The one time I was on the bad end of a phone call with a record industry lawyer (I was 21 at the time), I recorded the call. I had heard of previous encounters with this particular PR lady that involved lots of bullying and bullshit, so once the conference call between the lawyer, the PR flack, and myself began, I announced that "For the protection of all parties involved, I am recording this conversation."
It was like I had cast a spell. Everything got VERY professional. By the end of the call, I had schooled said lawyer on fair use and the DMCA - which was at the time still very new - and after the call wrapped, that was the end of the thinly-veiled legal threats.
I didn't even need a lawyer, but I had enough free time to do ample research on related laws, and was very confident that I was completely in the right. I was nervous as hell on the phone, but felt like THE MAN when I got off that call.
It was like I had cast a spell. Everything got VERY professional. By the end of the call, I had schooled said lawyer on fair use and the DMCA - which was at the time still very new - and after the call wrapped, that was the end of the thinly-veiled legal threats.
I didn't even need a lawyer, but I had enough free time to do ample research on related laws, and was very confident that I was completely in the right. I was nervous as hell on the phone, but felt like THE MAN when I got off that call.