Summary: Over half of the top 9 law schools for entertainment law are in California, where entertainment and media clients are available everywhere.
There are some law schools that produce more top lawyers than others. The Hollywood Reporter collected their list of the Top 10 Entertainment Law Schools of 2018. The list looks at the Power Lawyers in the Entertainment industry and their alma maters. Here are the top nine law schools in this category:
- UCLA School of Law had 18 alums in the Power Lawyers list. This is not very surprising given its proximity to Hollywood and the fact that the school caters much of its special events to the entertainment industry. Top guns Leslie Moonves and Stacey Snider are some of those drawn to the law school, in large part because of the annual symposium provided by the Ziffren Center for Media, Entertainment, Technology and Sports Law. The Ziffren Center was named after Ken Ziffren, who donated $5 million to the school.
- Harvard Law School produces a lot of top talent. This year they had 15 alums make the list. The prestigious law school has a number of programs helping their students gain valuable experience in Entertainment Law. There is the Entertainment Law Clinic, Recording Artists Project, and Harassment Assault Law-Student Team, which was started three years ago to address the difficulty sexual abuse victims face fighting for their rights.
- USC Gould School of Law is another school with a desirable location. With 13 alums making the list, the law school is poised to remain a strong producer of top lawyers. The law school has a number of student organizations and programs that connect students with the local entertainment industry.
- Columbia Law School can claim nine alums on the list this year. The law school’s Kernochan Center for Law, Media and the Arts hold discussions on digital entertainment. The school also has notable professors introducing topics related to entertainment law. This spring, the wife of famed actor George Clooney, Amal Clooney, who happens to be a prominent lawyer and alum of the school, will be teaching a course on human rights.
- UC Berkeley School of Law is another California law school that has a strong presence of entertainment law with six alums on the list. The law school has been increasing its offering of law and technology classes lately, including cybersecurity and cybercrime. One of their newer programs is a partnership with the university’s Haas School of Business to focus on business law and startups.
- Georgetown Law School has five alums on the Power Lawyer list. One of the things the school does to promote entertainment and media law is to hold an annual symposium. The law school’s recent graduates return to campus to participate in the event, which is in its 11th They talk about the trends in entertainment, sports law, technology, copyright, and more.
- Southwestern Law School is a Los Angeles law school that also had five alums on the list. The school is well-known for its Entertainment and Arts Legal Clinic. The school also gives its students with real-world entertainment law experience by industry clients who are emerging and indie filmmakers, musicians and digital content producers with providing business affairs and production legal services. They also has a summer international media law program in London.
- Stanford Law School also has five of their alums on this year’s list. With a location in Silicon Valley, there is little surprise that the school excels in technology and intellectual property law in addition to entertainment law.
- George Washington University Law School made the list with four alums excelling in entertainment law. The law school has a range of courses for students to take in administrative law, commercial law, labor law, business law, and government regulations at their main campus. The other campuses have other courses for students to try out.
Do you think it would be best to attend a law school in California if you were wanting to practice entertainment law? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
To learn more about the top law schools for other categories, read these articles:
- Top 10 Law Schools for Graduates Trying for a Top Job
- Top 7 Underrated Law Schools in the U.S.
- Billboard Lists Top Music Law Schools
- 2017’s Top 10 Lifestyle Law Schools
Photo: entertainmentlaw.uslegal.com