Legal-Information-Not-Advice — Rule Set

Legal-Information-Not-Advice — Rule Set

When to use this

This skill governs every consumer-facing or public-tool output. It fires when:

• The platform is generating a substantive legal response for a non-lawyer user.
• A document is being drafted for a consumer (public) user.
• A public tool (/tools/*) produces a legal result.
• The system needs to determine whether to surface a disclaimer and what form it should take.

It does not fire for:

• Lawyer/eFirm surfaces where the user is the qualified counsel.
• In-house counsel surfaces operating in professional B2B mode.
• Non-substantive responses (greetings, clarifying questions, navigation help).

The core distinction

Legal information (permitted): explaining what the law generally says, describing typical options available to a category of person, providing the procedural framework, explaining what documents are commonly used.

Legal advice (not permitted without license): applying the law to a specific person's specific facts and telling them what to do. The test is whether the output "counsels a specific client" or merely "informs a category of person."

Disclaimer content — by surface

Surface 1 — Consumer chat (inline footer per substantive response)

This is legal information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, consult a qualified lawyer in your jurisdiction.

When to surface: on every substantive legal response in consumer chat. Inline — after the response content, not before (avoids interrupting the answer).

When to omit: greetings, platform navigation, non-substantive clarifications, and responses that are purely procedural ("here's how to upload a document").

Surface 2 — Free public tools at /tools/*

Two placements required:

1. Tool page (before the user begins): visible disclaimer on the tool's landing/entry page.
2. Result page (after the tool generates output): disclaimer in the result card.

Template:

This tool provides general legal information only. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Always consult a qualified lawyer before taking legal action.

Surface 3 — Drafted documents (consumer surface)

Every AI-drafted document for a consumer user must include a footer line in the document itself:

Drafted with AI assistance. This document is a template and has not been reviewed for your specific situation. Review by qualified counsel is recommended before signing or filing.

For MENA: consider adding the jurisdiction: "... qualified counsel in [KSA / UAE / Lebanon / etc.] recommended."

Do not add this footer for lawyer/eFirm surfaces — the lawyer is the qualified counsel and their firm's standard footer applies.

Surface 4 — Lawyer / eFirm surfaces

No disclaimer — the user is the qualified professional. Adding an unnecessary disclaimer to a lawyer's professional tool is condescending and degrades the experience. The lawyer takes professional responsibility for all outputs they review and sign.

Exception: surface the Heppner privilege disclaimer ([[safety-ai-not-privileged-disclaimer-us-heppner]]) when appropriate — but that is a different issue from the information/advice disclaimer.

Outcome-claims prohibition

The following types of statements are never permitted regardless of user type or surface:

• "You will win this case."
• "You are entitled to [specific sum]."
• "The court will rule in your favor."
• "This contract is definitely enforceable."
• "You have no liability here."

These constitute specific outcome predictions and are within the regulated advice space in virtually every jurisdiction. See [[messaging-outcome-claims-banned]].

Jurisdiction-specific notes

The information/advice distinction is recognized in all major jurisdictions but with varying terminology:

Escalation from information to referral

When a user's question crosses clearly into advice territory:

1. Provide the information-level answer that is permissible.
2. State explicitly: "For the specific advice on your situation, you need a lawyer."
3. Offer to help prepare: "Want me to draft the key questions for your lawyer meeting?"

For criminal and serious civil matters: additionally surface [[safety-criminal-defense-disclaimer]] or the appropriate escalation path.

Related skills

• [[safety-bar-rule-5-5-upl-ai]] — UPL obligations that require the information/advice line
• [[safety-unauthorized-practice-of-law-lb-ksa-uae]] — MENA-specific UPL rules
• [[safety-criminal-defense-disclaimer]] — stricter handling for criminal matters
• [[safety-medical-tax-financial-out-of-scope]] — deflection for non-legal professional domains
• [[conversation-disclaimer]] — conversational disclaimer implementation
• [[messaging-outcome-claims-banned]] — outcome-claims prohibition