IANAL
Encyclopedia
IANAL is a Usenet
and chat
abbreviation (acronym) for "I am not a lawyer". A related abbreviation, TINLA, stands for "This is not legal advice" and may be used by either non-lawyers seeking to avoid accusations of unauthorized practice of law or lawyers clarifying that they do not have enough information to provide situation-specific advice and are not making any recommendation to the particular addressee of their remarks.
One or both of these abbreviations usually precede opinions about law
. The use of these abbreviations serves as a warning for the reader not to take the opinion as professional legal advice. Many jurisdictions have legal restrictions on actually giving or even appearing to give legal advice, or otherwise practicing as a lawyer
without legal qualifications and official registration. Rendition of legal advice by a person who is not licensed to do so can be the basis for a charge of unauthorized practice of law.
The expression is one of the most popular internet acronyms. The origin of the term is in a 1980s commercial for Vicks
Formula 44 cough syrup, in which two spokesmen
successively pitched the over-the-counter
medication with the line, "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV." The spokesmen were soap opera
actors Chris Robinson
(who played Dr. Rick Webber
on General Hospital
) and Peter Bergman
(who played Dr. Cliff Warner on All My Children
). The transfer from doctor to lawyer is an example of a snowclone
. The term IANAL is reported to have been common on Usenet by the late '80s and early '90s.
A variant of IANAL is IANYL ("I am not your lawyer"). The term may be used by a lawyer posting comments on a message board to indicate that the commentator is, in fact, a lawyer, but to emphasize that the commentator does not represent the reader, and to indicate that the comments are not protected by attorney-client privilege
and that the commenter disclaims any malpractice
or other tort liability should the suggestion be followed with undesirable results. IAAL ("I am a lawyer") is sometimes used as well, usually with an explicit disclaimer such as "IAAL, but I'm not your lawyer".
The case law
standard for determining what comments cross the line is generally "the application of law to facts specific to an individual seeking legal advice". Attorneys may use a disclaimer to reduce confusion, and "I am not your lawyer" is part of a typical disclaimer. There are "weighty obligations" that go along with the creation of a lawyer-client relationship, particularly if an "online exchange includes legal advice relating to the client's specific facts". Courts have held that (in the case of 900 numbers) boilerplate
disclaimers without clear actions to indicate assent may not avoid the creation of a lawyer-client relationship.
Other variations of IANAL refer to different fields, such as IANAMD for "I am not a Medical Doctor." These serve the same general purpose as IANAL — to discourage the use of the information as actual professional advice.
A very common usage on Slashdot
and Digg
is IANAP, or "I am not a physicist
," in discussions related to scientific breakthroughs and their implications. On religious blogs and boards, the same acronym can be expanded as "I am not a priest
".
The acronym IANACL is often used to abbreviate "I am not a copyright
lawyer," while others expand it to be "I am not a canon law
yer."
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
and chat
Online chat
Online chat may refer to any kind of communication over the Internet, that offers an instantaneous transmission of text-based messages from sender to receiver, hence the delay for visual access to the sent message shall not hamper the flow of communications in any of the directions...
abbreviation (acronym) for "I am not a lawyer". A related abbreviation, TINLA, stands for "This is not legal advice" and may be used by either non-lawyers seeking to avoid accusations of unauthorized practice of law or lawyers clarifying that they do not have enough information to provide situation-specific advice and are not making any recommendation to the particular addressee of their remarks.
One or both of these abbreviations usually precede opinions about law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
. The use of these abbreviations serves as a warning for the reader not to take the opinion as professional legal advice. Many jurisdictions have legal restrictions on actually giving or even appearing to give legal advice, or otherwise practicing as a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
without legal qualifications and official registration. Rendition of legal advice by a person who is not licensed to do so can be the basis for a charge of unauthorized practice of law.
The expression is one of the most popular internet acronyms. The origin of the term is in a 1980s commercial for Vicks
Vicks
Vicks is a line of over-the-counter medications owned by the American company Procter & Gamble. Vicks manufactures NyQuil and its sister medication, DayQuil. The Vicks brand also produces Formula 44 cough medicines, cough drops, VapoRub, and a number of inhaled breathing treatments...
Formula 44 cough syrup, in which two spokesmen
Spokesman
A spokesperson or spokesman or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others.In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have received formal training in journalism, communications, public relations and...
successively pitched the over-the-counter
Over-the-counter drug
Over-the-counter drugs are medicines that may be sold directly to a consumer without a prescription from a healthcare professional, as compared to prescription drugs, which may be sold only to consumers possessing a valid prescription...
medication with the line, "I'm not a doctor, but I play one on TV." The spokesmen were soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
actors Chris Robinson
Chris Robinson (actor)
Chris Robinson is an actor who played Rick Webber #2 on General Hospital...
(who played Dr. Rick Webber
Rick Webber
Rick Webber was a fictional character on the ABC soap opera, General Hospital. He was portrayed by Michael Gregory from 1976 - 1978, and by Chris Robinson from 1978 - 1986, and again briefly in 2002, when the character was killed by Scott Baldwin....
on General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
) and Peter Bergman
Peter Bergman
Peter Bergman is an American soap opera actor best known for his portrayals as Dr. Cliff Warner on All My Children, as well as Jack Abbott on The Young and the Restless.-Biography:...
(who played Dr. Cliff Warner on All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
). The transfer from doctor to lawyer is an example of a snowclone
Snowclone
A snowclone is a type of cliché and phrasal template originally defined as "a multi-use, customizable, instantly recognizable, time-worn, quoted or misquoted phrase or sentence that can be used in an entirely open array of different variants"....
. The term IANAL is reported to have been common on Usenet by the late '80s and early '90s.
A variant of IANAL is IANYL ("I am not your lawyer"). The term may be used by a lawyer posting comments on a message board to indicate that the commentator is, in fact, a lawyer, but to emphasize that the commentator does not represent the reader, and to indicate that the comments are not protected by attorney-client privilege
Attorney-client privilege
Attorney–client privilege is a legal concept that protects certain communications between a client and his or her attorney and keeps those communications confidential....
and that the commenter disclaims any malpractice
Malpractice
In law, malpractice is a type of negligence in, which the professional under a duty to act, fails to follow generally accepted professional standards, and that breach of duty is the proximate cause of injury to a plaintiff who suffers harm...
or other tort liability should the suggestion be followed with undesirable results. IAAL ("I am a lawyer") is sometimes used as well, usually with an explicit disclaimer such as "IAAL, but I'm not your lawyer".
The case law
Case law
In law, case law is the set of reported judicial decisions of selected appellate courts and other courts of first instance which make new interpretations of the law and, therefore, can be cited as precedents in a process known as stare decisis...
standard for determining what comments cross the line is generally "the application of law to facts specific to an individual seeking legal advice". Attorneys may use a disclaimer to reduce confusion, and "I am not your lawyer" is part of a typical disclaimer. There are "weighty obligations" that go along with the creation of a lawyer-client relationship, particularly if an "online exchange includes legal advice relating to the client's specific facts". Courts have held that (in the case of 900 numbers) boilerplate
Standard form contract
A standard form contract is a contract between two parties where the terms and conditions of the contract are set by one of the parties, and the other party is placed in a "take it or leave it" position with little or no ability to negotiate terms more favorable to it.Examples of standard form...
disclaimers without clear actions to indicate assent may not avoid the creation of a lawyer-client relationship.
Other variations of IANAL refer to different fields, such as IANAMD for "I am not a Medical Doctor." These serve the same general purpose as IANAL — to discourage the use of the information as actual professional advice.
A very common usage on Slashdot
Slashdot
Slashdot is a technology-related news website owned by Geeknet, Inc. The site, which bills itself as "News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters", features user-submitted and ‑evaluated current affairs news stories about science- and technology-related topics. Each story has a comments section...
and Digg
Digg
Digg is a social news website. Prior to Digg v4, its cornerstone function consisted of letting people vote stories up or down, called digging and burying, respectively. Digg's popularity prompted the creation of copycat social networking sites with story submission and voting systems...
is IANAP, or "I am not a physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
," in discussions related to scientific breakthroughs and their implications. On religious blogs and boards, the same acronym can be expanded as "I am not a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
".
The acronym IANACL is often used to abbreviate "I am not a copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
lawyer," while others expand it to be "I am not a canon law
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
yer."
External links
- IANAL at the Jargon FileJargon FileThe Jargon File is a glossary of computer programmer slang. The original Jargon File was a collection of terms from technical cultures such as the MIT AI Lab, the Stanford AI Lab and others of the old ARPANET AI/LISP/PDP-10 communities, including Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Carnegie Mellon...