Esports and Gaming-Focused Firm Deviant Legal Launches

Deviant Legal, a law firm dedicated to supporting the video games, esports, and content creation industries, officially launched this week. Describing itself as “the first full-service boutique law firm in the Netherlands focusing on the video games, esports, and content creation,” and as a fully remote firm, Deviant Legal aims to provide legal services to players, teams, and stakeholders “regardless of size, budget or background,” according to a release.

The firm is founded by Netherlands-based attorney René Otto, who spent the last nine years practicing law at traditional firms, but has always had a passion for gaming.

“With Deviant Legal, I believe the legal services provided can be better tailored to the international nature of the games and esports ecosystem. Because of our remote set-up, we are able to connect with clients and team members worldwide. Next to our core team, we work with a network of carefully selected remote (freelance) lawyers, which allows us to scale when needed.

“While we primarily focus on Dutch & European law first, we will be seriously researching international expansion opportunities. Additionally, our remote approach reduces overhead costs, which will ultimately lead to lower legal expenses for our clients and the emergence of new models of working with us. Most notably, we provide an option we call the “Deviant Legal Counsel Service”: a model a retainer model for businesses seeking to access specialized legal expertise without the overhead of growing your in-house legal team. This model is especially valued by companies with a consistent need for legal expertise without an own legal department or international companies without a dedicated legal in-house counsel for Dutch or European laws.”

Being a remote-first law firm means—in theory at least—that Deviant Legal can lay the foundation to provide services in multiple jurisdictions, but currently is working in the Netherlands, with a focus on Dutch and European laws. Plans to expand into other regions are being explored. Currently, the firm offers legal services related to commercial contracts, IT law, privacy and data protection, corporate law, employment law, intellectual property and licensing, and more. 

More details about the firm can be found here.