We love entertainment. Regardless of what your role is in the entertainment industry, there are many legal issues that you are surrounded with.
As an entertainer, you are both a brand and a business. It is important to protect yourself to the fullest extent possible. We can help. Contact us for more information and see if Cordero Law is the right fit for your entertainment needs.
At Cordero Law, we understand that picking the right entertainment lawyer can help make or break your career. As such, we are happy to offer potential clients an initial consultation to help figure out if we are the right fit for you.
This is a really hard question. The reason for that is because there is no one body of law that is considered to be "entertainment law" by itself. Rather, entertainment law, and specifically, entertainment lawyers practice in a wide range of legal practice areas. An entertainment lawyer will practice intellectual property law, contracts, business, employment, labor, tax, securities, immigration, and sometimes, litigation. Therefore, it is easier to define what an entertainment lawyer is, as opposed to what entertainment law is.
One of the key functions of an entertainment attorney is that of a deal maker. The entertainment industry can be very contract-heavy. Usually, these contracts need to be heavily negotiated and can vary greatly from client to client. As such, contract templates in the entertainment industry are rarely effective. Every entertainment industry client brings a unique set of attributes to whatever deal he or she is involved with.
One of the most important attributes that an entertainment attorney can bring to an entertainment industry client, is knowledge of that industry. When trying to decide which entertainment law firm to hire, it is important to hire an entertainment lawyer that knows the inner workings of the particular industry that you are involved with. Many entertainment lawyers specialize in various subsectors of the entertainment industry. For example, an entertainment lawyer that operates as a music lawyer, might not be the best to interpret deals in the movie industry, for that you may want to consider a film attorney that has an understanding of the film industry.
This is not a hard and fast rule, as many entertainment attorneys are generalists. This can be especially beneficial to entertainers that want to branch off into various fields of the entertainment industry. If you are a singer, for example, but wish to be involved in the acting scene, a generalist entertainment lawyer might be able to offer the experience that a specialized music attorney would not be able to provide.
Figuring out whether you need a generalist or specialist entertainment attorney can be a difficult task in itself. At Cordero Law, we suggest you speak to both types of attorneys in order to figure out what type of entertainment lawyer would be a better fit for you.
We protect the rights that drive your career: copyrights in your work, trademarks in your name and brand, and your right of publicity. You stay in control of how your work and image get used, and you get paid when someone else uses them.
Your name is an asset, and we help you build it into one that lasts. That means securing trademarks, structuring endorsement and licensing deals, and keeping your brand consistent as it grows into new ventures.
Every entertainment deal runs on its paperwork. We draft the recording, publishing, management, performance, and licensing agreements you need, in clear terms that protect your interests and hold up later.
We negotiate the terms on the table so the deal works in your favor. Whether you want us leading the room or finalizing points you have already discussed, we push for better splits, cleaner rights, and fewer surprises down the line.
Not every question calls for a contract. We give you straight strategic advice on the decisions in front of you, from weighing an offer to planning your next move, so you act with the full picture.