Brooks Pierce attorneys Natalie Sanders and Ryan Fairchild were recently quoted in an article on the legality of an 8-year-old signing with an esports team. The article was originally published on Dec. 21, 2020.
The article, “An Esports Team Signed An 8 Year Old, But Nobody Is Sure If It’s Legal,” discusses the recent signing of 8-year-old Joseph Deen to play Fortnite, the online video game developed by Epic Games.
“I think this is an area where we do not have good laws in place to address this situation, and I think we could look to other things where there are similar situations,” said Sanders.
In the article, Fairchild says, “My gut says that a Commissioner of Labor or Secretary of Labor would want to look at this closely and probably not like it, but I don’t know what would stop somebody from doing it other than ethics or some Commissioner of Labor or Secretary of Labor coming out and saying, ‘No, this is work, you can’t do this.’”
Sanders provides counsel and defense to businesses in all aspects of the employment relationship. Her 25 years of experience as an attorney, operations manager, entrepreneur and community volunteer allow her to relate well to management and provide nuanced guidance in complex matters. Sanders has authored numerous articles in the area of labor and employment law and is a frequent speaker on relevant and timely topics related to this rapidly changing discipline.
Fairchild’s diverse practice includes an emphasis on the esports industry. His passion for esports derives from being a lifelong gamer. He understands the various esports cultures and dynamics, as well as legal, economic and structural issues facing the industry. He represents players, organizations and stakeholders in a variety of contract, intellectual property, employment and corporate issues. Fairchild has authored numerous articles on the esports climate and is a frequent speaker at industry events on the legal issues affecting the esports community.
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