Szene: Start of the new Articleseries on 99Damage 29.07.2017, 21:00

Introduction - "Better Call Bryce"

Interview with Bryce Blum, Lawyer

In preparation for this interview series, several interviews, beginning in the middle of last year, were conducted over a longer time period in order to avoid possible delays in the publication of the series. Correspondingly, some of the information may already be outdated. We ask for your understanding.

How did you become a lawyer in general? How did your professional career go?

I always knew I wanted to be a lawyer, so I didn’t really have another career first (aside from a brief stent as a professional poker player). I went straight to law school after graduating from university and began practicing law immediately after graduating from law school. I did have various jobs growing up, including working at several non-profits and as a competitive caddy for about a decade.

How have you personally ended up in Esport?

I’ve played video games my whole life. The first game I played very seriously was Smash Bros 64, and I pretty much never looked back. I didn’t play any game at a professional level, but I enjoy following the various professional scenes and definitely became an esports fan before I worked in the industry in a professional capacity.

How have you professionally ended up in Esport? Is there any training or education you participated in?

It was a long and difficult road. When I started, I literally had no contacts in the space. That being said, I'd been a fan for a while and had put quite a bit of thought into various legal issues facing the industry. Rather than just showing up at events and introducing myself as a lawyer, I put a ton of time and effort into drafting my whitepaper series (which you can find on my LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/esportslaw)), which was the first legal scholarship focused on esports. I think this is a critical step that a lot of people trying to break into esports miss - don't start by asking for a job, start by proving the value you can add to the industry. When I started, I concentrated exclusively on League of Legends because it allowed me to focus on something a bit smaller than all of esports, prove myself, then expanded from there. I was also very lucky in that I was the first attorney to focus on the space, so I had the first-mover advantage. Over time, more and more people within the industry came to me for help and referred me to other people because they liked my work. It was a slow process and I was working 12+ hour days, 7 days a week for a very long period. But it was totally worth it. I love what I do, and try to never take it for granted.

„ It’s always advisable to get an attorney involved in any type of business transaction… “

When is an Esport lawyer advisable?

It’s always advisable to get an attorney involved in any type of business transaction because they will look at the situation from a distinct and often times valuable point of view. That being said, lawyers are expensive—sometimes prohibitively so. There are ways to minimize these costs and use lawyers strategically in certain situations but not others; I’d encourage anyone who is doing something in the industry as a career path, not just a hobby, to seek legal advice before committing to anything major.

With what concerns do you clients come to you (generally speaking, not specifically)?

My most common transactions involve player contracts, endorsement deals, and general employment matters. Often times clients will just need help with contract drafting or review, but I’ve handled a number of disputes over the years as well. I actually started off as a full-time litigator until I transitioned into my current, transactional esports practice.

How much amount of work do you have on average per case?

That’s impossible to answer because I don’t really have an average case. Some clients come to me for one-off, project based work whereas others will use me as their outside general counsel, in which case I’m much more involved in the day-to-day activities of the business.

What’s your daily routine? How would you describe your typical day?

I’m on the road a ton, which obviously creates a much different schedule depending on the business purpose for the particular travel. But when I’m home, I don’t keep typical esports hours. I’m up most days around 6am, and will immediately start working on my phone by answering emails and looking into any developments in the industry that happened over night. If it’s a light morning, I’ll take the extra time to go to the gym to get that out of the way. I go into the Unikrn office a couple days a week when I’m in Seattle, but will otherwise just work from home. I always have some kind of concrete client deliverables to take care of, but when I have a lighter load I like to work on articles for ESPN or longer-form pieces for my white paper series. I’m also on the phone a ton. I tend to take a work break around 6pm to have dinner and go to the gym if I didn’t get to in the morning. Then I’ll get back online for a couple hours to keep working, and usually wind down by watching a show or two with my Fiancé until I go to bed around 10-11pm. Occasionally I have a social life as well.

What’s your routine if you take a new client / case?

First step is always to get a complete picture of what the prospective client needs to determine whether I’m well-suited for the work and if there is a potential conflict of interest. Assuming no issues, I’ll hop on a call to get to know the client a little better, learn more about the situation, and make sure we’re both comfortable working together. Then comes the client onboarding process: engagement letter, open the client file, develop a budget for the project, and take care of other administrative matters.

Do you work on a case to case basis or do you usually supervise / represent a client for an extended time?

Depends on the client, but most of my work tends to be on an ongoing basis.

„ Parties should increase the level of formality in business dealings. “

What has to be done to professionalize the Esport even more in your opinion?

Parties should increase the level of formality in business dealings. If every party to a major transaction is independently represented by experienced counsel, the resulting contracts would be vastly improved.

What problems may we be facing as a community or sport, that we are not aware of?

Too many to list. But the biggest one I fear is that we may grow to a size where governments start to regulate the esports industry, despite the fact that they are unlikely to understand what we are doing or be particularly well-suited to establish rules that govern our actions. The industry would be much better served by taking a more proactive, comprehensive approach to self-regulation.

The ESEA banned promoting sites for skin betting by teamname etc. Are these betting platforms even legal itself?

Obviously not every skin betting site is illegal, but many of them are. There is nothing inherently problematic with using skins as a currency for wagering transactions (at least not in the US or many other jurisdictions). However, the majority of skin betting sites qualify as gambling under US law and unlawfully operate in the US anyway. In other jurisdictions where this type of wagering might be legal, they’re still not in compliance because they typically operate without a license, to say nothing of preying on underage users.

What’s the legal situation on betting fraud and cheating? Can developers and tournament organizers legal actions?

It completely depends on the situation, but yes it is hypothetically possible.

When do you think will the first player organisations be established? What may be some hindrance on the way?

They’re already being formed. It doesn't need to be a formalized union in a legal sense, but having all the players and/or teams band together and recognize that while a situation doesn't affect them, it might in the future and precedents are being set, would be a big step in the right direction. I say this all the time, but you don't have to collectively bargain (in a legal sense) to bargain collectively. I cover this issue in quite a bit of detail in my second white paper for those who are interested.

What are the challenges regarding a national or international Esport federation?

There are too many to count. Overarching regulatory bodies can only come about through the cooperation of the various parties they seek to regulate. This necessarily requires the parties to cede some authority over their own businesses, which is a naturally scary proposition. Moreover, many of the businesses that would get involved in such a venture are direct competitors and may have years of negative interactions coloring their decision making.

Many fans dream of a great career as a professional player. Standing on the stage for once, cheered on by thousands and end up taking the first place. However, depending on the talent, the dedication and the possibilities, this dream is sometimes far away. However, this does not have to be the end of the career in Esports, there are so many interesting jobs in the emerging and flourishing business of electronic sports. We want to give you an insight into the colorful activity that makes eSport what it is. In addition, there is the possibility for interested readers to find a field of activity in the scene that interests him.The profession of the lawyer, for example, often has a controversial image in public. From the fictional, goofy Saul Goodman of Breaking Bad, to the very real, cunning star defendant Johnnie Cochran, we see the most diverse facets of this profession, especially in film and television. It is the glamorous and prominent figures and events which remain in our memory. This often has little to do with reality. On the contrary. The work of a Lawyer is often a very literal and professional trade, which is necessary to take legal hurdles and to ensure a smooth process of negotiation and similar matters.The Esport is often compared with the Wild West. Impetuous, chaotic, undisciplined. A country in which rules are rare and if they are, rather badly than rightly respected. However, the strong growth of the last few years, the particularly popular target group of tech-savvy young people and young adults with relatively high income and their accessibility - all of this triggered a regular gold rush from investors. But for the Wild West to be a little more reliable and predictable, even quasi-tamed, it needs lawyers.Contracts must be drawn up and established, organizations and players must be demonstrated their limits, their rights and obligations must be pointed out. Contracts have been in place for many years: income, contract term, streaming, distribution basis for tournament winnings, and, of course, also transfer fees. All this is regulated, sometimes more, sometimes less strictly. In order for all of this to be watertight, legal assistance is required. The best example of this was the dispute between Luminosity Gaming and SK Gaming. In the end everything was arranged by lawyers behind closed doors.One of the lawyers involved in this case was, according to information through social media channels such as Reddit, Bryce Blum. The American is considered to be one of the most famous personalities when it comes to legal assistance in the eSport scene. As far as his clients are concerned, he keeps himself covered. The confidentiality obligation is an integral part of the legal profession. As far as possible, however, he gave an insight into his work.