Subsets of Entertainment Law (For Aspiring Entertainment Attorneys)

It occurs to me that there are very few resources to help law students and junior attorneys pursue and navigate a career in entertainment law. Most law schools do almost nothing to help their students break into entertainment, to the extent where it is seldom presented as a viable option. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, entertainment is seen as a niche or mysterious area of practice (despite being a significant part of the economy). Secondly, many law professors are academics with primarily a theoretical interest in the law, while entertainment law is generally very hands on and practice oriented. And thirdly, law school career departments are incentivized (by US News rankings criteria, among other things) to push students towards biglaw firms - and few biglaw firms (with a few notable exceptions) practice in entertainment. The net result is that law students may have a vague desire to practice in "entertainment," but unless they have an entertainment lawyer as a family member or a close friend, they may not be aware that "entertainment" is comprised of a variety of subsets and options.

In an effort to help out aspiring entertainment lawyers, what follows is a non-exhaustive list of "subsets" of entertainment law, which includes a number of industry specialties and practice focuses. Note that these are not mutually exclusive, and that many attorneys may practice in several or many of these areas to different extents, especially in private practice (which is why some people say it's best to start your career in a firm if possible). In-house attorneys in large companies tend to specialize more, but they still need to be able to issue spot so they can bring in colleagues as needed. Again, there are others I'm missing, but the hope is to give some context on possibilities.

• Talent. When most people think of "entertainment law," they probably are thinking of talent attorneys. Talent attorneys represent actors, directors, producers and writers (among others). They negotiate on behalf of their clients with networks, studios, production companies, brands and other third parties, and generally seek to protect and grow their clients' careers. Talent attorneys usually (but not always) bill on a percentage basis.
• Production Counsel. Production counsel is responsible for supervising and shepherding the production of films, television series and other productions. They negotiate agreements with actors, directors and other personnel (often on the other side from talent attorneys), as well as other necessary paperwork (production services agreements, location agreements). Production counsel is responsible for making sure that the production is completed and delivered. Depending on the production, production counsel may or may not handle music licenses. Production counsel may represent clients on a one-off basis (e.g, an independent film) or ongoing basis (e.g., representing an SVOD platform across many of its productions).
• Development. Development legal entails acquiring underlying rights and engaging writers to write screenplays, treatments, bibles and formats. Attorneys handling development may acquire rights in books, podcasts, articles, games and other properties for adaptation. Note that while development work is a discrete area of practice, it also overlaps with other functions. A talent lawyer may negotiate an option agreement for their actor client to acquire a hot book. Production counsel may negotiate a writer agreement or option agreement as part of their services to the production.
• Financing. Financing legal work involves representing either a financier seeking to contribute money to one or more productions, or a production company seeking to take on financing. There are two main types of financing (debt or equity) with many variations within those areas. Financing agreements can be quite simple (a simple equity deal for a doc film) or extremely complicated (a complex secured loan agreement with multiple financiers and priorities of collateral, as well as a completion guarantee). For that reason, there are generalists who do financing deals occasionally, as well as specialists who do primarily financing. Financing legal often requires knowledge of local tax credits and similar incentive programs.
• Distribution. Distribution attorneys negotiates sales and distribution agreements for various forms of content. This can include all-rights sales to streaming platforms, worldwide or territorial distribution agreements, sales agency agreements and media-specific licenses. Again, certain attorneys (especially those representing sales agents and distribution companies) may specialize in distribution - but it is also frequently handled by generalists. Distribution legal requires knowledge of different distribution methods, windowing/holdbacks, and new forms of "upside" (e.g., buyout pools and bonus points).
• First amendment/clearance. Clearance attorneys counsel clients in legal issues relating to copyright, privacy, trademark and first amendment rights. They often review documentary and unscripted productions for the purpose of issuing "fair use opinions" (usually required for distribution and to obtain insurance), but also counsel clients more generally. There is a significant need for first amendment attorneys for scripted productions based on "true stories" (including podcasts and articles).
• Labor. Labor counsel specializes in interfacing with the various entertainment guilds and unions (including SAG-AFTRA, DGA, WGA and IATSE), as well as opining on how to interpret the many guild rules and restrictions. They are usually specialists, and their engagement is often essential for high level productions during development and production periods.
• Theater. Theater is a very bespoke industry with its own specific practices, guild rules, and backend structures. Theater is a very close knit community, and most theater attorneys are NY based (working for a handful of firms). While theater attorneys usually work on other kinds of matter (e.g., publishing or film), most general entertainment attorneys do not practice theater law (and, I would go so far as to say it is ill-advised for a film or TV attorney to try to negotiate a theater deal without assistance).
• Podcast. Podcast is a relatively new and quite quickly evolving area. Podcast dealmaking has recently become more formal and sophisticated owing to the injection of money into the space from large companies like Amazon, Apple and Spotify. Because podcast is relatively new, most attorneys have entered the space from other areas of practice (including film and tv). As a result, a lot of podcast agreements "borrow" structures and terms from other media.
• Music. Music is another bespoke area of entertainment law. While most attorneys will interact with music at some level (e.g., negotiating music licenses, or composer agreements), most music industry players (songwriters, artists, record labels) are represented by specific counsel. Music can also involve a lot of quite complicated royalty issues, and there is a particular need for music attorneys to work in the digital areas (with apps and platforms).
• Litigation. I originally left this out (because I'm so transactionally focused). "Entertainment" litigation may span many areas of law (including rights of publicity and privacy, copyright, trademark and breach of contract), and requires a strong expertise in general litigation principles and practices. It is possible for attorneys to maintain both a transactional and litigation practice, but it is relatively rare.
• "Digital". I'm a little hesitant at including "digital entertainment" as a separate discipline here, because everything is digital today. Talent reps may now negotiate influencer deals for TikTok, Twitch or Instagram. Production counsel may render services for a webseries. Distribution attorneys may deal primarily with digital platforms. However, it should be noted that some attorneys do specialize primarily in digital areas - especially for gaming, "interactive" entertainment, and social media.
• Scripted/Unscripted. As a final note, it is worth noting that scripted and unscripted productions are separate areas, with different structures and practices. Particularly when moving in-house, attorneys may focus on one or the other (for example, a company like Netflix will have dedicated documentary and reality series legal teams).