notary

A lawyer of noncontentious private civil law who drafts, takes, and records legal instruments for private parties, and provides legal advice, but does not appear in court on his or her clients' behalf.

Originally an official of the medieval European ecclesiastical courts, the notary developed into a noncontentious secular legal professional in France. In England, partly because the canon and secular laws were not on speaking terms, "the notarial system never took deep root." For one thing, an important aspect of the notary’s duties, his authority to "authenticate" documents, was of little use to the English. The whole notion of a state-sanctioned authenticator of private acts was entirely foreign to English common law; whereas in France we see notaries "making" and "passing" contracts, the common law left that to the parties.

Unlike the United States, where a notary public is often a clerk you find working in a bank or real estate office, a Mexican notary has a higher ranking than an ordinary attorney who is not a notary. (In Mexico all notaries are attorneys, but not all attorneys are notaries.)

A public notary, a legal practitioner who prepares, attests to, and certifies documents, witnesses affidavits, and administers oaths.

A notary public, a public officer who serves as an impartial witness to the signing of important documents, but who is not authorised to practise law.

The giving of legal advice by notaries and others who are not admitted to practice law is, in its opinion, dangerous to the welfare of the community, because such persons have not demonstrated their capacity [...]

Although signed by a notary in New York, it lacked a physical description or documentation. It could have been issued to anyone, or resold to anyone willing to change his name.