Entertainment, Media, and Sports Law Career Guide
What is Entertianment, Media, and Sports Law?
Entertainment, media, and sports law refers to the areas of law governing professionals and businesses in the entertainment industries of film, television, music, theater, fine art, video game, advertising, sports, the news media, and the internet. The work can focus on contracts and intellectual property, but at the same time, various fields of law are involved in entertainment law, such as employment law, labor law, intellectual property including trademarks, copyright, and right of publicity, bankruptcy law, immigration, securities law, security interests, agency, right of privacy, defamation, clearance of rights, product placement, advertising, international law, and insurance law. Entertainment attorneys usually have either a transactional or litigation practice. Many entertainment lawyers hone one particular specialization – the music industry, representing talent, for example – while others remain generalists. Example responsibilities Entertainment Draft and negotiate agreements related to film, series, podcast, live stage, music, and video games, including development, production, distribution, recording, publishing, touring, merchandising, corporate sponsorship, licensing, and investment agreements. Consult with artists, record and film/series companies, publishers and distributors, etc., regarding their financing, entertainment, and newer media/technology strategies, plus the protection of their IP rights. Advise media and entertainment companies on their M&A and merger activities. Litigate matters including contractual, copyright and trademark, employment, right of publicity, and payment disputes.
Media First Amendment law is a substantial specialization in itself – advising on issues of free speech, censorship, privacy, and defamation, among other contentious issues. Telecommunications and Mass Communications require legal advice relating to the technologies of production and distribution of media content, including telephony, broadcasting, cable, and online streaming. Sports Assist with contract negotiations, be they between clubs and sports people, agents and players, sporting institutions and sponsors, broadcasters and sports governing bodies. Handle varied employment and immigration issues. Defend sports people accused of doping offenses or other unsporting behavior. Advise on corporate or commercial matters like takeovers, public offerings, debt restructurings and bankruptcies, and the securing and structuring of credit. Enforce IP rights in the lucrative merchandise market and negotiate on matters affecting a sportsperson’s image rights. Work on regulatory compliance issues within a sport. Offer reputation management and criminal advice. Sports-related litigation – anything from athlete contractual disputes to stadium construction and copyright issues. Manage IP portfolios for sports brands.
As a law student interested in entertainment, media, and sports law, where should you start?
Take related courses Southwestern offers a comprehensive program of courses, clinics, and externship opportunities to advance and guide the training of J.D. students in Entertainment and Media Law. Copyright Law will be the first elective course you will take in this field of practice (Spring semester and SCALE Period 3 option). For a further overview of entertainment courses, review the below Road Maps. Traditional Classes Road Map: www.swlaw.edu/BEMLIRoadMap SCALE Classes Road Map: www.swlaw.edu/SCALEBemliRoadMap A student who completes the Entertainment Entertainment Concentration. Concentration program with at least ten graded units of Core and Elective courses, and graduates with a Concentration grade point average of 3.33 or higher will receive the following designation on the student's transcript: "Concentration in Entertainment and Media Law with Honors." A student's Concentration grade point average will be calculated at the time of the student's graduation, and every graded course a student has taken on the list of core and elective courses below will be included in the Concentration grade point average and weighted in accordance with the number of units of that course.
Build Relationships As early as your first semester, or Period I for SCALE I, you should begin building relationships with key entertainment and media law professionals. The relationships should begin here at Southwestern by scheduling an appointment with the Associate Associate Dean the Biederman Institute, Deanofof the Biederman Institute, Orly Ravid, connecting with upper-division students, entertainment faculty, and entertainment alumni. Biederman Institute FAQs Bar associations and professional organizations offer a fun and educational way to gain a glimpse into the industry and build connections. These organizations allow student members and will often offer a free or discounted rate for student membership. There are also bar association-sponsored scholarships and writing competitions.
A Sampling of Bar Associations and Professional Organizations: The ABA Forum on the Entertainment & Sports Industries Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel Beverly Hills Bar Association Black Entertainment & Sports Lawyers Association California Copyright Conference California Lawyers for the Arts Grammy U International Association of Entertainment Lawyers International Trademark Association Langston Hughes Bar Association Los Angeles County Bar Association, Entertainment, and Intellectual Property Section Los Angeles Intellectual Property Law Association Media Law Resource Center The Sports Lawyers Association Sports Industry Networking & Career Conference Video Game Bar Association Gain Experience School credit externships are available to full-time students starting their first summer and part-time students starting their second summer. Completion of Copyright Law is a pre-requisite to entertainment law externships (in-house as well as law firm positions). Externships can be paid and are available in fall, spring, and summer (as well as Period 8 for SCALE). Given the unique and competitive nature of entertainment law externships, it’s highly recommended to discuss your externship interests with the Biederman director, along with reaching out to the Externship Program staff. Securing that first entertainment law position, whether it be for school credit, pay, or both, in your first summer could be challenging. Alternatives and helpful strategies to better position yourself for an entertainment externship are the following: take advantage of an alternative school credit externship or paid job that will give you the transferable skills for your desired job (e.g., attention to detail, research, drafting, experience in relevant practice areas including labor and employment, intellectual property, business, and immigration); take related summer courses on campus (there are always a few), or attend the London Summer Abroad Program. A Sampling of Representative Employers: Concord Davis Wright Tremaine Disney Donaldson Callif Perez
Greenberg Traurig Legendary LionsGate NBCUniversal
NCAA Participant Screen Actors Guild - AFTRA Sony Pictures Television
STARZ Universal Music Group Wasserman Media Webtoons ViacomCBS
What are some additional things to do to stand out in this field?
Gain clinical experience Southwestern Law School’s Entertainment and the Arts Legal Clinic provides pro bono legal services to independent filmmakers, series creators, writers, actors, legit stage producers, artists, and musicians. Students work on documentation of underlying rights (clearance reports and fair use analysis) and chain-of-title review, drafting shopping and commenting on and option purchase agreements, music agreements, personal services agreements for producers, directors, actors, other principal crew, location agreements, releases and other development and production related contracts. The Clinic also reviews sales, licensing, and distribution agreements. The students, trained by taking copyright and other entertainment law courses, do the legal work (including client correspondence), which is supervised and reviewed by a panel of 4 or 5 experienced practicing attorney professors. Potential clients are solicited from entertainment film societies, arts organizations, film institutes, and film schools. Students in the Clinic often refer friends or colleagues with projects in development. Several clients have been referred by other filmmakers who have released films on which the Clinic rendered production services. All prospective clients are screened by the professors, and some may be interviewed by the class prior to engagement. Students interact directly with the clients, through all legal services provided by the students are under the guidance and supervision of the professors. Enrollment is by invitation only, and applicants are notified by email about the application process approximately one month prior to the end of each semester. Those students selected will be BiedermanInstitute. Institute enrolled for the following semester. Interested students should contact the Biederman for more information.
Apply to the Journal of International Media & Entertainment Law (JIMEL) The Journal of International Media & Entertainment Law is a semi-annual publication of the Donald E. Biederman Entertainment and Media Law Institute of Southwestern Law School in association with the American Bar Association Forums on Communications Law and the Entertainment and Sports Industries. Upper-division students (and SCALE students in Period 4 or later) may apply to JIMEL by emailing 1) a letter of interest, 2) a current CV, and 3) a Southwestern transcript to Professor Michael Epstein, JIMEL’s supervising editor. Students will be trained in international legal research and journal editing and are responsible for verifying sources, bluebooking citations, and other journal production assignments. Gain Entertainment Specific Writing Experience The Recording Academy Entertainment Law Initiative Writing Contest The Entertainment Law Initiative Writing Contest challenges law students to identify and research a pressing legal issue facing the music industry today and outline a proposed solution in a 3,000-word essay. A nationwide panel of music law experts will judge the papers in a blind process to select a winner and two runners-up. This contest is open to Juris Doctorate (JD) and Master of Laws (LLM) candidates at U.S. law schools. Please note that LLM students who are, or who have been at any time in the past, licensed as an attorney are not eligible to enter. JSD/SJD students are not eligible. The The full fullrules rules can be found on the recording academy's website.
Marquette Sports Law Review The Marquette Sports Law Review welcomes the submission of any sports-related article, book review, or student comment. Authors should send their submission by email to the Sports Law Review’s Articles Editor (see their website for contact information and complete details). Try Out for the Negotiation Honors Program: The official establishment of the Negotiation Honors Program coincided with the launch of Southwestern's Three-Track Legal Analysis, Writing and Skills (LAWS) program. First-year students in any track can compete in an intramural competition, with top-performing students earning invitations to interview for the Negotiation Honors Program. A board of governors made up of experienced Negotiation team members coordinates both the intramural competition as well as the team’s competitions against other law schools throughout the country. Professor Cristina Knolton and Adjunct Professor April Macaraeg serve as Co-Directors. Recommended Resources & Reading: Listen and Subscribe to "A Conversation With..." Podcasts Brought to you in collaboration with our Entertainment and the Arts Legal ClinicInfluential members of the Entertainment, Sports, & Media Law industries discuss their careers and hot-button issues. You will hear top-notch entertainment, sports, and media lawyers and experts share their journeys and provide insights in conversation-style panel discussions with Q&A.
A Sampling of Books and Trade Publications including: All You Need to Know about the Music Business Hollywood Deal Making Trade Publications, including: Deadline Hollywood The Hollywood Reporter IndeWire Law 360 – Intellectual Property Rolling Stone THR, Esq. Variety Entertainment, Media, and Sports Specific Job Search sites: EntertainmentCareers.net JobsInSports.com WorkInSports.com