Q: My only writing experience came from advertising/marketing agencies; therefore, my only portfolio samples are ones that I did while employed at those agencies. Does this pose a problem in terms of conflict? I’m not making any claims that the clients are clients of mine as a freelancer; I’m simply displaying work that I’ve written.
This question came up because I saw that someone with a client I did work for at my last agency visited my website today. It made me a little nervous thinking I might get in trouble for having that client’s samples on my site. Is this just me being paranoid, or is there something legal that they could do to me for posting those samples?
A: It shouldn’t be a problem, unless the material was internal and proprietary in some way. Your samples from the agency are YOUR work, so why in heaven’s name shouldn’t you be able to show them? (the previous caveat notwithstanding). As for the client, again, if it was B2B or B2C (publicly disseminated), there shouldn’t be a problem. And even if a company does have an objection, I’d wager good money that their first move would simply be to ask you to take them down as opposed to hitting you with some lawsuit.