Legal opinion is not just asked from a lawyer but also a person knowing the law. Legal opinion asks to explain the legal consequences of an act or for information related to the legal status of someone. The law often seems like a mysterious and almost impossible scenario to understand. It involves an array of terms and concepts which are difficult to comprehend even by the experts in that field. However, you may be required to give your own legal opinion at one time or another. Whether it’s about any transaction carried out or otherwise in any dealings where you feel something unethical might be going on, you need to understand what a legal opinion is and why it matters so much.
This article will provide details about what legal opinion is and the importance of having your own legal opinion.
What is a legal opinion?
The legal opinion is also known as the ‘opinion of counsel,’ or otherwise, it can be called ‘legal advice.’ It involves providing clues about whether an act is right or wrong, lawful or unlawful. If you feel that something might not go according to the law, then asking for this legal opinion ensures that you are informed regarding your doubts and suspicions. If someone asks to provide their personal view about something, they can do so, but if they ask for an official one, they need to look no further than the ‘legal opinion.’ The phrase “ignorance of the law excuses no man” thus asking for legal opinion helps you avoid committing any crime.
You must understand all your legal rights and obligations before committing yourself to any act; otherwise, it may lead to huge problems. Legal terms might be confusing, but there are several books, articles, and pamphlets that can help you understand them better. Such information will prove beneficial if you want to change your career to law or planning on appearing for an interview at the Law Enforcement Department.
To make sure that goes smoothly, it’s always preferable that you seek legal advice from a lawyer, who is the only person who knows the law. They will help you obtain an attorney opinion letter which is a document that clearly states your legal rights and obligations, which cannot be questioned or challenged in a court of law. Another benefit of getting a legal opinion is that it saves time and money because an expert will tell you whether you can fight back or otherwise if something goes wrong after committing yourself to it.
Reasons Why Legal Opinion Matters
Legal opinion matters for various reasons. You can get yourself cheated or swindled if you are not aware of your rights and obligations in any given situation. Here are some reasons why legal opinion matters:
Helps Ensure Legal Compliance
When something is ‘legal,’ it means it complies with the law, and when something is ‘illegal,’ it means it violates the law. This is why legal opinion matters a lot because no matter what you do or where you do, your actions need to be compliant with the law. Otherwise, they will be illegal, which can cost you dearly later in life even if your heart was in the right place while unknowingly committing such crimes. And this brings us to our next point of understanding why legal opinion matters so much.
Approval for Legal Actions:
Any legal opinion is essential and has its significance because only a lawyer with an exhaustive knowledge of the law can provide you with accurate information about your rights and liabilities and whether something is or isn’t against the law. Therefore, it’s always advisable that you seek legal opinion for all your actions before you take them so that you can ensure that no illegal act has been committed unknowingly. This will help you decide what needs to be done next without spending too much time and effort on it.
Gain Knowledge of Rights and Duties
Legal rights and duties refer to the benefits and obligations that a person has in a particular situation by the law governing that situation. Thus it’s always advisable that people seek legal advice before committing themselves to any action because ignorance can cost you dearly later on in life, even if your heart was in the right place while committing such crimes unknowingly.
Prevents Committing Civil Wrongdoing
You may not be aware of something being against the law, but this does not mean it is not against the law. People often commit civil wrongdoing unknowingly, which can cause severe problems for them later in life because these civil wrongdoings fall under the category of offenses and Torts. Certain things are illegal according to one law. At the same time, they are perfectly legal according to another law due to different interpretations of the same situation, thus misleading innocent people who did not know any better.
Prevents Committing Crime Knowing It Is Against Law
Suppose you lack knowledge about the law, which you are going to break unknowingly. In that case, it is not going to mean much if your intentions were good because you broke the law. This cannot be accepted in any country under any circumstances, no matter how well-meaning your intentions were. What matters most in law is that you have to know whether what you are doing is legal or illegal. In contrast, your purpose behind doing something has nothing to do with the law. Only a legal opinion from an expert who deals with such issues daily can help you in this case because they will make sure that all their advice is in line with the law, thus preventing you from committing crime unknowingly while your heart will be pure.
In conclusion, legal advice can cause many problems in your life, as discussed above. So always seek a legal opinion before you do anything; otherwise, things may go wrong for you later, resulting in ruining your life or career even though s/he was acting on someone’s advice, which was incorrect as per law. Still, legal opinion helps you make better decisions by ensuring that your actions are lawful and not unlawful.