You are a high-powered and obscenely expensive corporate attorney for a billion-dollar, publicly traded company. You and you’re equally expensive legal team have a reputation for being the sharpest, best lawyers money can buy. Your employer has requested that you file to trademark a name for one of its high-profile “independent contractors” to be used in all his future appearances.
Do you…
…not bother having anyone do a basic Google search on the name, simply filing the trademark and assuming nothing negative can come of it? Turn to page 154.
…run a basic Google search and discover the top hit for the name is a Nazi, but counsel your client, in the year 2022, that no one is going to find that, and even if they do, no one will care? Turn to page 167.
…blame any potential negative fallout on some poor intern who you never even asked to look into the issue, then likely fire the intern to save yourself? Turn to page 190.
Page 154 – You are fired, and possibly sued for malpractice.
Page 167 – You are fired, and possibly sued for malpractice.
Page 190 – You are probably still employed, and you are also Jerry McDevitt.
Vince better hope Jerry never retires if he’s gonna keep doing this stuff.