[JamesBarney]

Depending on the advice they could take away his license because a 20k payment fairly obviously creates a client-attorney relationship.

[riku_iki]

But lawyers almost always give advice off the record, you can't prove anything. In my observations, situation I described is very common.

[ValentineC]

> But lawyers almost always give advice off the record, you can't prove anything.

If it's of any importance, a lawyer should be more than willing to provide their client with their advice in writing.

This isn't much different from how one shouldn't perform high-stakes transactions without the certainty of a written contract.

[JamesBarney]

Oh I missed that part of your post, if you're asking do bars punish lawyers when there is no evidence of wrong doing? The answer is it doesn't.

But just saying it's off the record and billing out as legal research instead of practicing law doesn't protect you.