Hire vs DIY
When DIY is fine
When the matter is in between
When you should hire me
Should I hire an attorney for my marketplace or platform compliance?
Two kinds of visitor land on this page. The first is a platform operator who needs marketplace terms, a seller agreement, and a compliance plan that survives audit. The second is a seller or service provider who has been suspended, deplatformed, or hit with a sudden policy enforcement action from Amazon, eBay, Etsy, a Facebook marketplace, or a vertical platform. Templates are useful for the first visitor at the founding stage. They are useless for the second visitor by the time the suspension notice has arrived. This page draws both lines. If the goal is paper, the generators on this site cover most of it. If the goal is to get an account back or to push back on a marketplace's enforcement decision, the template is the wrong tool.
Use the templates and free tools on this site when
- You are launching a marketplace and need baseline seller terms, buyer terms, and a marketplace operating agreement. The Marketplace Generator walks through the structural decisions and produces working paper.
- You need a baseline public terms of service for your platform. The Terms of Service Generator handles the standard surface area, including acceptable use, account termination, and dispute resolution.
- You are publishing a privacy policy that has to comply with CCPA and GDPR. The CCPA Privacy Policy Generator and the GDPR Privacy Policy Generator cover the baseline disclosures.
- You are a small seller on Amazon, eBay, or Etsy with a non-urgent policy question. The free AI Legal Analyst chatbox handles "what does this seller policy mean" questions. Pair with the marketplace deplatforming risk insight.
- You are reading a marketplace's seller agreement before signing up. Drop it into the free chatbox. Pair with the Section 230 limits insight to understand what the marketplace can and cannot do.
- You are evaluating EU compliance exposure under the DSA or DMA for a US-headquartered platform. The DSA and DMA insight walks through the recurring scope question. A consult is warranted only if the answer suggests you are in scope.
- You are drafting a content moderation policy you can publish. Generic moderation policies are downloadable everywhere. Adopting one and tailoring the categories is appropriate early-stage work.
Book a 30-minute consultation when
- Your marketplace is approaching the size where Section 230 immunity matters in a real way. A $125 / 30 min consult covers the recurring questions about content moderation, algorithmic amplification, and the narrowing carve-outs from Section 230.
- Your marketplace has reached the user-base size where EU DSA or DMA obligations may apply. One scoping call against the DSA's "very large online platform" thresholds is usually enough to triage.
- You are facing a recurring seller-policy dispute pattern and want a written escalation policy. The consult covers what a defensible appeal pathway looks like and what records to keep.
- You are negotiating a marketplace partner deal where revenue share, exclusivity, and IP overlap are in play. One call against the proposed term sheet usually clarifies which redlines are customary.
- A seller has been suspended and the marketplace's notice cited a "policy violation" without specifying. The consult covers the realistic appeal pathway, the response window, and whether attorney work is justified given the seller's revenue and held inventory.
Hire me for the matter when
- An Amazon, eBay, or Etsy seller has been suspended with held funds over $10,000. The $575 demand letter on the linked platform compliance practice page is the right tool. See the California Amazon seller demand letter guide and the Etsy suspension demand letter guide.
- The marketplace's enforcement action cites alleged counterfeit, IP infringement, or restricted-product violation. The marketplace counterfeit demand guide walks through the analytical pattern. The response is not a template; it is a fact-by-fact rebuttal.
- A vertical platform (Substack, Patreon, Twitch, OnlyFans, a creator-economy platform) has demonetized or removed your account and held creator earnings. The marketplace platform suspension demand letter guide covers the recurring posture. The $575 letter is the working tool.
- You are a platform operator and the marketplace contract you wrote two years ago is producing recurring disputes. A $349 full review or $599 to $999 review and revision of the seller agreement and the marketplace ToS is the right tool.
- You are a platform operator facing a content moderation or algorithmic-amplification claim that is testing Section 230 limits. Hourly at $240/hr. Read the Section 230 limits insight first.
- The marketplace's terms require AAA Consumer or AAA Commercial arbitration and a claim is realistic. The $1,200 demand letter plus draft arbitration demand signals you are prepared to file.
- You operate a marketplace and a regulator (FTC, state AG, CPPA) has opened an inquiry. This is not template work. Refer to a firm with regulatory representation experience if the matter has matured into formal enforcement; I will scope the platform-side review around their representation.
The honest decision rubric
- Are you building the platform, or fighting an enforcement decision? Building: templates plus a consult cover most early-stage work. Fighting an enforcement decision: template is the wrong tool, demand letter is the right tool.
- How much is the held balance, the lost revenue, or the at-risk account worth? Under $10,000 of realistic exposure, attorney work rarely pencils out. Over $25,000, it usually does.
- Does the marketplace's enforcement notice cite a specific provision, or a vague policy? Specific cite means the marketplace believes its contract supports the action. Vague cite means the demand letter should ask the marketplace to specify before further enforcement.
- Are you in scope for DSA, DMA, or a US regulator's inquiry? If yes, the matter is not template work and not boutique-attorney work alone. A larger compliance posture is needed.
This page is informational and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Engagement begins only after written conflict check and a signed scope agreement. Outcomes are not guaranteed. If the matter has merit, the demand letter typically opens the appeal pathway the marketplace's portal will not.
If your situation lines up with the hire column
Send me the marketplace's enforcement notice or the contract, with one paragraph on the numbers. I respond personally, usually within one business day. If the right answer is the marketplace's own appeal pathway plus a template, I will tell you.
See the platform and marketplace compliance practice page Email the intake