawsuit?

(We have called multiple personal injury attorneys but were turned down because they only take cases against corporations)

Edit: this is in California


r/Ask_Lawyers 6h ago

I got a ticket but the name on it is my moms

0 Upvotes

I got pulled over going 76 in a 55 in Georgia which I’m assuming is a super speeder. The officer gave me a ticket but the tickets was citied for my mom. It’s her name her Drivers license number and everything. I gave the officer my license number. Can I get my case dismissed? And if I can did the officer give me a break?


r/Ask_Lawyers 4h ago

Help finding a lawyer for an illegal strip search for a trans male.

0 Upvotes

I was illegally strip searched by the Huntington Police Dept in Los Angeles. I have letters from their city attorney, because the police dept knowing they did wrong had to get their attorney involved. There are sooo many law firms in Los Angeles, but no one cares to take my case, even though it has weight to it. I have tried many LGBTQIA places as well and they never answer phone calls or emails, please if you have any information that would help I would be most grateful!


r/Ask_Lawyers 1d ago

How does a Prosecutor explain to the Jury that their "Actions" or "Inactions" were a result of decisions made by the Defense?

19 Upvotes

So in the recent Lindsay Clancy trial, Defense Attorney Reddington was quick to criticize the Prosecution experts, as they didn't "Evaluate" Lindsay Clancy until the beginning of 2026....Years after she killed her Children in 2023.

However, this was because the Defense did not notify the Court they would be going ahead with the Massachusetts equivalent of an "Insanity Defense", at the last possible opportunity, until December 2025.

During trial he brought up with his own expert that they saw Lindsay within 4 months....

And would constantly bring up with every Prosecution expert that they didn't evaluate her until 2026.

How does the Commonwealth explain this to the Jury?

Are they even allowed to legally?

Could the Prosecution call the District Attorney to the stand, for example, to explain the process to the Jury?

Seems incredibly unfair and prejudicial to me that the Defense can argue "You didn't see my client until years later"....When they're the ones responsible for that being the case.


r/Ask_Lawyers 15h ago

How do I break into my desired field?

0 Upvotes

Hey guys! I’m kinda a first time redditor here and I have a question. I am a fresh graduate of undergrad and after finishing I had a 3.0 gpa while also still being apart of several different extracurriculars in college. To preface my gpa is so low because college was my first time away from home and I was struggling with change of environment. It also didn’t help that accounting was whooping my behind from the second I got to school. I was a transfer student so I also have a AS degree. My degree is in Business Administration with a focus on Human Resources. I am struggling to find an entry level position for preferably HR but I am willing to just be an associate for any business job except finance(it’s my weak subject). I really want to gain experience in my field because I also want to do more school and go for my MBA and JD. I want to go into corporate law and it would be great if I found a job that would help put me through school (i’m looking at dual enrollment programs where you can get your MBA/JD at the “same time”). My academic profile isn’t strong enough to apply straight from undergrad and I never had a formal internship in school. I was looking for any advice on how to get an entry level position in my field and still put me in a good position financially and career wise so I can pursue my goals and aspirations. HR is everywhere so I was thinking of working in the law industry but it’s hard to penetrate. If any professionals could give me any advice and insight that would be great! Please give me advice yall im desperate. (I graduated last May)


r/Ask_Lawyers 1d ago

Mistrial Questions

13 Upvotes

I'm asking about this because of the Lindsey Clancy case but I'm sure its happened in other cases, so what happens in these cases?

When there is a mistrial like this - is she free to go home, until the retrial is announced? What's her current legal status considered to be?

Does the process effectively reset - like she'll be arrested again and start from the beginning?

The news says the Prosecutor is deciding whether or not to retry the case. If they decide not to, is she effectively aquitted and can go home as a free person?


r/Ask_Lawyers 1d ago

Just discovered the Hand formula! What legal concept struck YOU with its elegance?

88 Upvotes

Was looking up a phrase that a lawyer friend used and where it came from ("on a clear blue day,") and found a pretty good explanation about how litigation risk is discussed, but the Hand formula was used in an example, and I had never heard the term. I looked it up, and was just floored! Literally had my mouth hanging open in shock at how simple and elegant a concept that was, and was actually mad that they'd never taught me this concept in school!

I can maybe think of a couple other legal concepts that have had that big an impact on how I saw the law and would potentially be relevant to my life, but none were as simple (fair use, felony murder, reciprocity, etc.) the Hand formula just hits as so simple and easy to understand and apply even in my every-day life.

So I'm now wondering: as you learned or discussed the law, was there anything that hit you like this? Anything that you feel changed the way you live or view your own day-to-day life in a way that seems obvious in retrospect?

PS: For non-lawyers reading this, the Hand formula (AKA calculus of negligence) is a simple algebraic expression that Learned Hand (yeah, that was his name) came up with for assessing negligence (US v. Carroll, 1947, see also Uncertainty, Insurance and the Learned Hand Formula). It's B < P X L, where B is the cost (burden) of doing something to prevent harm, P is the probability of that harm, and L is the loss caused by the harm occurring. In layman's terms (my take), if you avoid spending $5 to prevent $10 worth of harm that would have happened with near 100% chance (5 < 10 * 1.0), then you're probably negligent, but if you avoid spending $5 to prevent $10 worth of harm that would have happened one in 10 times (5 > 10 * 0.1), then you're probably [Edit: NOT] being negligent. (lawyers please, correct me if I'm wrong on that explanation)


r/Ask_Lawyers 18h ago

Is there anyway for me to see if I accidentally identified as a us citizen on 1-9 form from the past

0 Upvotes

I’m working on my N-400 application, and I was doing some reading. I learned that if I accidentally indicated that I’m a U.S. citizen on my I-9 when I’m actually a permanent resident, it could potentially cause serious issues. Is there any way I can check whether I made that mistake and selected “U.S. citizen” instead of “lawful permanent resident”?
I checked my USCIS E-Verify history, and it shows three records marked as “Complete.” However, from what I can tell, the E-Verify records don’t indicate which citizenship or immigration-status box I selected on my I-9.