It only seems logical that one of the first video game and interactive entertainment law practices on earth should form in Vancouver, home to some of the most successful game franchises in the industry.
For Chris Bennett, breaking new legal ground is nothing new. As the author of likely the first video-game law blog associated with a major national law firm and spearheading the opening of a virtual office for Davis LLP in Second Life, Bennett has positioned his firm on the cutting edge of the emerging practice of interactive entertainment law.
“I start from the foundation of technology and intellectual property. We realized several years ago that we were doing that kind of work for a number of companies in the gaming industry,” he said. “I do lots of tech distribution and development agreements, but in the video-game industry the terms are a little bit different, and you start to realize after a while that this is a bit of a niche. We said, ‘Let’s capitalize on that and really promote that side of our technology and intellectual-property practice.’”
Bennett dismisses his own accomplishments – which include being a Wesbrook Scholar and a 2008 Lexpert Rising Star, providing free legal advice to charitable organizations and heading up not one but two national law practices – to bring attention to the people-side of the business where he is involved in mentoring young lawyers and law students. He also created and heads the firm’s environmental sustainability task force and assembles corporate teams to compete in the Vancouver Triathlon. •
