A Starring Role in Entertainment Law
by Diane Anselmo
What It's All About: Celebrity contracts, film location clearances, lyric copyrights; the legal issues that can arise during the making of movies, TV shows, music albums, and more, are endless. That's why the industry needs people like Stephen Greenwald, an entertainment lawyer, to oversee matters.
Greenwald explains: "The key element that underlies entertainment law is intellectual property." This includes ideas in any protected form, such as a screenplay.
There are two different areas of practice in which an entertainment lawyer can work. Those who specialize in transactional matters deal with contracts for actors, writers, and directors. Lawyers who work in litigation, however, actively argue cases for their clients in court -- such as the case of an actor's suing for payment or in copyright and plagiarism battles.
What You Need To Know: "You can go to law school with any type of undergraduate background," says Greenwald. If you're aiming to pursue an entertainment law career, however, you may want to expose yourself to studies that focus on the media, business, or communications fields.
In order to be admitted to law school, you'll have to take the LSAT (Law School Admission Test) during your senior year of undergraduate study.
Greenwald suggests that, at some point during law school, you do an internship at a law firm or an entertainment-related company. Once you're through with law school, you'll be ready to take the Bar Exam. Passing the Bar allows you to be sworn in at a state or federal court and declared an official lawyer.
What You'll Earn The salary you can make as an entertainment lawyer can be affected by where you choose to work and what law school you attended. However, an average starting salary is between $80,000 and $90,000. "Entertainment law is a very popular field," says Greenwald. "People are willing to work for less money in order to get into this hot field." The prospects for an entertainment law career are very good, though. Adds Greenwald, "The area of media is growing."
What You'll Enjoy Greenwald's favorite part about his job is the interaction with clients. "You get to deal with some very creative people," says Greenwald. "It keeps it interesting."
His favorite part, however, is also his least favorite at times. "Sometimes the people you work with can have major egos, which makes them very difficult to deal with."
A Final Thought When it comes to pursuing entertainment law, Greenwald encourages you to "Be as open as you can. The people who are most successful in this field are those that are most comfortable with ideas. It is important to be cultured, well-rounded, and to keep up with the latest cultural trends and developments."
Greenwald explains: "The key element that underlies entertainment law is intellectual property." This includes ideas in any protected form, such as a screenplay.
There are two different areas of practice in which an entertainment lawyer can work. Those who specialize in transactional matters deal with contracts for actors, writers, and directors. Lawyers who work in litigation, however, actively argue cases for their clients in court -- such as the case of an actor's suing for payment or in copyright and plagiarism battles.
What You Need To Know: "You can go to law school with any type of undergraduate background," says Greenwald. If you're aiming to pursue an entertainment law career, however, you may want to expose yourself to studies that focus on the media, business, or communications fields.
In order to be admitted to law school, you'll have to take the LSAT (Law School Admission Test) during your senior year of undergraduate study.
Greenwald suggests that, at some point during law school, you do an internship at a law firm or an entertainment-related company. Once you're through with law school, you'll be ready to take the Bar Exam. Passing the Bar allows you to be sworn in at a state or federal court and declared an official lawyer.
What You'll Earn The salary you can make as an entertainment lawyer can be affected by where you choose to work and what law school you attended. However, an average starting salary is between $80,000 and $90,000. "Entertainment law is a very popular field," says Greenwald. "People are willing to work for less money in order to get into this hot field." The prospects for an entertainment law career are very good, though. Adds Greenwald, "The area of media is growing."
What You'll Enjoy Greenwald's favorite part about his job is the interaction with clients. "You get to deal with some very creative people," says Greenwald. "It keeps it interesting."
His favorite part, however, is also his least favorite at times. "Sometimes the people you work with can have major egos, which makes them very difficult to deal with."
A Final Thought When it comes to pursuing entertainment law, Greenwald encourages you to "Be as open as you can. The people who are most successful in this field are those that are most comfortable with ideas. It is important to be cultured, well-rounded, and to keep up with the latest cultural trends and developments."
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