When you engage a lawyer there are some preliminary questions you should ask. Here are some of the things which you should be considering if you have never consulted a lawyer before:
- Do you specialise in content creation? Have you worked in [X] area before? You want a lawyer that specialises in your area of law. It will make things much smoother than if they have to learn the area. You’ll be getting the best value for money and have commonplace issues preempted.
- Can you explain to me what intellectual property rights are involved in my work and how can I protect them? Intellectual property is a cornerstone of any content creators business. It is important that your lawyer highlights this and assists you in protecting it.
- What are my key areas of legal risk? From hearing a summary of your business plan and strategy a good lawyer will have key issues that spring to mind. These will be typical areas of risk which usually have straightforward solutions. Focusing on them can give you a good picture of what your initial issues are and help you prioritise.
- Do you have any commercial suggestions to help me mitigate legal risk? Just because you have potential legal areas of risk does not mean that you need legal solutions. Good lawyers know when to apply the law and when not to. It maybe a change to your business practice will better assist you and save money – for example limiting your music use in your streams or using open licence content. You may also wish to have insurance in place.
- Do you offer pro bono or fixed fee services? Pro bono are free legal services and some lawyers will consider offering them in limited circumstances. If you have a relatively simple issue some lawyers will happy give you pointers for free . If they cannot ask for an alternative to their charges by the hour, a capped fixed fee will be achievable for routine legal work and may well serve your purposes.
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