The King and the Two Sons or “Self-Employment as a Lawyer”

Yesterday I had a conversation with a friend/colleague about the job, the future and life, how our careers have changed and how other people pretend to be special.

I can say for myself that I am as happy in my life as I could ever be. I work on a smaller scale, with fewer people, but no less responsibility.

I help streamers, agencies, esports teams, influencers and smaller start-ups to develop and operate legally safely. This is a lot of fun, because I have a lot more contact points with customers and the industry than before. I only talk to a limited extent about who I work with, as my confidentiality obligations as a lawyer even include the names of my clients.

I work a lot more in the back office, design contracts, advise streamers, esports teams and other players in the gaming industry on how to build a brand, negotiate, avoid litigation, etc. and therefore many don’t know who I work for, e.g. how many Agencies rely on me to reach me at any time via social media. But that’s fine, because I don’t need that fame. At least not any more. I am old enough for self-confidence.

I now have the opportunity to work with great people in the gaming industry who want to create something and who are just very happy and with whom you can realize great projects.

What really differs from the time I was faced with more staff, colleagues, different time zones and a lot more travel is that I was lucky enough to see my little daughter grow up in the last 2 years and enjoy it as she made the world Discovered. For this reason, I have no regrets about handing over my previous projects to good hands and now working full-time as a lawyer.

P.S.: While writing this post, I stumbled upon an old Indonesian saga that carries a lot of wisdom, which reflects my attitude and self-image as a lawyer, and which I therefore do not want to withhold

A king had two sons. When he got old, he wanted to appoint one of them as his successor. He gathered together the wise men of the land and called his two sons. He gave each of the two five pieces of silver and said, “For this money, you should fill the hall in our castle until the evening.” What, it’s your thing.” The wise men said, “That’s a good job.”

The eldest son walked away and passed a field where the workers were about to harvest the sugar cane and squeeze it out in a mill. The pressed-out sugar cane lay around uselessly. He thought, “This is a good opportunity to fill my father’s hall with this useless stuff.” He agreed with the supervisor of the workers, and they managed to get the choked-out sugar cane into the hall by the late afternoon. When it was filled, he went to his father and said, I have fulfilled your task. You don’t have to wait for my brother anymore. Make me your successor.” The father replies: It’s not evening yet. I’ll wait.”

Soon after, the younger son also came. He asked for the choked-out sugar cane to be removed from the hall. That’s how it happened. Then he put a candle in the middle of the hall and lit it. Their glow filled the hall to the last corner.

The father said, “You shall be my successor. Your brother has spent five pieces of silver to fill the hall with useless stuff. You didn’t even need a piece of silver and filled it with light. You have filled them with what people need.”

Author: Marian Härtel

Marian Härtel ist Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für IT-Recht mit einer über 25-jährigen Erfahrung als Unternehmer und Berater in den Bereichen Games, E-Sport, Blockchain, SaaS und Künstliche Intelligenz. Seine Beratungsschwerpunkte umfassen neben dem IT-Recht insbesondere das Urheberrecht, Medienrecht sowie Wettbewerbsrecht. Er betreut schwerpunktmäßig Start-ups, Agenturen und Influencer, die er in strategischen Fragen, komplexen Vertragsangelegenheiten sowie bei Investitionsprojekten begleitet. Dabei zeichnet sich seine Beratung durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der juristische Expertise und langjährige unternehmerische Erfahrung miteinander verbindet. Ziel seiner Tätigkeit ist stets, Mandanten praxisorientierte Lösungen anzubieten und rechtlich fundierte Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung innovativer Geschäftsmodelle zu gewährleisten.