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The purpose of this section is to explain to the notary the acts which (s)he can perform which may constitute the practice of law.

Upon completion of this section, you will be able to describe:

(1) Which entity requested the insertion of this section
(2) Whether California notaries can perform any duty which may be construed as the unlawful practice of law
(3) A partial listing of the acts which are construed as practicing law
(4) What should the notary public do if a signer asks the notary to perform those acts which constitute the   practice of law

Practicing Law

Often times, you as a notary may be asked to fill-out forms, give advice, etc….on which legal document a signer should use.  In this section, you will learn your limitations as a Notary Public and what you should do when faced with such a request.
 

Lawyer quote of the day:   “The minute you read something and you can't understand it, you can be sure it was written by a lawyer. Then, if you give it to another lawyer to read and he don't know just what it means, then you can be sure it was drawn up by a lawyer. If it’s in a few words and is plain and understandable only one way, it was written by a non-lawyer. “
---Will Rogers

Think about it.  As a notary public, we have a fiduciary responsibility to obtain valid acceptable identification and make sure that the signer acknowledges signing the document.  Why would we give advice and do all that other lawyer stuff?  We should leave that to the attorneys.  By the way, you can visit the California state bar at http://www.calbar.ca.gov

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