Legal Definitions - soliciting

Definition: Soliciting is the act of requesting or seeking to obtain something. It can also refer to the criminal offense of urging or inciting someone to commit a crime. Additionally, it can mean offering or accepting money in exchange for sex or attempting to gain business.

• A non-profit organization sent out a solicitation for volunteers to help with their upcoming event.
• A person was convicted of solicitation of murder for urging someone else to commit the crime.
• A prostitute was charged with solicitation for offering sex in exchange for money.
• An attorney's solicitation of potential clients took the form of radio and television ads.
• A company sent out a solicitation to its shareholders to request their proxy votes for an upcoming decision.

These examples illustrate the different meanings of soliciting. The first example shows soliciting as a request for volunteers. The second example shows soliciting as a criminal offense. The third example shows soliciting as offering or accepting money for sex. The fourth example shows soliciting as attempting to gain business. The fifth example shows soliciting in the context of securities, where a company is requesting proxy votes from its shareholders.