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How to find a good Internet lawyer

JustinJustin subscriber Posts: 1
Hi all,I am in the final stages of developing a member-to-member service-oriented website, in which the members provide the service to other members and the website is just a facilitator.  The site is not live yet because I still have a number of items to tie up, one of which is to find a good laywer who can help me out with a Terms of Service and look at other aspects of the business (Trademark, Servicemark possibilities, etc.) to make sure I`m covered. The company is a LLC so I am personally protected that way, but I need the business to be protected as well.  I don`t know how to find a good lawyer who has experience in drafting a Terms of Service for a website or even how much I should expect to pay for this service.  I`m building this site in my free time and am on a limited budget.Any pointers or references would be greatly appreciated.Thanks,Justin

Comments

  • davennydavenny subscriber Posts: 2
    Justin,

    Give Chad Smith a call he is with Hallisky & Philipp and he specializes in
    Trademark & Patents and from what you are describing you will need Chad`s expertise. 
    His direct line is 206-217-2225 and his firms website is www.hallisky.com.

    Good Luck with your new business idea.
  • Cloud34Cloud34 subscriber Posts: 0
    Justin give me a call anytime at 617.759.2285, as I am an internet lawyer that specializes in these sort of items.
    Cheers, Chris
    website: www.cjcconsulting.net
  • DavidDavid subscriber Posts: 3
    I`m not a lawyer but I`d like to offer my advice in terms of someone who has helped developed terms of service for a business portal before.
    While a real lawyer such as the two who have replied will give you the real human touch, you can do a lot of prepatory work without cost.  This is not meant to offend or slight any lawyers who are reading this, but it really helps to bring a draft beforehand and not be billed for hours of just simple brainstorming with the lawyer.  Two simple steps of accomplishing this are to first list the legal challenges that YOU think will arise based on your experience in the business the website is engaged in.  Lawyers can give definite help in this area in terms of what causes the most litigation too.
    A second step is to look at the terms of service of leading retail websites as well as those of your competitors, both potentially and indirectly.  You`ll notice recurring themes.  "Middleman" websites must be especially careful with their legal terms in order to avoid being sued or worse, blamed in the press, for the actions of a scam artist.  eBay, especially, has had to deal with this particular scourge, and their legal policies are worth a look because of this.  After all, you don`t want to be sued for something you didn`t do.
  • JustinJustin subscriber Posts: 1
    Thanks everybody for the pointers and good advice!
  • calvincalvin subscriber Posts: 14 Bronze Level Member
    So what`d you come up with?  Were you able to find an internet lawyer?
  • JustinJustin subscriber Posts: 1
    Sort of.  I have a lawyer friend who said he`d take a stab at it for me.  I`m in the process of gathering a list of points before approaching him, as suggested by David and Grokodile, so as not to waste my friend`s time.Thanks again everybody,Justin
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