Entertainment & Sports Law Symposium

Entertainment & Sports Law Symposium

Lommen Abdo and its entertainment attorneys are presenting The Entertainment & Sports Law Symposium on Thursday, November 13, 2008. The CLE will take place on the 50th floor of the IDS Center in Minneapolis and is presented in cooperation with Minnesota Law & Politics® and the GRAMMY® Foundation.


The Symposium is $50 for lawyers and other professionals, and $25 for law students. Five CLE credits have been requested, including one ethics credit. The fee includes the CLE, lunch and reception.

This inaugural symposium is designed for attorneys, industry professionals and law students who want to know more about substantive legal and business issues addressed in the practice of entertainment and sports law.

Schedule

9:00 a.m. - Welcome
A special presentation on the Entertainment Law Initiative
By Scott Goldman of the GRAMMY Foundation®

9:15 - 10:15 a.m.
Careers in Entertainment Law: A Panel Discussion of Lommen Abdo Entertainment/Sports Lawyers for Law Students and Curious Lawyers
Moderated by Bill White, Publisher of Law & Politics®

Entertainment and sports law is a deceptively broad legal practice field. Opportunities range from solo to large private practices, from in-house positions in major companies to minor/independent companies. The recipe for a successful law practice includes part law, part business and a healthy measure of art. This session explores the variety of fields of the practice including music, film, TV, sports, book publishing, on-line, litigation, financing, business structures and intellectual property and the opportunities therein. Practical questions will be addressed such as what to study in law school, how to network, how to learn about the industries, and how to develop a practice.

10:15 a.m. - 15-minute break

10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Music: The Exclusive Recording Agreement in the Digital Age
Presented by Ken Abdo, Bob Donnelly and Paul Bezilla

The exclusive recording agreement was once the nexus of an artist’s music career. Over time, customs developed in the negotiation of the agreement based on a body of law and an “analog” economy. With the onset of the digital music economy, the rules and the documents have changed. This panel will review the changes in technology and law that have sent the music business and the concomitant exclusive recording agreement negotiations into uncharted territory. The anatomy of a digitized recording agreement will be dissected.

11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Sports (A Working Luncheon): Representing Professional Athletes in Marketing, Negotiations, and Post-Play Realities
Presented by Lee Hutton III

Addressing the needs of athletes, both on and off the field, requires attention to the rapidly changing sports industry and knowledge of the athlete’s rights in many areas of the law, including contracts, employment, sports, unions, estate planning, and the laws and regulations on ethics. This session also discusses the role sports attorneys play in the holistic representation of an athlete, the challenges they face in meeting these obligations and, in particular, the ethical issues faced by lawyers and non-lawyers.

1:00 p.m. - 15 Minute Break

1:15 - 2:15 p.m.
Film: From Book to Screen
Presented by Dan Satorius and Christie Rothenberg Healey

What goes into making a film adaptation of a book and what legal issues does that create? Many of Hollywood’s greatest films are based on books. Follow the perilous journey from book to script to the silver screen as the presenters address option and purchase agreements, writer employment agreements, book authors as screenwriters, characters rights and more.

2:15 - 3:15 p.m.
IP Litigation: Litigating the Scope of Intellectual Property Rights in Entertainment Transactions
Presented by Tim Matson and Barry O’Neil

Disputes over the ownership of rights of publicity, trademarks and copyrights and the scope of any related licensing agreements are prevalent in the entertainment industry. Whether in professional sports, the music industry, the film business or the software industry, an awareness of the issues and the potential ways that problems can be avoided is useful to both the transactional entertainment lawyer and the litigation attorney. Trial lawyers Barry O’Neil and Tim Matson will address substantive and procedural issues that arise in litigation involving intellectual property rights.

3:15 p.m. - 15 Minute Break

3:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Entertainment Law Ethics: A Roadmap for the Entrepreneurial Entertainment Lawyer
Presented by Ken Abdo and Bob Donnelly

The rules of professional conduct apply equally to all lawyers in all fields. For lawyers building and maintaining an entertainment and sports practice, the rules of professional conduct present uniquely challenging practice considerations. The panel will address these challenges head-on with references to applicable statutes, rules and judicial decisions.

4:30- 5:30 p.m.
Grammy Foundation®/Law & Politics® Post-Conference Social

Click on this link to register for the event. For more information, contact Theresa Abdo Whelan at 612-336-1277 or theresa@lommen.com.

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