[stinos]

A good way to find a lawyer is to talk to good lawyers you have worked with in the past.

I.e. none for me. Is it that common to have worked with lawyers then? I honestly wouldn't know how to find a good lawyer. I don't even think I know anyone in person who ever needed a lawyer (not sure - it's not something which comes up often in conversations).

[lazide]

The alternative in my experience is to build a spreadsheet, take notes for each one, and start cold calling every lawyer you can find who specializes in the area. 10-15 at a minimum.

You’ll be using these consultations to learn the area and evaluate who you are dealing with, their style/approach, and level of competence. Ask a lot of questions.

Things like 1) do they personally have experience with cases like this? 2) how did those cases end? 3) can they provide references? (If they start saying ‘no because attorney client priviledge’ they are generally bullshitting you. Don’t fall for it. Run fast the other way.) 4) which legal principles are in play in your case, and what are the risks or advantages you have?

Then do your independent research on #4 so you can evaluate yourself what is going on. Figure on this taking a week of solid work.

Most lawyers will provide consultations for free as part of their public service obligations under the bar rules in many states. Some won’t. I haven’t had any luck with the ones who charge for consultations, and have had in some cases terrible advice (like just flat wrong in black and white areas of the law), that cost me major money when I relied on it.

[duped]

Most state bar associations have a website where you can search for whatever specialty you might need. You can also talk to your investors for advice, or ask around your community for recommendations.

[fallingknife]

It's pretty common for someone doing business in the US. Do you have any friends from school who are lawyers? That could be a good start. Or someone else you know who has been involved in litigation. A Google search for IP lawyers in your area couldn't hurt either. You can usually get a little bit of free advice over the phone too.

[stinos]

Maybe the thing is I'm not in the US but in Western Europe. I'm not sure if it's representative but from seeing US movies/series (in so far those are representative), reading other comments here etc I do get the impression there's more of a 'lawyer up' culture in the US than here. Plus I'm perhaps also in the 'wrong' bubble. I.e. most people I know who own a business are simple one-man companies / contract workers, myself included and we don't have to deal with legal stuff ever. Which just makes me realize: I do have an accountant and he would obviously know laywers.

[ghaff]

Your accountant probably knows lawyers. He may not know patent lawyers however.

[jblake]

You are not alone!

[ghaff]

You specifically need a patent/IP lawyer. Someone else mentioned the EFF. You might also try the Software Freedom Law Center. They're specifically focused on open source but they might be able to point you in an appropriate direction.

[zoobab]

Président of FFII.org here, we received several requests from small companies here in Europe. You can contact me at zoobab at gmail.com. We are now busy with the 3rd attempt to impose software patents in the EU via the UPC.