• Category: Law Careers

So you're nearing completion of your time as a student at one of the law schools in northern California and you're ready to move towards a city where anything can happen. So the question is:

Who makes the calls, roams the halls and kicks the stalls in Hollywood?

The short story: entertainment lawyers.

But it's no secret to any of the law school students in California – entertainment law is an extremely competitive field, and getting your foot in the door is a diabolical deed. So bring your A-game, because nothing less will do. So how do you become a viable candidate for the entertainment law field?

The first step: know your material

If you're a student at a law school in Santa Rosa, California or surrounding areas and you're convinced that you want to move toward entertainment law in your studies, you need to take as many electives that cover intellectual property and copyright, creative contract negotiations, and patent development law.

Since the entertainment law field spans different areas, including movies, television, book publishing, multimedia and music, and all deal with the three areas previously mentioned in some way, it's best to gain a fundamental understanding of at least two of these areas.

The second step: indentured slavery

You might be thinking, "America doesn't have that anymore," which is mostly true. These days they call indentured servants "interns." And entertainment law firms in Hollywood and New York City are some of the toughest "plantations" to work on.

When you go to work as an intern in a production company, studio or law firm, it's not only the experience you'll gain that will make you more valuable, but also the personal relationships you'll make that will help you network more efficiently once your internship is over. But make no mistake – you will work long hours. The reason for this is, entertainment law is learned on the ground, not in the class. Law school gives you a solid foundation for entertainment law, but it doesn't transmit the reality of this specialty.

The third step: have your people call my people

Network, network, network! Entertainment law is about people and their relationships, the companies they work for, and the art they make. This is the reason it's important to build relationships while you are in law school. Agency internships are a great opportunity to meet lawyers and make other connections.

You have to network to gain entry-level work because there's a certain reality about entertainment law firms: Most firms are interested in hiring only two types of people:

• Relatively young lawyers who will work as associates, put in long hours, and not draw a large salary (i.e., you)

• Partner-level attorneys who bring clients with them and boost the profit margin for the firm (i.e., not you).

Bonus step: it's always wise to specialize

Since the entertainment law field is so competitive, you have to stand out among the others in some way. One way to do this is to build expertise in an area that a prospective entertainment law firm would find attractive. For instance, right now the entertainment industry is all abuzz about how to protect intellectual properties of their clients in the digital age. The more experience you have in interpreting emerging legal issues like this, the more attractive you will be during the review of new candidates.

If you think you have what it takes to make it as an associate in the field of entertainment law, check out a few of the groups across the country who offer internships for qualified law students (there are many more).

• The Entertainment Forum from the American Bar Association
• California Lawyers for the Arts
• Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
• The Sports Lawyers Association
• The National Sports & Entertainment Law Society