I remember the first time that I realized the meaning of the words on the MGM logo is “Art for Art’s Sake” and I mused to myself that this is no longer the purpose of the film industry, if it ever was.  Perhaps harshly, I thought to myself “It should say money for money’s sake.” or at least “Art for money’s sake”.  Why did I think this?  Because the entertainment industry is about commerce.

Many people ask me how I started working as an entertainment and media attorney.  It was really inevitable.  I received an LL.M. in international commercial law before going on to make short films for a few years before becoming admitted to practice law in New York.  I see it as inevitable.

Entertainment law is not actually a separate body of law to be honest.  When students ask how to break in to entertainment law I frequently tell them to take as many commercial law courses as they can and even to specialize in something obscure and boring of a commercial nature that no one else wants to become an expert in that niche.  Often students recoil at this idea.

Many people think working in the entertainment industry is fun because entertainment is fun.  If you are a creative, working in the industry can be enjoyable because it’s an outlet for your creativity but it is still very hard work.  As a lawyer, the work is no different from working for a tire company or a hotel chain save one thing, the culture.  Understanding the culture of the entertainment industry is an added layer to working on entertainment cases but at the end of the day these cases are serious, commercial and often international legal cases.

Entertainment law is essentially commercial law with an added twist that you have to understand that different culture, work within it successfully and perhaps more importantly advise clients who need to exist within this culture.  Entertainment and media litigators can quite easily move to other areas of commercial law but not every commercial litigator can survive the entertainment industry.