Hello All,

I wasn't positive where to post this thread so if for some reason it's in the wrong place forgive me and mods feel free to move it to the right place.

I have come to the realization in the past month that I need to hire a lawyer for my staking business. A quick background on who I am. I stake for both online and live (cash games and mtts). I've done almost all of my business through 2+2 and have been a trustworthy member for numerous years now. I've done a large amount of transfers in the high stakes thread and at the current time run what I believe is the largest US player only staking operation. I say all of this for no other reason, than to give background which I think is pertinent to finding the right lawyer to work with.

In the past couple of months I've ran into numerous situations that required legal advice. As you can imagine staking presents a lot of obstacles in all areas of the business and at this point I do not feel well quipped enough to handle some of the decisions. This is not a situation, where I have one specific scenario I need to run by a lawyer. It's much more of a longterm thing.

What I need from the lawyer?
-I need someone that is well versed in gambling. I know this is probably a very niche business and most lawyers do a lot more than just gambling law but I need the person to at least have some experience in this arena.
-I need someone with career experience. I'm not saying I need someone that is the best in the world, but at the same time I don't want someone that is studying for the bar exam.
-I would like someone that charges a fair and competitive rate. I'll be the first to admit that I'm new to all of this and I don't know what exactly a fair and competitive rate is but I'll definitely be doing my research to figure that out. I expect this to be a very long term relationship and I don't want to be raked through the coals during it.



I think that sums up everything. Again, I know this thread is very self serving and does not affect 99% of the people reading it. My apologies in advance and hopefully you did not make it this far into the post.

Any and all advice can be either posted in this thread as I'll be checking it regularly or can be sent to me by PM. I'm sure there are some details of what exactly I'm looking for which I can share by PM easier if needed.


-Shane

My only advice, as a law student and small-time staker, is to get written agreements drawn up for when disputes happen. If theres only a verbal agreement you`ll be going through unneccesary heartache and you`ll potentially lose a lot of equity since the horse can settle for a lower amount. A simple agreement could work but im sure a lawyer more well versed in the industry could draw up a more iron-clad one. If you only find a lawyer that specialises in contract law you can`t go too far wrong.

You may get a better response from the poker legislation forum. There are a lot of lawyers hanging out there and even if its not the "correct forum" you will probably more easily find the correct people.

zero

I'm an attorney but don't do this work.

One question I've always had, though, and you might consider asking, is whether contracts that he might draw up for you for various clients in a given jurisdiction is whether that jurisdiction considers loans for gambling to be void as against public policy.

You don't want to enter into such a contract with someone you are staking for huge money, thinking you are protected, only to find out if it goes bad that you can't have made such a contract to begin with.

Yeah most gambling contracts are against public policy which gives people little protection with contracts. It can definitely help but in many gambling disputes even if it got to court most judges/jurisdictions would just dismiss it as being against public policy. Its like if you paid someone 10k to kill your enemy and had a contract and they didnt do it but kept the money. You cant sue for your money back, you can but it would eventually be dismissed.

Unfortunately most of gambling falls into same category.