Angela is a real estate broker with 15 years of experience and owns her own residential realty office in town. Recently, her buyer-clients sat down with her to make an offer on a home that Angela had shown them earlier that day. As Angela and the buyers are going through the Offer to Purchase and filling in the various blanks on the contract, the buyers begin to ask Angela questions such as: "What happens if the seller backs out of the deal; will we be able to get our $10,000 earnest money deposit back?" "What happens if we can't close on the specified closing date, but need a few more days to close? Will the seller be able to back out of the deal and keep our earnest money deposit?" "This clause here that states that 'time is of the essence' as to the date by which we must obtain a lender's loan commitment letter --is that enforceable if we need a little extra time to obtain the loan commitment letter?"

Angela answers each one of the buyers' questions based on her many years of experience as a real estate broker and the owner of a real estate brokerage office.

1. Has Angela engaged in the unauthorized practice of law? Why or why not?
2. If Angela is wrong about one of the answers to the buyers' inquiries, and the buyers lose their $10,000 earnest money deposit, would they be able to prevail in a lawsuit against Angela?
3. What type of claims might the buyers assert?
4. Do you think that these types of questions are typically asked by real estate buyers and sellers, and answered by real estate brokers?
5. How would you handle this recurring situation if you were Angela?