Legal advice is generally defined as the assessment and application of principles of law to a particular factual situation. It involves the application of legal principles to facts in a manner that (1) in effect predicts a specific resolution of a legal issue or (2) directs, counsels, urges, or recommends a course of action by a disputant or disputants as a means of resolving a legal issue. Merely providing legal information is not considered legal advice. Legal advice generally involves suggesting or predicting a course of action based upon the evaluation of a person’s or entity’s particular legal situation.
The following is an example of one state’s definition of legal advice:
An attorney-client relationship exists and one is deemed to be practicing law whenever "one undertakes for compensation, direct or indirect, to advise another, not his regular employer, in any matter involving the application of legal principles to facts or purposes or desires."
