I was watching a movie called the The Lincoln Lawyer with Mathew McConaughey as a lawyer along with a few other big names. About 15 minutes into it, he and his client’s wealthy dad step out on the front steps of the courthouse to talk. They look around and spot a lone freelance (assumed stringing) shooter recording them about ten feet away and you’ll be happy to know he was using a fullsize pro camera. Matt approaches him and mentions that he had seen him inside the courtroom earlier covering his case and asked how much he usually gets paid for video like that. The shooter introduces himself as "Sticks" and that he usually gets $700 – $750. I laughed out loud. But I guess he could get that depending on how high profle or exclusive the video was and assuming there was not a pool feed. Anyway, Matt then suggests that he’d pay $800 for the tape but then quickly increases it to $1000. The shooter agrees, takes the cash, hands him the tape and that was it. What happens next in the scene that follows the buyout shows why alot of people despise lawyers and what the reality of rates is for content like that.

Matt’s driver takes him to another location where he meets Sticks again, asks for the money back and says to Sticks, $800 for me and $200 for you. Matt’s personal driver proceeds to drive away and Sticks says, what about my tape and Matt tosses it to him out the window and drives away. I thought $200, that’s more like it even though still a bit low, depending on what he had. I laughed out loud again. So basically, that scene outside the courthouse earlier was a pre-planned skit to impress his client’s dad making him believe he is committed to his clients by doing whatever it takes to win. Shady, but funny.

As a freelancer, would you sell your content to a lawyer or anyone else interested if they at least met your minimum rate or maximum revenue from a multi-client sell just to make you go away? Additionally, if the content contained something important to expose or prove something integral to the case or whatever, could or would you morally be able to sell it for the right price to anyone willing to pay an amount to make you go away? I wonder how often what that lawyer did really happens?