law school + creatives
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- deborah_c
been thinking of asking a while... thanks in advance for any help.
am applying for a big, fat law school scholarship. never exactly intended to become a lawyer, but realized along the way that i want to (and can) fight for people's rights.
spent time as a copywriter/sometimes designer, and this is my idea:
lawyering for small biz/freelance creatives like us.i need some help... specifically: know anybody who does this? what are the needs out there, and what situations have you heard of/been through? (i have a couple of my own, but the more ideas the better.) i know full well that self-employed creatives are not usually rollin' in cash, and i imagine that this is the main concern. is "cheap" the only benefit that creatives could use? wouldn't it help to work with someone who's familiar with the industry? am i smoking crack? :)
i guess what i'm asking is, if there were a creative's dream legal service, what would it be like (besides free)?
well, again, thanks. (sorry if it's not totally clear; the LSAT & app process are frying my brain. pls. ask any ?s; would love to start a dialogue.)
- MrT0
How to deal with bad debtors and IP law, for starters!
- ninjasavant0
chasing payment, negotiating contracts, settling disputes, LLCs n all 'at
- ********0
intellectual ownership
- BuddhaHat0
IP management all the way for designers... there would be no shortage of interest (esp. if it's free :)
- Peter0
deborah, hat off to that niche.
were I in the states I'd surely be in your clientele.
- deborah_c0
hey all, thanks for reply. the popularity of the "IP" reply brings up a couple ?s i'd had:
a. what are some examples of situations you've been in--clients reproducing your work online, clients stealing rejected ideas... i'm sure there are a bunch.
and b. what keeps you from taking action? is it money? hassle? don't know anybody? can't trust lawyers? i've actually taken a client to small claims, but i don't know a lot of people who have. i DO, however, know people who've gotten screwed.
k thx again-
- utopian0
There are only 1,250,000 lawyers in the U.S., our country is in desperate need of just one more lawyer.
- 23kon0
Rybo might need his own personal lawyer to keep an eye on his work output to see how close it resembles other designers work or to check code etc hasnt been stolen.
??
drop him a mail.
oh wait, he's gone isnt he?
- vespa0
illustrators get their stuff nicked all the time by Urban Outfitters and Topshop. They don't take action because they think there is no way they can take on a big organisation like that.
- deborah_c0
btw, peter, thx for the support. meant to say that last night.
utopian: you're right, there are a lot of lawyers out there. i haven't even gotten into a program yet, so i thought now's a good time to survey before i start drinking the kool-aid. i want to get a feel for whether my idea sucks, because i could very well decide it's better to focus on something else.
and on that note, re. Urban Outfitters, etc.: is that it, like the discouragement level is so high that either (a) people just let the big corps. steal their work, or (b) people don't want to publicize their work so it won't get stolen?
[the way my still-idealistic mind thinks, there HAS to be a better way. this is what i would set out to find if i do study law.]
23kon: i'll try to hit up Rybo, but if you think of anybody else, i would greatly appreciate :)
thanks again, peeps. happy monday.
-d
- vespa0
well i'm grossly generalising here but often creatives aren't organised/arsed enough to want to go through the rigmarole of trying to prove that they were ripped off.
a friend of a friend did a tshirt that got ripped by urban outfitters and when i was told i was all like "he should sue" and the inbetween friend said "no way he could take on a company like that" and i said "hmmm if only there were some sort of union like the musicians union where you pay £x per year to be member but it includes your legal fees being covered for that specialist field" and then I got distracted by a pantone colour swatch set and forgot about it like a typical designer.
- ********0
Lawyers are corrupt and evil. Join the peace corps.
- OSFA0
post pics and we'll let you know if you should go for it. Sexy female lawyers are always a plus!
- robotron3k0
I need a good lawyer to help me become the next Shepard Fairey, that's the ONLY way you can make it in the design world.
- ********0
for any of you guys who happen to be the UK (especially northwest and london), "OWN IT" host a series of free seminars about IP for the digital industries which are highly rated.
website should be up over the next couple days, i'll post when its live.
PC