Originally Posted by wackjum

I find this to be a very misguided and potentially insulting statement but something I come across pretty often. There's an idea that law does not require specialized knowledge, when in fact it does a great deal. I would at least respect the advice of an MD when he was giving medical information, even if he was giving it in a field that was outside of his specialty. A gynecologist has more knowledge about the human foot than I do even though he'd be clearly speaking outside of his chosen practice.

I believe it is a fair statement to say that a practicing attorney in any field is probably more adept at giving legal advice and analyzing the legal issues than somebody who has had no legal training at all.