Legal Opinion
Legal opinion is also referred to as an opinion letter. An opinion may be from from lawyers/solicitors / barristers, issued in letter form, expressing legal conclusions about and/or legal analysis of a transaction or matter which is relied on by the addressee of the opinion.
The main purposes of a legal opinion are:
- To inform the addressee of the legal effect of a transaction or matter.
- To identify legal risks that the addressee should consider further and evaluate.
- For example, in a cross-border transaction, a legal opinion may be obtained from lawyers in a foreign jurisdiction opining on whether a transaction document is valid and enforceable in that jurisdiction and complies with local law. However, it should be borne in mind that a legal opinion is not a substitute for legal advice which, in a transactional context, is likely to be more extensive.