About the Editor
January 21st, 2007 by Benjamin Duranske
Welcome to Virtually Blind. My name is Benjamin Duranske, and I’m the editor and primary contributor. My interest in virtual law stems, at least partly, from my background as an intellectual property attorney and, before that, an IT manager. I am the author of Virtual Law: Navigating the Legal Landscape of Virtual Worlds, and am working on a mainstream book on virtual worlds and a novel. When I return to practice in the fall of 2008, I plan to focus on virtual law.
After graduating from UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law in 2003, I practiced in the San Francisco area for several years, specializing in IP litigation first at Perkins Coie in Menlo Park, and then at Kirkland & Ellis in San Francisco. Before law school, I was an IT manager for four years, first at Sebaly, Shillito, + Dyer in Dayton, Ohio and then at Morris, Manning, & Martin in Atlanta, Georgia.
I’ve been involved in virtual worlds my whole computing life, from pre-web text-based dial-up MUDs, to early PvP and RP communities in Ultima Online to, most recently, Second Life, where, as the avatar ‘Benjamin Noble,’ I founded the Second Life Bar Association, occasionally give talks and participate in panels about legal issues, and work with several groups that are trying to establish independent judicial systems. I also participate in other virtual worlds.
My email address is benjamin@virtuallyblind.com.
