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 attorneys 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 first six law schools 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, Yeshiva University
Alumni: Google senior counsel John LaBarre, Sony Music Entertainment executive vp business affairs/general counsel Julie SwidlerBrooklyn Law School
Alumnae: Interscope Geffen A&M executive vp urban operations Nicole Wyskoarko, ASCAP senior vp membership Nneka Norville, BET Networks director of corporate social responsibility Nicole George-MiddletonColumbia Law School
Alumni: Loeb & Loeb partner Jonathan Zavin, Sony Music Entertainment senior vp/deputy general counsel/chief compliance, ethics and privacy officer Wade LeakFordham University School of Law
Alumni: Nixon Peabody partner Julian Petty, Warner Music Group executive vp/general counsel Paul RobinsonGeorgetown University Law Center
Alumnus: Sony Music Entertainment executive vp business and legal affairs, international Stu BondellHarvard Law School
Alumnus: Spotify general counsel/vp business and legal affairs Horacio Gutierrez
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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Making The Class of 2018: Top Music Law Schools [Billboard]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.