When you’re marketing your goods and services online, there are some inherent legal risks against which you’ll want to take some steps to reduce the chance you’ll get sued or the government will come after you. What type of legal counsel should you retain?

Most attorneys don’t know Internet law. For example, a lawyer who spends his time representing personal injury clients or drafting wills isn’t likely to have a clue as to how to protect your interests online. Even most business lawyers won’t know the right answers without you paying extra for them to find out what you need.

It’s like going to a dentist and asking him to remove your appendix. With the right tools and a lot of studying, he might be able to perform the surgery without killing you but you’d be far better off hiring a surgeon who operates all of the time.

If your business is based in the United States or many of your customers live there, you’re going to want to retain a U.S. Internet lawyer. Most Internet law in the U.S. is federal law rather than state law.  A qualified Internet attorney will be able to handle most of your legal issues and then bring in additional help as needed if a particular legal issue involves another country or state where the attorney does not practice law.

In short, retaining a good Internet lawyer is the right thing to do. If nothing else, you’ll reduce the odds you’ll be involved in an Internet lawsuit because of something you did (or didn’t do) with your website.