Q: Does it constitute legal advice if you give someone a few ideas on how to fight a traffic ticket?
If you knew someone and wrote a few pages about some plausible defences and questions they could ask in traffic court, assuming you put a clear disclaimer saying that your ideas did not constitute legal advice and that you were indemnified if your ideas did not work, could be held liable for providing legal advice without a license?
A:
That sounds like a violation of practicing law without a license, which is a crime. Such disclaimers may not save you if you're doing the work that a lawyer does, such as providing legal advice or answering legal questions, in states where you are not licensed to practice law.
See: http://codes.findlaw.com/ny/judiciary-law/jud-sect-478.html
Also see: https://www.nysba.org/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=51103
which states in relevant part on page 33: "At present, there is no single place to turn in New York state for a definition of the practice of law and what may constitute the unauthorized
practice of law in New York state. However, attorneys are referred to the provisions of article 15 of the Judiciary Law (especially §§ 478 and 484). Investigation and prosecution of allegations of unauthorized practice are handled by the Attorney General’s office (Judiciary Law
§§ 476-a to 476-c). Unauthorized practice may subject the violator to misdemeanor prosecution (Judiciary Law § 485) or contempt of court (Judiciary Law § 750[b]). (See, also, Judiciary Law §§ 16, 250)."
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