Lawyers must boldly go into the metaverse

We need to prepare for the metaverse.

I am opposed to the ubiquity and power of Facebook, Apple and other big tech firms. I shudder at the thought of virtual reality, spending time with a headset when I can be in a real room with a real person, or taking a walk through a park where I see a real dog running – all that.

But the metaverse is coming. It is here. There are law firms operating in it. The metaverse is a virtual world entered through a headset where people can socialise, work and play. Part of Web 3.0, the metaverse is already throwing up substantial legal problems.

The first issue, although maybe not the most substantial, relates to which law firm was the first to open on the metaverse. There are currently legal proceedings between two law firms regarding which can correctly apply this label to itself (tinyurl.com/2p8tsjm9).

Certainly the one which made the biggest opening splash last month was a New Jersey-based law firm, which was careful to point out that it was the first personal injury law office (tinyurl.com/yc3rvswn). For those with a headset, you can find it virtually at Parcel -36, 150 in Decentraland. It also proudly states that it believes it is the first wrongful death law firm, the first catastrophic injury law firm, the first nursing home abuse and neglect law firm, the first employment discrimination law firm, the first workers’ compensation law firm, and the first sexual abuse law firm to have an office in the metaverse.

What will they do there? The firm says it will communicate with clients and provide information to non-clients (tinyurl.com/mrxcj38n). For instance, it may host attorney-led webinars about different practice areas, to connect with a younger generation more comfortable with engaging in virtual worlds. It may have meetings with personal injury clients: ‘There’s a lot of difficult conversations I have with victims, where I think they may want to be behind an avatar to have that conversation.’

This is not the first presence of lawyers in the online virtual world. There is the Second Life platform, which was launched in 2003, on which law firms established themselves (tinyurl.com/2p9fdnj3). Fieldfisher (differently called in those days) became the first major UK law firm to open a virtual office on Second Life, back in 2007 (tinyurl.com/c46j5tp6).

And there are law firms tackling the metaverse’s legal problems. For instance, Reed Smith has published a guide to the metaverse (tinyurl.com/2p8tzzxv), where you can read about inevitably difficult questions like: will existing copyright licences cover use within the metaverse? How can trade mark owners enforce the use of their marks there? Which laws of privacy apply? (tinyurl.com/56fdjsme). The privacy problems may be especially difficult since some companies may scan a user’s face and body dimensions, follow their eye tracking, and sell all the information to advertisers (tinyurl.com/4wccfkn6).

An example of a trade mark problem may arise if you are able to drive a Lamborghini in the metaverse. What rights do the makers of real Lamborghini cars have? Will Lamborghini be able to insist on a licence?

And what if another metaverse user steals some of your virtual assets online, or their avatar sexually molests your avatar (both have already occurred)? How will virtual crimes and torts be handled?

There are physical, real world problems, too. Once you wear the headset, you cannot see your surroundings. If you walk, you can fall and injure yourself. There are other physical side-effects, when the visuals do not align with actual body movements. There may be addiction and trauma from use. All this will doubtless incur liability for makers and suppliers of hardware, software, and content, and propel endless lawsuits.

There are, of course, lawyers who have the metaverse as one of their specialities (tinyurl.com/2szucfhx). For instance, they advise companies which want to expand their digital branding presence or buy digital real estate assets on sites such as Decentraland (already mentioned, but there are more like Superworld and the Sandbox). There is advice on the use of billboards in the metaverse; on selling and leasing digital real estate that you have bought; and on the sale of digital assets such as characters and avatars.

Some think that the incorporation of at least part of the metaverse into our ordinary working lives is inevitable. For instance, hybrid meetings can be turned into a more equal, 3D event if everyone meets up as avatars. There will be mixed reality headsets to permit combinations between the two worlds.

I hate all this, but I accept that is age-related. Our children and grandchildren will grow up much more accustomed to virtual living.

And the lesson for lawyers is clear: the metaverse offers new opportunities, both in advice to clients and in our own use of it.

Jonathan Goldsmith is Law Society Council member for EU & international and a former secretary general of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe. All views expressed are personal and are not made in his capacity as a Law Society Council member, nor on behalf of the Law Society