AskHN: I'm inspired by the existence of organizations like the EFF, FSF, and SFLC. Do any HN readers or their acquaintances practice law in this field? Is it possible to make a decent living working in favor of "ethically sound" organizations like the above?
I have a friend who is a lawyer who does "ethically sound" work - he primarily works with people who get treated horribly during peaceful protests.
He lives fine. He definitely doesn't make "lawyer money", but he doesn't live like a pauper either.
I don't know how software lawyers fare, or how people employed by organizations that primarily deal with software ethics (I guess that's the right term) fare, but I'd guess there's a living to be made. While I'm guessing, I'd guess that it's going to get progressively easier for people to make a living in such fields for the next year or five.
This sort of activity riles me up more than almost anything. Patent trolls, bogus copyright claims, and the advice to settle quickly to just be done with them seems so fundamentally evil that I can never get used to the idea.
My guess is that whatever system you set up there is going to be a parasitic element. I'm kind of thankful that they no longer burn your village and take your women.
These people still suck. They are big fat minus signs on the tally sheet of humanity. It really is a shame that they are born (from an economic standpoint).
If it makes you feel better. Keep a careful list of those who extort this kind of money from you during your ascent. When you get to be Google, hire a staff attorney who does nothing but file nuisance suits against them for the rest of their lives. (Hint: By that time you won't actually care, but it does make you feel better about the extortion in the short run).
Is that enough though? I recall all those people being hit by that storing-a-wishlist-in-a-database patent troll felt really screwed. Shouldn't they have been less worried if just had to shut down their LLC?
The problem with law firms, is that they charge you out of the ass. Look at Kawasaki...his crappy truemors site paid something like 5K in lawyer fees. To do what?
What the web needs is more online legal solutions with cheaper prices.
