Associate Attorney Job Description

Why I Chose Entertainment Law

Why did I pick entertainment law? Well, you have to have a real love for entertainment and want it to be in movies, TVs, and anything involved with that. Which is, as much fun as it sounds, it's a lot of work. It's a lot of business decisions; it's a lot of legal. But it's fun when you get involved in it. You get to see how the sausage is made.

Pros and Cons of an Entertainment Law Attorney

The pros: you get to work on fun projects. You get to see something from a script to a studio, to actually being on screen or a TV show, whichever version. The cons: sometimes you have fire drills and you're gonna work long hours to get something done. You need something over the finish line—financing, whatever it may be, things happen. It's like any other industry, business. You're gonna have to put out fires sometimes.

The cons are you might have to work long hours. It's not the end of the world, but the pros are you get to work in a pretty cool industry and see some fun things. Attorneys do make decent money. It takes a while to work up to that. And the reason attorneys make decent money sometimes is because of our law school debts. But usually, anytime you're probably looking around six figures, and that can vary and go up depending on your background, education, and years of experience. Like any job, it really does depend. But usually, you're looking to start 

Job Requirements

You need to go to law school. That's kind of the requirement for most legal jobs. You can work as a paralegal or in other situations in legal, but to be an actual entertainment attorney, you have to go to law school and then work your way either through a law firm or go in-house with a studio or production company and really get experience. And that's how you kind of get into entertainment law.

Paths into Entertainment Law

There's a couple of paths a lot of people take. They work for law firms; they did that for a few years and then switch over to the studio side or production house. Or you can go in-house straight out of law school. It's a little harder to do that. And for anyone thinking they're gonna jump straight into being an attorney out of law school for in-house studios... probably not gonna happen unless you're one of the top tier schools. You're gonna have to work your way up.

You start as an assistant, coordinator, or paralegal, and you eventually will, if you start in-house. If you want to do the law firm route, you can work that for a few years. And that's usually the path a lot of people take. They'll work at a law firm for five to ten years and then switch over to in-house at a studio or production house.

The Career Path I Took

My personal path was I worked at a law firm, decided if I wanted to become an attorney, went to law school, and then really worked the internships. That's my personal path. A lot of people take different ones. They'll do the law firm side of the internships in the studios. But I did in-house right away and just got internships. Internships are key. They give you great experience and get you in the door, which is really one of the hardest things in the entertainment industry: getting your foot in that door.

Things to Consider

First, really ask yourself if you want to be an attorney—that's the first question. If you're on the fence about it, then don't do it. Law school is expensive, it's hard, and it's not easy to pass the bar. If you do want to do that, go to law school or become a paralegal and get internships. Get your foot in the door. You don't always have to start up in the legal side.

I have a lot of friends and people who start as assistants and work their way up through the studio system or law firm system. It's long, it takes a lot of perseverance, and you really just want to try and get your foot in the door. That's my biggest recommendation. Do whatever you can to get your foot in that door and then see what you want to do from there and work your way up.

Career Advice - Network

Network. Networking is a big thing in the entertainment industry. Not a lot of people like it. I'm not a fan of it. I'm not great at it, but it really is the key. Network and get your foot in the door for internships and find connections. That's my biggest recommendation.