On Thursday, September 24, 2015, Victoria Taylor, Director of Digital Community at WeWork, asked me to do a mini question and answer session. The full text of the Q&A session follows:
Tell us about your first job?
My first job was a telemarketing position working for a home security company. It was really helpful in knocking the shyness out of me – I was a really shy kid growing up. So definitely talking to a lot of people helped get rid of that!
If you had to describe your business to someone who’d never heard of it, what would you say?
Cordero Law LLC is a law firm that practices business law, entertainment law, and intellectual property law, with a heavy emphasis on the contracts that are involved. I like to think my law firm is specifically for people that don’t like to deal with law firms – my primary clientele is comprised of Gen-Y entrepreneurs, entertainers, and creators. I’ve found that this type of clientele doesn’t like to work with traditional law firms. We provide the one-on-one support that a big law firm can’t. We communicate with our clients in simple terms and avoid all types of “legalese” as much as possible. Overall, we just like to form a relationship with our clients.
If you were a movie, which movie would you be?
I watch a lot of movies, so that’s kind of hard for me to answer. But I can’t really think of another one, and it’s not even out yet – the Steve Jobs biopic written by Aaron Sorkin. I’ve always respected Steve Jobs for everything he’s done, especially his vision and ability to overcome adversity. If you couple that with Aaron Sorkin’s writing, that’s probably the best movie I can think of.
What was your least favorite class in college or elsewhere? What made it your least favorite?
Nothing recent really sticks out to me. The only class I can ever say I hated was a class from second or third grade – a spelling class in elementary school that I failed. I just couldn’t spell as a kid so it was the worst experience for me. It still bothers me to this day. I’ll probably have to let it go someday.
If you could interview anyone from your life living or dead, but not a celebrity, who would it be and why?
Easily my grandfather. He came to the US from Guatemala not being able to speak English, working two or three jobs at a time as a janitor. He was very hard-working and stepped up raising me when no one else could. We never had any money and I was scared that I would become homeless at times, but having him there was the greatest gift I could ever ask for. And I just really miss him.
What did you think you were going to be when you grew up?
Actually, I was planning on being a chemical and molecular engineer. I was always really big into science and thought that was the direction I was going to go towards. But after taking a few classes in the subject and experiencing that world a little bit, I realized it wasn’t for me. I then explored possibilities in law. I’m not going to lie to you, the fact that I watched a lot of LAW & ORDER really influenced me – it’s always on! You can always find it! I realized law was for me. It wound up working out and I love it now.
Tell me about how you got into your line of work.
Actually, while I was in undergrad, I was a hip-hop and R&B music producer. I kind of was looking for a way to combine my love for law and the music industry. Today, one of my main practices is entertainment law. I added that to my other interests in law and went with it. Everything has a way of working out.
Do you have any favorite stories from your work life?
I guess probably my favorite story is a few years old from when I was working for CBS, in their law department. My mentor had given me my first assignment and prefaced it by saying “I’m not going to tell you when to do this, how to do it, what needs to go into it, I’m not going to micro-manage you. If you have any questions come see me.” And I thought that was really great. It was my first time being treated as a lawyer and it was really eye-opening.
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Julian Cordero is an Attorney, Music Producer, and Entrepreneur. Oh and he blogs too! Julian is licensed to practice law in New York and is the Managing Member of Cordero Law LLC, a New York City based law firm focusing on Business Law, Entertainment Law, and Intellectual Property.