The interactive games and apps industry has emerged as the glamour entertainment segment of the new century.
Like the movie business of the 1930s and the recorded music business of the 1970s, games and apps—interactive digital content—is seen as the exciting, creative, sexy, and fun place to be.
MBA candidates, who ten years ago wanted to produce movies or be rap moguls, now want to run app start-ups. Superstar programmers and designers have made it cool to study math and science.
Lawyers and law students also have their eyes and hearts set on careers in the field.
I frequently hear from law students, bar exam candidates, or recent graduates seeking advice on what steps to take to prepare for a legal career in interactive media.
In responding to these requests, I have collected advice I received as a law student from an early professional mentor. It helped me when I was in my formative stages, still rings very true today, and can help young colleagues as they make decisions that move them forward in their careers.
Your goal in law school should be to become the best lawyer you can, not the best “interactive lawyer”. Don’t focus on any area of specialization in law school. Take a wide range of courses. Get a general law school education. Courses such as copyright, trademarks, or entertainment law may be valuable electives, but focus on the meat of the coursework. Games industry lawyers need to know and understand corporations, agency and partnership, secured transactions, finance, securities law, sales, family law (clients have domestic problems, too), tax, real estate (you may be called on to negotiate a commercial lease or more!), and conflicts of law; as well as have a good understanding of the most core of law school courses: civil procedure, Constitutional law, torts, contracts, legal research and writing, and criminal law.
The risk of becoming too specialized in school is you do not really know what areas you will be called upon to practice in. The wider your areas of expertise, the more valuable you may turn out to be.
There is a great need for legal services—you can help fill it! There is a much greater need for legal services than the ability of clients to pay for them. Make yourself available. Network. Volunteer. Join IGDA and get involved in your local chapters. Join your local bar association(s). Attend industry events. Get to know your colleagues. Look for opportunities to hang out in places like local incubators where tech entrepreneurs and developers congregate. Start-ups in tech industries are always longer on talent, ambition, and dreams than cash. And we know all too well they need capable representation.
If you are working at a law firm, find out its policies regarding pro-bono or low cost legal services. You may be able to bring in clients under a special law firm program. If none exist, consider representation on your own time.
When someone asks for help, dive in and make yourself indispensable! When I was getting started, I never wanted to turn away a client for financial reasons. Working with young companies is a great way to start and build a practice. But the responsibility is on your shoulders to always provide quality representation.
Never Stop Learning. Read the literature of your field. Take part in continuing legal education over a broad range of areas. Look for specialized courses in games industry and I.P. areas. National providers like Practicing Law Institute have offerings that cover the games and apps industry. Attend GDC. All of this can make you more valuable to your clients and brings you into contact with leaders in the field.
Never forget you are a professional. The practice of law is a profession—and you are a professional. To me, an important difference between a profession and a business is that a professional is not motivated primarily by money. The primary goal for a lawyer is to help his or her clients achieve their objectives to the fullest extent possible under the law. Don’t make any commitments you cannot keep. Understand and respect your clients’ needs. Learn and practice the rules of professional responsibility as adopted in your state. Treat everyone with grace. Scrupulously maintain secrets and confidences. It’s cool to be a games industry lawyer, but don’t go yacking away about your clients’ businesses or projects. Always be aware of potential conflicts of interest (they are more plentiful than you might think!).
A bar association leader told me once that when lawyers die, they are buried down at six feet like everyone else, but their caskets sink a few feet lower. That is because of the weight of the secrets and confidences they take to the grave.
Your most valuable possession is your reputation—the next most valuable is your license to practice law. If you’re a good lawyer, word will get around. The respect and admiration you receive from your friends and clients can lead to referrals and new opportunities. Your reputation for integrity will help people choose you for representation.
Building a games and apps practice is no different from building a practice in any other field. It takes patience, hard work, contacts, networking, and time. But if you follow the suggestions above, and give it a go, you might be surprised to find yourself someday soon representing successful clients in the industry you love!