Legal careers in the gaming industry?
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Hello everyone. I used to frequent this forum about 6 or 7 years ago, back when I had a crazy dream of being a game designer. I gave that up a while ago (i.e. I was too lazy to get very good at programming back then) and pursued other fields. I've been a hardcore gamer my whole life, starting with Donald's Alphabet Chase on the Amiga back when I was 2 or 3 years old, and continuing to the present with games like Starcraft II, League of Legends, TF2, and Minecraft (to name a few). I want to be able to tie my passion for gaming into my passion for the law, and as an incoming first year law student, I was wondering if any of you had advice on potential legal careers in gaming. Apart from jobs involving copyright law and being general legal counsel for a publisher or developer, I haven't been able to think of many other legal jobs in the field. Any advice on possible jobs in the field, along with recommendations of particular aspects of the law that I should focus on in law school, would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Hello William, you wrote:
as an incoming first year law student, I was wondering if any of you had advice on potential legal careers in gaming. Apart from jobs involving copyright law and being general legal counsel for a publisher or developer, I haven't been able to think of many other legal jobs in the field. Any advice on possible jobs in the field, along with recommendations of particular aspects of the law that I should focus on in law school, would be greatly appreciated.[/quote]
There's more than development contract law and IP law in the game industry. There's also employment law, Internet law, and the law of commerce. Check out Sheppard Mullins' "Law of the Level" blog: http://www.lawofthelevel.com/
But seriously, you should study anything and everything you want to. Don't think that you have to study any particular thing (other than your required courses).
Lastly, please don't use the word "gaming." A lot of times when you use it, people will think you're talking about the gambling industry. You never need to say "gaming" -- you can always substitute the word "game" or "games." As a future lawyer, you should know that words are tremendously important, and that you need to be highly attentive to your choice of words.
I was a law student for one year. I hated it, left school and went into the game industry.
I think there's plenty of room in the industry for attorneys. In my experience, the games industry has a need for people who fit into the culture and understand games but also have professional educations and backgrounds outside of game development. Personally, I'm back in school studying for my MBA and hoping to work in marketing and business development, because I've seen an opportunity there. At a lot of game companies, they can staff the development positions with "gamers," but they have a hard time finding people who understand the industry to fill positions like HR, marketing, business development, and of course legal. If you're an attorney who is passionate about games, I think that will give you a leg up, as you'll be able to better visualize how legal concepts apply within the games industry.
I'd also suggest looking into legal issues related to virtual property. With the rise of the virtual goods model, that's going to be a significant field in the coming years.
I think there's plenty of room in the industry for attorneys. In my experience, the games industry has a need for people who fit into the culture and understand games but also have professional educations and backgrounds outside of game development. Personally, I'm back in school studying for my MBA and hoping to work in marketing and business development, because I've seen an opportunity there. At a lot of game companies, they can staff the development positions with "gamers," but they have a hard time finding people who understand the industry to fill positions like HR, marketing, business development, and of course legal. If you're an attorney who is passionate about games, I think that will give you a leg up, as you'll be able to better visualize how legal concepts apply within the games industry.
I'd also suggest looking into legal issues related to virtual property. With the rise of the virtual goods model, that's going to be a significant field in the coming years.
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