receive a B.S. in political science and criminal justice. I plan to attend law school, and I’m very interested in entertainment and sports law. I would appreciate any information you can provide.
–A. E. Tida, Miami
A: According to music industry lawyer Donald M. Woodard, an associate with Greenberg, Traurig L.L.P., “The convergence of music and the Internet will continue to shape the ‘new’ music industry, and lawyers with experience in technology are, and will continue to be, in demand.”
Given your post-undergraduate ambitions, there are several schools to consider. Marquette University and Tulane University have comprehensive sports law programs, which can lead to internships at a variety of sports agencies. According to TopLawSchool.com, the best schools for sports and entertainment law are in New York and Los Angeles, with UCLA and NYU ranking highly. In addition, Stanford University and Columbia University both have excellent programs in intellectual property.
There are also a number of journals you should read, including Entertainment and Sports Lawyer (www.abanet.org/forums/ entsports/esl.html), a quarterly publication distributed by the Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries of the American Bar Association. BESLA (www.b
esla.org), the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association, may also provide some helpful information.