We were lucky to catch up with Daphne Benford-Smith, Esq. recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Daphne , thanks for joining us today. Early in your career, how did you think through the decision of whether to start your own firm or join an established firm?
First starting out, I joined a law firm to gain experience as an attorney generally although it was not the type of law I wanted to practice. I did start my own firm at one point when I wanted to pivot into doing the type of law that lights me up: working with creatives, entrepreneurs, and those in the video game and animation industries. I believe that everything happens the way it ought to and all the experiences that I have had to this point have made me an empathetic and detail-oriented thought leader and innovator in my career. Although, I wanted a different start at the time because working in family law is truly the trenches in my opinion, I learned so much doing that and I carry those lessons with me now as a Senior Counsel advising small businesses to large corporations, as well as prominent celebrities, creatives, and entrepreneurs. Looking back, I see it more as a crawl before you walk situation and can laugh at it now. But yes, I started out initially as a family law attorney handling cases in Houston and surrounding areas as well as for a few years in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. During that time I tried to get a job as an in-house counsel transitioning from the tumultuous family law practice to handling intellectual property and sophisticated transactions. But, closed doors do not mean a thing to me because I decided to open up my own practice to gain the experience and exposure I needed to do the type of law that I actually wanted to practice. Doing that led to me having the job and opportunities that I have now and I could not be more thankful for the journey and the impact that it has had on my life.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
I graduated law school in 2018, thankfully passed the July 2018 bar examination, and became fully licensed as an attorney January of 2019. Since then, I have worked tirelessly to build a formidable reputation as the go-to attorney for small to mid-sized business owners of any industry (from tarot card creators to restauranteurs), a few large corporations, as well as prominent streamers/YouTubers/creatives, indie game studios and publishers, and animation studios. One of my favorite moments in the past year as an attorney was drafting the contract that secured my client Cutting Edge Animation Studio renowned EGOT-actress Whoopi Goldberg. I also worked on the agreement that secured them famed actor Keith David. I also happen to be the counsel for Creators After Dark, an adult-based convention based in Texas, who had an overwhelmingly successful convention recently (April 2026). Among my notable clients is the multitalented and multifaceted actor and entrepreneur, Khleo Thomas and internationally acclaimed model and activist Taylor Tookes.
One of the things that clients find sets me apart is that I am down to earth and meet them where they are. I am apart of the same communities as them or if I am not I meet them where they are and explain the law in a way that is easily digestible. Because let’s face it, the law can be complicated and speaking to clients in what we call “legalese” is not always beneficial. I try to approach things delicately but not in a way that undermines my clients ability to understand. I treat every client as a sophisticated business person who wants me to be apart of their team to elevate their business, so I am as active in their business as they are. I attend their events and support the services or products, I refer people in my network to them so they can grow, and do anything else to go the extra mile and provide genuine support. It is this collaborative approach that has created a system of recurring clients and new clients continuously requesting that I handle their legal needs.
That said, I pride myself on being able to provide a number of services for my clients: trademark and copyright registration, litigation, and infringement services, contract drafting, negotiation, and enforcement, data privacy advising, business and entity formation services, labor and employment advising, and general counsel services particularly for the video game and animation spaces.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Not only providing excellent expert services for my clients, but also speaking at conferences such as DreamCon, Indie Game Business Sessions by The Powell Group, University of South Carolina’s Music and IP Conference, International Trademark Association Panel, Alt Legal Connect 2023 as well as articles with Alt Legal, Start Something Great Entrepreneur Brunch, Law and Technology Summit at NCCU School of Law where I spoke on a video game law panel, and a host of podcasts. I have also had articles published by Alt Legal, Trademark Lawyer Magazine, OFFBLXXK Magazine, and have now had two television interviews with Spectrum News. All of these things have helped cement my status in the market as a go-to, reliable, expert in my industries.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I built a large platform on Twitter and now Bluesky/Blacksky by honestly just being my authentic self and sharing legal insights on topics that interest me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.siglawpartners.com
- Instagram: @daphnesignaturelaw
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daphne-benford-smith-esq-98489baa/
