A legal question was recently posted on the site:
What permissions do I need to write a non-fiction book based on personal interviews?
There are currently two answers, one that points out the potential problems the question author may face and highlights the importance of getting actual, real legal advice from a lawyer; the other answer a more speculative one that adds little of value.
In 2010, the site decided that legal questions should be allowed here. Well and good, and the only reason to disallow a legal question would be for the usual Stack Exchange reasons: Chatty, open-ended questions, and so on.
However...I have never seen one of these questions answered by an actual lawyer, here or on any other Stack Exchange site. The best answers always boil down to "ask a lawyer". And I'm uncomfortable dispensing legal advice over the internet, where the person answering almost never has all the facts.
My question:
Has anyone found these questions useful? Are they useful to anyone aside from the OP?
If the only way to answer a legal question is to say "please consult a lawyer", what value do these questions add to the site? Should we close these questions on sight, edit them into a better form (if so, what would that be?), or, if they do add value to ste site, should we leave them as they are?