What is Legal Opinion?
Legal Opinion is a tool that allows parties to obtain a qualified third-party opinion on the subject, object and other issues related to the conclusion of a transaction. It is a document drawn up by a competent lawyer on any specific question or problem.
Before entering into any commercial transaction, the parties to such transaction must carefully consider the nature and volume of the transaction, as well as legal issues related to it.
Why do we need Legal Opinion for investment activities?
Regulators in many countries require the provision of a legal opinion for capital markets when applying for licenses of professional securities market participants, such as investment funds, forex brokers, depositories, and others.
The legal opinion for an investment company contains information on whether the compiler considers that the company applying for a license is capable of carrying out the activities it declared when submitting the application, which is based on the documentation submitted to the regulator by the applicant company.
Lawyers preparing legal opinion for investment activities not only investigate business plans, financial models, constituent documents, agreements with users, agreements on personal data protection, AML policies and other documents, but can also communicate with shareholders or directors applying for company license.
The regulator may require such legal conclusions from the investment company in the near future.
What should be considered when drawing up a legal opinion for an investment company?
The legal opinion should be prepared by a specialist with experience in investment law and not by the law of that foreign state, where the lawyer may not be familiar with the compiler.
Quality prepared legal opinion on investment issues are distinguished by strict language, clarity of circumstances provided, validity in accordance with current legislation, and presence of transparent and understandable conclusions.
It is important to know that if the customer's activity being investigated is considered illegal, the conclusion cannot be positive. It should be noted that no self-respecting law firm will risk its name and give an opinion on the legality of the activity, if the activity being investigated is illegal.
It important to remember that in drawing up a legal opinion on any issue, lawyers are responsible for their opinions, as they conduct legal and factual research, analysis and verification.
It is for this reason that providing a legal opinion can be a rather expensive process.
Legal Opinion Compilation Form
The law does not establish any specific form that a lawyer must adhere to when drawing up a legal opinion, including a legal opinion on the possibility of challenging the registration of a TM. However, legal opinion has a certain form developed over centuries, that is the practice of drawing up legal opinions by lawyers from numerous countries around the globe.