Where can I get software-related legal advice?

Question

Whenever someone asks a legal question here on SO, the response is usually something along the lines of "we are not lawyers." Okay, that's legitimate, but in that case, how can I talk to a lawyer about software-related legal matters? I could look through the phone book and find a local lawyer, but then I have no way of knowing whether the lawyer knows anything about software. (And I hear most local lawyers charge for your time, even if it's just a simple question.) Is there maybe some kind of online service for this sort of thing?

For now, I'm just looking for some basic advice, so something free would be awesome, even if the "quality" is not as good. However, I'll still take any kind of paid services--I'll keep them in mind for the future. You can give me anything from a forum or QA site (like this one) to a professional service.

Just remember that I'm looking specifically for software-related legal advice. I'm sure most lawyers know a thing or two about software, but I'd rather talk to someone who legitimately knows his stuff than someone who can only guess.

Sorry if this seems like a silly question, I just don't know where to start.

Answer 1

At a law firm which specializes in intellectual property. It shouldn't cost you anything to call them and ask "do you handle intellectual property cases?".

Answer 2

Intellectual Property and Open Source is an excellent book. It explains the differences between different kinds of intellectual property law—copyrights, licenses, patents and so on. It's actually a pretty entertaining read: It says you should consider law a kind of source code, being developed by legislators, and being interpreted by lawyers and judges.

This book is very useful even if you're not into Open Source.

I recommend reading this before getting legal advice. It will give you and your lawyer some common language to work from. From that point of view it is excellent value for money.

Answer 3

You'll probably need to check the phone book, and have some money ready. It's not easy to find a lawyer (especially online) that'll give you advice for free, cause (1) law school ain't cheap, and they have to pay those college loans somehow; and (2) if you rely on their advice and get sued, it's possible that you'll sue them too. If they're gonna take that risk, most of them will want to get paid for it.

Answer 4

Depending on where you are in the world - because law is very locally regulated - most legal professionals should not charge you without having agreed a fee with you first. Obviously check this, but it means there should be no difficulty in calling up or emailing and asking a few questions to see what experience they have and what they know about.

Its worth probing because a lot of local (what we in the UK call "high street") lawyers may talk up their experience and ability to deal with specific areas of law - perhaps on the basis of having dealt with one case of that kind - without any really deep knowledge. A friend (a programmer) went to see a lawyer to ask for advice about open source software and found that his first hour, for which he was paying, was spent explaining what free and open source software were.

You might want to consider trying to find a specialist firm even if they are located some distance away from you. If you are happy with stackoverflow, communicating remotely (eg by email) some of the time should be something you are more relaxed with than many potential clients. You might end up with better help that way than someone you see round the corner.

I am a lawyer (but based in England, so probably no use to you) and I am generally fairly friendly towards someone dropping me an email and maybe giving a quick answer if I am not busy, but as other people answering have said, maintaining a legal practice is really expensive and we can't afford to give out lots of free advice. If you are obviously a genuine potential client who is going to be prepared to pay for advice, most lawyers ought to be happy to engage in a little discussion prior to signing any client care agreement or whatever it might be.

The idea of a stackoverflow equivalent for law is something I have discussed with friends, but there just aren't enough lawyers who would get it in my jurisdiction to make it worth while.

Answer 5

I am a lawyer, also UK based. About 95% of my work is for software companies and has been for years, plus I own a software company myself. There are lots of lawyers who claim to have expertise in this area, but many will disappoint. They can acquire most of the law fairly easily these days. What's more difficult to acquire, and what really sets apart the goods ones, is experience in the industry. My advice on finding such folk is simple: ask your peers in other software companies for their recommendations. Try to ask a software company which deals with bigger corporates because they will use lawyers who have to do more than just churn out standard term contracts or repeat basic advice.

If you have deeper prockets, you can generally rely on the larger commercial law firms to have good expertise. I assume you're in the US. Dorsey is a national law firm which I have used and found to be good, and I don't think they over-do the fees. If you're located in an area where software companies are numerous, you will have more choice.

If you have more limited finances, look for a solo lawyer who has worked in-house in the industry. That's a pretty good indication that their guidance will be practical and relevant.