Free Legal Advice for Freelancers
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Over the course of the life of Freelance Parent, Tamara and I have very decidedly shied away from giving legal advice on the blog. We are not attorneys, and we are certainly not interested in getting ourselves into any trouble for steering someone astray.
It turns out, though, that we have a direct line to someone who isn’t worried about giving out legal advice. In fact, it’s what he does for a living.
Kevin Jablonski of Graybeal, Jackson, Haley in Seattle, Washington is an intellectual property attorney. He is also a heck of a guy. Kevin has agreed to answer a couple of questions here on Freelance Parent.
Your job is to let us know what you’re most interested in learning. Do you have questions about copyright? Do you have issues with deadbeat clients and what to know what recourse you have? Can you come up with an even better question than these?
To have your question considered, leave it in a comment on this post or email it to us at admin@berrybrewer.com.
Here’s a little more about Kevin:
Kevin’s practice involves several aspects of intellectual property law including patent procurement, copyrights, and trademarks. He is registered to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and admitted to practice law in Washington State. Kevin is a member of the Washington State Bar Association, the Audio Engineering Society, the American Bar Association, and the Washington State Patent Law Association.
Christina Lemmey is the mother of two school-aged girls, a wife, and the owner of 
Nice! I have a question - how important is it to establish a trademark for small businesses, and what is the least expensive way to obtain one without cutting corners?
Wendy Piersalls last blog post..Free Legal Advice for Freelancers [Freelance Parent]
In many respects, law is like medicine: you wouldn’t ask a gynecologist about your prostate.
As reflected by his biography in your post and on his firm’s website, Mr. Jablonski practices in the area of intellectual property. Thus, while he would be qualified to give answer questions about copyright, trademark and patent issues, he would not be qualified to answer questions concerning recourse against deadbeat clients (as you posit) or any other area of the law. Since his entire firm concentrates solely on intellectual property issues, none of his co-workers would be qualified to answer such questions, either.
I have colleagues who practice in a variety of areas of law that are relevant to freelancers, and who I’m sure would be interested in speaking with you about doing Q and A with your blog readers. Feel free to contact me at Lisa[at]TheBillableHour.com for more information.
Lisa Solomons last blog post..Friend, here’s The Timesheet for April 2008
I want to know about attribution. I usually use Wikipedia as a starting point, but it cites sources.
Do I cite Wikipedia or do I cite the article? Do I do both? Does it matter?
My biggest fear is avoiding plagarism and passing off ideas as my own.
I’d like to know what recourse a freelancer has against someone who plagiarizes their work and how much of the work has to be copied for it to be even considered plagiarism.
I’ve had my own press releases stolen, both word-for-word with only the names changed and another that just rearranged the sentences and added or changed a few words.
@Wendy - That sounds perfect for his specialty. I’ll put it on the list.
@Lisa - I’m not saying that he’ll answer every question, but I don’t want people to feel limited in what they can ask. Kevin’s a pretty bright guy, and he has a lot of resources, personal experience, and lawyer acquaintances who don’t work at the same firm. I’ll keep your friend in mind, though, and I appreciate the offer.
@Chris and April - I’ll get your questions on the list and see if they’re something he feels comfortable covering.
Thanks for your response. While on one level I understand what you’re saying, if the idea is to have an “expert” answer questions (and I presume it is, because otherwise you wouldn’t bother having a lawyer answer the questions), then the questions should be limited to the lawyer’s area of expertise. I wouldn’t ask an orthopedist a question about diabetes, even if he could consult with a friend or colleague who is an endocrinologist. Giving solid advice should be premised on more than playing a game of telephone. Nor would I want the orthopedist to just “look it up” in a medical textbook (i.e., a “resource”), no matter how “bright” he is.
If Kevin has personal experience beyond the areas of law mentioned in the post, that would presumably be reflected in the bio on his firm’s website, but it’s not.
Finally, I can recommend a number of colleagues across the country who might be interested in providing advice within their areas of expertise (not just one, as your answer implies).
Lisa Solomons last blog post..Friend, here’s The Timesheet for April 2008