How to find a publishing lawyer

You could try Martindale.com (site of Martindale-Hubbell, a national directory of lawyers) and do a search on "literary." You should also be able to restrict the search to within a certain radius of where you live.

JD

This is perhaps a good start:

http://research.lawyers.com/Areas-of-Law.html

http://www.ivanhoffman.com/

K1P1 said:

I have a contract in hand for a non-fiction work from a publisher with whom I already have a relationship. I need to negotiate with the publisher. I've been debating whether I need an agent vs. lawyer at this point. From other AW threads, it looks like I could go either way. I've found lots of information on finding and pitching myself to an agent, but how do I find an experienced and reputable lawyer with expertise in publishing contracts?

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Find an agent, not a lawyer. It's only lawyers who tell you to get a lawyer. There simply is no need for a lawyer to handle a book contract, and odds are a lawyer will screw up more things than any agent.

Um, yeah. First time out of the gate, I got a highly-praised publishing lawyer with an outrageous hourly rate. He went negotiation-crazy and the publisher told him to stick it. It got a little hostile, and I got ticked off at the atty. I wanted someone to guide me, explain to me what I was seeing in a complex contract, and help me make smart decisions because I hate paperwork. I got Rambo with no concern about relationship-building.
An agent will keep in mind that you want a long-term relationship with these people, and needless to say, my atty might have known one specific contract, but he didn't know the Bigger Picture of my career.
Good luck!

Jamesaritchie said:

Find an agent, not a lawyer. It's only lawyers who tell you to get a lawyer. There simply is no need for a lawyer to handle a book contract, and odds are a lawyer will screw up more things than any agent.

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Being a lawyer myself, I agree with this 100%.

As another lawyer here, I agree that an agent is usually preferable, but if someone has decided to go the lawyer route (perhaps just to explain the contract, in those cases where it's not really negotiable), I'd rather he chose a lawyer with the right specialty instead of some random lawyer who handles drunk driving cases (or divorces or motor vehicle accidents or whatever) primarily, along with the occasional will or whatever else walks through the door, and who doesn't have a clue about publishing contracts.

JD