Law School Discussion

Quote from: Navlaw on December 30, 2008, 10:14:55 PM

Quote from: Britney on December 30, 2008, 09:59:31 PM

*sigh*  Boys!


Also, a cocktail sounds effing divine.  I so wish I had the desire to drink alone at home right now.

I have to go to work tomorrow so no drinking tonight but my bf just told me he would dd tomorrow so I could drink. He is either really sweet or just wants to get me drunk  

ION: my best friend growing up just had a baby today. Very cute. And the weird thing is that the two people outside my family that I have lnown the longest had kids with the same birthday (today)

Aww.

Quote from: Tom the Tank Engine on December 30, 2008, 10:16:21 PM

At any given time that I check this thread there is inevitably a conversation about drinking going on. I love it.

Um, what do you normally talk about? 

I didn't say it was a bad thing.

hourumd.com

This is pretty helpful if you want to play around with different scores.

I've worked in the music industry for a few years - on the production side.

From the reading I do, and the discussions I have with people in the industry, the music business is basically dead (pretty obvious). As an entertainment lawyer, most available jobs will be drafting and negotiating contracts for whatever ideas the execs come up with on how to make money in the new environment.

A degree in music business doesnt really set you up to practice IP. Look into intellectual property, it's quite a diverse, complicated area of the law.

And, on the personal side, if you want to help artists with all of their other legal problems you mentioned: divorce & criminal law, the best thing you could do is refer them to a litigator with tons of experience in that area. If I have an entertainment attorney and I'm going through a divorce or a criminal trial, I want my case in the hands of the best in that field.

I'm basing a lot of my opinions on attorneys I've spoken with around the courthouse. I USED to have an interest in entertainment law until I realized that it's all about who you know, how "low" you will go, and how well you negotiate. 

Or, maybe you feel like dealing with people who think they're more talented than they really are, and you feel like spending your time negotiating for them to get more money.

Just my negative $.02. It does sound like you have your poo together, though. Good luck!

Haha, those were my exact fears about entertainment law. Having played a music for a long time myself, I know how annoying and full of themselves some people can get. I have a jazz musician friend who refused to perform for a study break because other people were also performing and he "doesn't share the stage". He's in my band, so I keep him in line 

It's interesting that you mention that it's "who you know". Networking is one of the aspects of entertainment that makes me nervous, because I have traditionally never been strong in this area. It's probably one of the reasons I didn't become a musician; I was good enough but just didn't know enough people. I got better at it in college, but my school and town are so small that it's relatively easy to meet everyone who's involved in music.

Tom: See my post on your other thread for some basics

There are good schools for entertainment law on the east coast (New York, specifically): NYU, Columbia, Fordham, Cardozo.  If the school doesn't have a lot of courses specific to entertainment/media law, make sure they have strong transactional/contract course options - that's what's important

Also lots of firms and other in-house opportunities on the east coast.  Between positions at firms, you've also got networks like MTV, labels (Sony, among others), and plenty of other places where you're likely to find in-house lawyers (ASCAP, for example)

Thanks a lot for the help - it is much appreciated 

Would my chances of getting an entertainment job be severely diminished if I went to a general T14 school like Duke, Cornell, or Georgetown that isn't really known for entertainment law? My apps have already been sent out, and I mostly just applied to T14 schools because I wasn't sure about any specialties (and I'm still not sure). I also don't anticipate an NYU or Columbia acceptance

I'm just curious to see what concentrations of law everyone is thinking about studying:

I'm interested in studying Intellectual Property Law with a track in Entertainment Law...

 

I'm considering entertainment law. I've been a trumpet player for 11 years and a self taught guitar player for 9. I'm not sure if I'm ready to take the plunge, though. Going into music law would almost certainly mean going to the west coast (and UCLA in particular), and I have lived in New England my whole life. I'm also considering criminal law, interestingly enough.

Could someone enlighten me on what an entertainment lawyer does in the music business? I don't really know much about it.