Representing emerging and celebrity musicians and music industry companies is likely to catapult your name into the news and turn your business into a household topic of conversation. Maybe that’s one of the many reasons why you’re so interested in pursuing a career in music law. Attorneys who practice in the field of music law have worked with some of the most celebrated — and sometimes reviled — recording artists in the country (or the world), and that’s exactly the kind of career experience you envision for yourself.
If you’re still deciding where to go to law school and you’re dreaming of someday practicing law with music’s brightest stars as your clients, perhaps it’s time to take a look at Billboard’s latest law school rankings.
Billboard’s ranking is based on the number of accomplished music litigators that have graduated from each law school. Billboard has ranked the top 12 law schools alphabetically. We’ll provide our readers with a look at the top six here at Above the Law. Click here to see the full list.
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So, which schools made the cut? You might be surprised.
- Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law
Alumni: Jason Boyarski, partner, Boyarski Fritz; John LaBarre, senior counsel, Google- Brooklyn Law School
Alumnae: Nicole George-Middleton, senior VP membership, ASCAP; Nneka Norville, senior public affairs manager, BET Networks- Cornell Law School
Alumnus: Kendall Minter, founder of Atlanta-based Minter & Associates- Fordham University School of Law
Alumni: Michelle Jubelirer, COO, Capitol Music Group; Paul Robinson, executive VP/general counsel, Warner Music Group- Harvard Law School
Alumnus: Horacio Gutierrez, general counsel, Spotify- Loyola Law School, Los Angeles
Alumni: Bill Colitre, VP/GM, Music Reports; Damian Elahi, senior VP, business and legal, Warner Bros. Records
While it certainly helps to go to a top-ranked law school to represent the members of the music industry elite, going to a law school in New York or California seems to be even more helpful. If you’re interested in music law, you should know that it’s a relatively tough field to get into, and it may take you quite some time to reach the peak of your career — or, you could get really lucky.
Either way, choosing the right law school is just the first step, and we wish you the best of luck. Maybe someday you’ll get to represent your favorite musician.
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The Leading Music Law Schools of 2017 [Billboard]
Staci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.