Just the Facts, Ma’am! (Part 1 of 3)

It has recently come to our attention that a misunderstanding has occurred with respect to a situation involving our firm and a Mr. Doug Millison, a writer who approached an attorney at our firm, Mr. Steven Shapiro, via Twitter. We would like the address the situation below in the hopes such misunderstanding may be cleared up among the individuals that have heard only one side of the situation:

• Last week, Mr. Millison (@dougmillison), approached Mr. Shapiro through Twitter. Doug was a writer who, like many, was hoping to get his current project published.
  
  
• A dialogue began and Mr. Shapiro, as a courtesy, offered to informally make mutual connections between Mr. Millison and industry professionals at this week's New York ComicCon.
  
  
• Mr. Shapiro asked for a "One Sheet" of the project, a customary request for anyone looking to find out more about an entertainment project.
  
  
• Mr. Millison was fully aware that Mr. Shapiro was indeed an attorney working in the publishing and entertainment industries, and was made aware of Exemplar's services and pricing structures during a phone call last week.
  
  
• The promise of a "book deal" was never discussed, and Mr. Shapiro never offered to actively solicit the project or to place it with specific individuals or publishing companies.
  
  
• The "One Sheet" sent to Mr. Shapiro was seven pages, an inappropriate length for a potential contact to easily and quickly digest (which is the purpose of a "One Sheet"). In Mr. Shapiro's professional opinion, the project needed substantial revision before he could present it to any potential contacts in the industry he might come across at ComicCon.
  
  
• Unlike agents, attorneys often help writers and other entrepreneurs to substantially refine their business presentations through redrafting and strategic planning. Thinking that Mr. Millison may be interested in receiving such assistance, Mr. Shapiro offered to provide it through our Portal™ retainer.
  
  
• Mr. Millison became upset about the offer, and proceeded to post, via Twitter and on other social networks, false statements, among which stated that Exemplar was a "scam."
  
  
• At this point, it became clear that Mr. Millison misunderstood the role of an agent, who actively promotes specific projects in exchange for a percentage of the any future proceeds. This was never offered to him nor contemplated, as Exemplar never operates as an agency.
  
  
• Mr. Shapiro offered to merely mention the project to some folks at ComicCon that may be interested in it. As an attorney, he felt it would be irresponsible to do so without assisting Mr. Millison in refining a substantial portion of the project's presentation. Such services are outside the scope of agency and are traditional services for which attorneys charge.
  
  

While it is unfortunate that Mr. Millison misunderstood this, it is certainly no reason to skew the situation into something it never was, and to lie about what Exemplar does. We hope this will help clarify what transpired, and we will be keeping our Twitter friends, customers and others up-to-date on this situation through this blog and through #exemplar. Please view Exemplar's site for information on what Exemplar does do, and for testimonials from our customers. We also invite you to view our posting above, which will explain some of the remedies we are seeking to right these wrongs and why. Thank you!