Hey, hey, hey!  T.I. here again… I just got a funny interview with Chris Bennet, Throwback’s legal counsel.  For a lawyer, he’s pretty normal...  And he was pretty truthful…  Weird, huh?

Q: Where did you grow up? 

A: Q'onoS, but I got tired of all the bickering and fighting, so I moved to Vancouver and became a lawyer.

Q: What did you want to do when you were growing up?

A: I wanted to be a physicist.  I even took first year science at university, but it turns out you need to be good at calculus to be a physicist.  I’m not, so I’m not.

Q: What’s your favorite pastime?

A: Triathlons.  I suck at them too, but you don’t need to be good at calculus to do them. 

Q: Of all the game consoles out there, which do you like the best?  And what’s your favorite game of all time and why?

A: The Wii because it’s fun to play with my kids.  The answer to the second question is lame, but my favourite game was Solar Realms Elite.  It was a turn-based BBS strategy game that a buddy and I used to play a lot.  There were no graphics, but the whole world-domination thing was a real blast.    

Q: What video game would you like to see as a live-action movie?  And why?

A: Katamari Demacy.  Come on, that’d be funny. 

Q: Heard that you were an avid Star Trek fan, which is your favorite Star Trek series?

A: The Next Generation

Q: What do you think is the appeal of Star Trek?

A: I’m not really sure.  The movies really aren’t that spectacular, but for some reason if another one is released, I’ll always go watch it. 

I like the fact that the TV shows often dealt with topical issues in a thoughtful way (I particularly liked the one on discrimination where two races were identical, except the faces of the people in one race were white on the left and black on the right, and the faces of the others were black on the left and white on the right.  It clearly demonstrated the stupidity of racism.)

I suspect the real draws are the characters and the familiarity with the plots.  I suppose it’s really just a sci fi soap opera.

Q: If you could be any character in the Star Trek universe, who would it be and why?

A: Q, because omnipotence rocks.   

Q: Rank your captains from favorite to least favorite:  Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, Archer.  Please give reasons.

A: 1.  Picard because he’s smart, ethical, and honourable.  And he has a cool accent.

2.  Kirk because Shatner is Canadian;  he did a hilarious version of the song Common People; and his World of Warcraft ad was awesome (“My name is William Shatner.  And I’m a SHAMAN”).  He has a cool accent too, eh?

3.  Janeway because she’s tough, decisive and loyal.

4.  Sisko because he reminds me of Morpheus.

5.  Archer. 

Q: I know that Trekkies can be very weird… cite your strangest experience dealing with a Trekkie.

A: Actually, I don’t have one.  I don’t know any real Trekkies and I’m not really one either.  That said, I still think the Enterprise could waste and Imperial Star Destroyer any day, notwithstanding this clearly flawed memo to the contrary:  http://www.davis.ca/publication/The-End-of-the-Star-Wars-Star-Trek-Debate.pdf

Serious Questions:

Q: What will your role be at Throwback Entertainment?

A: Video game, technology and Intellectual Property Counsel.

Q: How do you think you can help Throwback Entertainment?

A: By helping to identify, protect and commercialize Throwback’s IP;  by helping Throwback negotiate fair, readable and reasonable contracts, and by convincing Tom to develop a game about video game lawyers.  I want to be an action superhero.  

Q: I know this is a very broad question, but what is the big difference between Canadian law and U.S. law?  Please give examples to back-up your answer.

A: What is this, a law school exam?  Some kind of essay-writing contest? Free legal advice?    OK, well it’s too late to stop now I suppose.  One big difference is that Americans like suing each other a lot more, and their juries like awarding huge damages. 

McDonald’s hot coffee.  $2.86 million.  Enough said. 

Q: Tom mentioned you file patents in second life:  Very briefly, can you explain what that is in a nutshell?

A: Actually, Tom is full of crap.  Good guy, but completely full of it. 

Davis LLP has an office in Second Life (the first Canadian law firm to do so, and one of only a handful in the world).  We’re mostly there to just check it out and tell people about ourselves.  It’s been a fun experiment, and it’s a great way of showing that we’re different from the other stuffy law firms out there.  Well, that, and we have a video game law group too.  

Q: Are there any lawyers, Canadian or otherwise, that inspires/inspired you?  What was it about them that inspired you?

A: Perry Mason.  He had a tough time losing. 

And actually, because you asked, I should say that I’m kind of like Perry Mason:  I’ve been to court once and I won.  Sure, it was an uncontested chambers application that a monkey could have won, but I’m still batting 1000.  After that one I gave up the court work and stuck with the contract drafting and negotiation, and the IP prosecution.  Mostly so I wouldn’t spoil the record.

Q: You need not names here, but conversely, what is the most bitter experience you’ve had dealing with an opposing lawyer?  

A: I haven’t had any really bitter experiences with other lawyers.  The vast majority of lawyers I’ve dealt with have been collegial and respectful.  We sometimes end up digging in our heels for our clients, but that no excuse for being a jackass.  To quote a classic Ratt song:  “what comes around goes around…”.  (To be fair, Ratt  didn’t come up with that quote, but they pulled it off the best.)

Q: For wanna-be’s lawyers out there, what advice would you give?

A: Learn how to write.  It’s the single most-important skill that helped me in school and in my professional life.  Also, watch a lot of Star Trek and listen to a lot of Ratt.  You’ll be sure to succeed.