Top Law Schools

Hey everyone,

i am interested in studying both entertainment law and corporate law in law school. i know that UCLA is supposed to have one of the top entertainment law programs in the country, but UCLA's corporate law program is not as good as Penn's. i have always wanted to practice law (corporate law, possibly with some sort of emphasis on media m+a work) in new york for about 5 years after graduating from law school, but am also considering working for a boutique entertainment law firm in LA to pursue law related to film.

some people have said to just go to the "best" (highest ranked) law school possible, in which case that would be penn...while others have said that UCLA's entertainment program is much better than penn's and that it is a better choice for what i want to do.

i guess my question is...what school would be the best option for studying/being able to practice a combination of entertainment/corporate law? what about the best law degree to have if i want to pursue a non-law related career in the film industry? being from LA, i know UCLA has a lot of clout...speaking to people from NY, it also seems to be highly respected there as well. However, Penn is penn, an ivy league school, and a nationally respected school on both coasts that is ranked higher than UCLA..

any input on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance!

I would go with Penn. Take cross listed classes at Wharton!

I also say Penn

i appreciate the input...but do you guys have any specific reasons as to why penn over ucla? wharton is definitely a big draw, but what about other reasons, especially pertaining to entertainment specifically?

I can't really help you with the choice, but I can tell you that I got a chance to meet Prof. Ginsburg, head of the Entertainment Law Program at UCLA at the first ASD, and the program is well structured and seems to offer quite a bit of flexibility in terms of what area of entertainment law you want to focus on. He also conveyed a distinct focus on understanding the business aspects of working in the entertainment industry.

He seemed like a good guy and very happy to communicate with the prospective students. If you have questions, you might want to contact him directly

https://www.law.ucla.edu/home/index.asp?page=1912

...

Penn

You can rank much lower in your class and still get into a biglaw firm with an entertainment practice.

nobody in Hollywood knows wtf a "Cravath" is

Anybody who has ever worked in Biglaw knows what Cravath is.


Another argument against UCLA: 50k in-state tuition. 60k out of state. Are you friggin kidding me? It's a state school.

cardinalandgold wrote:I would go with Penn. Take cross listed classes at Wharton!

I agree with the course of action but for different reasons. On its face, UCLA is probably the best entertainment law school you can go to, and the Anderson School is almost as good as Wharton. If entertainment law is the sole determinant, it isn't even a contest.

The caveat is that your goals could change, so here's a suggestion: go to Penn for your first two years, and then do your third year at UCLA. You get the Penn JD but, along with it, get UCLA courses, experiences and networks. Done and done!

...

I'm not sure I follow - are you saying you definitely want to be an entertainment lawyer or work in entertainment business but want some background in corporate law, or are you saying you might actually want to do "corporate" in a big firm as an alternative to entertainment?

I mean the kind of "corporate" law you're going to need to know for entertainment law you can learn at any law school - Corporations, maybe a second business orgs course in partnerships/LLCs, maybe securities regulation.

Penn is definitely going to open more doors for you overall and a degree from there couldn't hurt, but I don't know that much about UCLA's entertainment program and maybe it's some kind of special deal (most schools that claim to have a "program" in X or Y kind of law are bogus). If you're not sure you even want to be a lawyer, why not just intern for entertainment companies and hustle? Save yourself the debt - you're not going to make much.

do you have any background in entertainment? (ie significant work experience and/or connections?)

thanks for the responses everyone.

i do have a background in the entertainment industry (a couple internships, keep up with trades, classes taken) and a few connections as well.

my main goal is to one day work as a film producer. however, as that path is by no means guaranteed and definitely does not have a steady paycheck, i was thinking i would work in corporate law at a biglaw in NY. id make some money, save some up, (see how i like it), and then potentially come back to LA to pursue film production..

HOWEVER...i was also thinking that maybe it would be prudent to pursue entertainment law, and then segue into film production from there.

honestly, im not sure which path i would want to take. also, with the film industry in decline and it's revenue sources slowly drying up, im wondering how much money there might be in film production in the future...and entertainment law in general. although a part of me feels like no matter where the entertainment industry heads, the industry will always need entertainment lawyers meaning money in entertainment law will always be there. though im not sure how sound this thought process is..

as such, i would want to keep my options open. i find media related corporate M+A stuff (like the comcast acquisition of NBC or news corp's acquisition of WSJ) very interesting as well...


i hope that helps answer my question

thanks again

buuuuump??????

I chose Penn over UCLA, and have similar interests to you. I love Penn and have never regretted my decision.

Yes, UCLA's entertainment law program is amazing. If you are you sure you want to work in entertainment law in LA, and you don't think you'd ever want to work on the east coast or do anything besides entertainment law, I would pick UCLA.

If you have any doubts at all (however small), or have any interest in working in New York, I'd pick Penn.

Penn doesn't have any "entertainment law" classes, but it has a strong intellectual property faculty and courses that lay the foundation for everything you'd need to do "entertainment law." I use quotations because entertainment law is not really a subject area of its own but rather is about applying IP law to a particular group of clients who happen to be in the entertainment field.

UCLA does not place nearly as well in New York as Penn does - UCLA is extremely well respected in LA, but not so much on the East Coast. It is basically a regional school.

Conversely, Penn places pretty well in LA. I have a multiple friends at Penn who are working at entertainment companies this summer in LA, and I'm working in-house at a film studio as a summer associate. Sounds like you have some background in entertainment, which will help you a lot.

Also, while UCLA is strong in entertainment, how many UCLA law grads do you think will be interested in entertainment law? I'm guessing a lot. You have to remember that companies and firms want diversity in terms of where their employees come from.

Penn will open doors for you all over the country, even in entertainment law. Also, it's much higher ranked and will give you a much better chance of working in biglaw, especially on the east coast. I have a friend at UCLA law right now who wants to work in NY but wasn't able to find anything for this summer.

UCLA is very tempting, especially with its weather and amazing entertainment law curriculum, but it is also dangerously limiting. If you focus on entertainment law at UCLA, it will pidgeonhole you both to the city and to the field. Something to be careful about.

dood wrote:...nobody in Hollywood knows wtf a "Cravath" is....

you must admit, though, their typeface of choice is damn sexy:

thistimereborn wrote:I chose Penn over UCLA, and have similar interests to you. I love Penn and have never regretted my decision.

Yes, UCLA's entertainment law program is amazing. If you are you sure you want to work in entertainment law in LA, and you don't think you'd ever want to work on the east coast or do anything besides entertainment law, I would pick UCLA.

If you have any doubts at all (however small), or have any interest in working in New York, I'd pick Penn.

Penn doesn't have any "entertainment law" classes, but it has a strong intellectual property faculty and courses that lay the foundation for everything you'd need to do "entertainment law." I use quotations because entertainment law is not really a subject area of its own but rather is about applying IP law to a particular group of clients who happen to be in the entertainment field.

UCLA does not place nearly as well in New York as Penn does - UCLA is extremely well respected in LA, but not so much on the East Coast. It is basically a regional school.

Conversely, Penn places pretty well in LA. I have a multiple friends at Penn who are working at entertainment companies this summer in LA, and I'm working in-house at a film studio as a summer associate. Sounds like you have some background in entertainment, which will help you a lot.

Also, while UCLA is strong in entertainment, how many UCLA law grads do you think will be interested in entertainment law? I'm guessing a lot. You have to remember that companies and firms want diversity in terms of where their employees come from.

Penn will open doors for you all over the country, even in entertainment law. Also, it's much higher ranked and will give you a much better chance of working in biglaw, especially on the east coast. I have a friend at UCLA law right now who wants to work in NY but wasn't able to find anything for this summer.

UCLA is very tempting, especially with its weather and amazing entertainment law curriculum, but it is also dangerously limiting. If you focus on entertainment law at UCLA, it will pidgeonhole you both to the city and to the field. Something to be careful about.

Well said until the last two lines. UCLA will not pidgeonhole you into entertainment law. Many great corporate lawyers come from UCLA. And, while it is a regional school, it is located in what amounts to arguably the nicest region in the country. Furthermore, UCLA grads can work all over Cali, including the Bay Area and S.D. They can also head north to Seattle.

Penn. You're pussyfooting around the entertainment stuff, and let's be honest, if you're not dedicated to it you're never going to amount to anything in that field. Therefore, you've got better legal job prospects out of Penn.