Entertainment Law Programs (with my numbers) Forum

[smoneill88]

Hey guys,

I put this on this forum (not the 'chances' forum) on purpose, so no flaming! Read the whole post, it belongs here

I'm applying over the next 3 weeks (taking a nice 'vacation' from work) and want to nail down my final list of schools. My goal is to practice Entertainment Law, as I love the industry, have worked in it since I was 16 (now 23, still working in it) and have a fantastic network to bounce off of upon graduating. Right now this is my schools list (3.58 gpa, 169 lsat):

UCLA
USC
Pepperdine
Loyola
Vandy
Cornell
Mich

Can you think of any other schools I should add to this list? NYU seems like a 'no', as does Berkeley, is there anything else worthwhile given my goals? Any good schools that have strong contract + IP programs that I could turn into an Entertainment career upon graduation?

Thank you for the help!
Sean

[descartesb4thehorse]

Median and 25th for Michigan, so without some softs they'll like, you're probably out there.

The other schools seem reasonable, but if you only want to do entertainment law, you should only go to UCLA or USC. That is to say you won't have a direct route, but your only shot to begin with is by being in LA. I'd probably only attend either of them with a scholly, but your GPA might be a tad low for UCLA (well below median, but a squeak above 25th, with a 75th LSAT).

[Aberzombie1892]

What do you mean by entertainment law?

Unless you have a super-special connection that would lead to a high profile client, I think you are trying to specialize too much. While pre-law connections are great, many of them don't lead to high profile legal jobs as the legal market is very prestige oriented (and it's difficult to parlay connections into a good job without the school and grades to go with it). Thus, you should go T14 (and preferably top 5ish) if you can get in. If you can't, I would focus less on entertainment law and focus more on IP in general (and add GW, BC, and BU to your list).

[smoneill88]

Median and 25th for Michigan, so without some softs they'll like, you're probably out there.

The other schools seem reasonable, but if you only want to do entertainment law, you should only go to UCLA or USC. That is to say you won't have a direct route, but your only shot to begin with is by being in LA. I'd probably only attend either of them with a scholly, but your GPA might be a tad low for UCLA (well below median, but a squeak above 25th, with a 75th LSAT).

Thanks for the input. I'm ED'ing to UCLA which will hopefully better my chances, as I'll get their in-state to tuition (I'm an LA native). USC will definitely be hard to swallow without a scholly, but we'll see.

[smoneill88]

What do you mean by entertainment law?

Unless you have a super-special connection that would lead to a high profile client, I think you are trying to specialize too much. While pre-law connections are great, many of them don't lead to high profile legal jobs as the legal market is very prestige oriented (and it's difficult to parlay connections into a good job without the school and grades to go with it). Thus, you should go T14 (and preferably top 5ish) if you can get in. If you can't, I would focus less on entertainment law and focus more on IP in general (and add GW, BC, and BU to your list).

I have connections that would lead to pretty decent MP and TV Lit clients from my experience at an agency + advertising (advert directors more into tv and movies all the time).

However, I definitely heed your caution, and that's why I was wondering about other schools. Why GW, BC, and BU? Are they specifically strong at IP and Contracts? Just curious, don't know too much about them (they haven't really been on my radar yet).

[Grizz]

Median and 25th for Michigan, so without some softs they'll like, you're probably out there.

The other schools seem reasonable, but if you only want to do entertainment law, you should only go to UCLA or USC. That is to say you won't have a direct route, but your only shot to begin with is by being in LA. I'd probably only attend either of them with a scholly, but your GPA might be a tad low for UCLA (well below median, but a squeak above 25th, with a 75th LSAT).

Thanks for the input. I'm ED'ing to UCLA which will hopefully better my chances, as I'll get their in-state to tuition (I'm an LA native). USC will definitely be hard to swallow without a scholly, but we'll see.

Isn't in state still gonna cost like $180k? If so, don't ED.

[Aberzombie1892]

What do you mean by entertainment law?

Unless you have a super-special connection that would lead to a high profile client, I think you are trying to specialize too much. While pre-law connections are great, many of them don't lead to high profile legal jobs as the legal market is very prestige oriented (and it's difficult to parlay connections into a good job without the school and grades to go with it). Thus, you should go T14 (and preferably top 5ish) if you can get in. If you can't, I would focus less on entertainment law and focus more on IP in general (and add GW, BC, and BU to your list).

I have connections that would lead to pretty decent MP and TV Lit clients from my experience at an agency + advertising (advert directors more into tv and movies all the time).

However, I definitely heed your caution, and that's why I was wondering about other schools. Why GW, BC, and BU? Are they specifically strong at IP and Contracts? Just curious, don't know too much about them (they haven't really been on my radar yet).

They are decent, and they would be better bets than Pepperdine and Loyola for IP related employment outcomes (not to mention employment outcomes in general). If you don't open your own entertainment firm immediately after graduation, the name associated with your degree is relevant in terms of employment outcomes - and those three schools are pretty good for IP. Think of them as safety-ish schools that are decent in the area you are interested in.

[smoneill88]

Median and 25th for Michigan, so without some softs they'll like, you're probably out there.

The other schools seem reasonable, but if you only want to do entertainment law, you should only go to UCLA or USC. That is to say you won't have a direct route, but your only shot to begin with is by being in LA. I'd probably only attend either of them with a scholly, but your GPA might be a tad low for UCLA (well below median, but a squeak above 25th, with a 75th LSAT).

Thanks for the input. I'm ED'ing to UCLA which will hopefully better my chances, as I'll get their in-state to tuition (I'm an LA native). USC will definitely be hard to swallow without a scholly, but we'll see.

Isn't in state still gonna cost like $180k? If so, don't ED.

I think it's 111k total (37k a year), and I can live at home so living costs will be negligible. I just feel like getting the UCLA degree will be worth it, no? Compared to my other schools? Even USC with money will still just come down close to that 111k I'd imagine, and UCLA is more renowned worldwide + in LA.

[smoneill88]

What do you mean by entertainment law?

Unless you have a super-special connection that would lead to a high profile client, I think you are trying to specialize too much. While pre-law connections are great, many of them don't lead to high profile legal jobs as the legal market is very prestige oriented (and it's difficult to parlay connections into a good job without the school and grades to go with it). Thus, you should go T14 (and preferably top 5ish) if you can get in. If you can't, I would focus less on entertainment law and focus more on IP in general (and add GW, BC, and BU to your list).

I have connections that would lead to pretty decent MP and TV Lit clients from my experience at an agency + advertising (advert directors more into tv and movies all the time).

However, I definitely heed your caution, and that's why I was wondering about other schools. Why GW, BC, and BU? Are they specifically strong at IP and Contracts? Just curious, don't know too much about them (they haven't really been on my radar yet).

They are decent, and they would be better bets than Pepperdine and Loyola for IP related employment outcomes (not to mention employment outcomes in general). If you don't open your own entertainment firm immediately after graduation, the name associated with your degree is relevant in terms of employment outcomes - and those three schools are pretty good for IP. Think of them as safety-ish schools that are decent in the area you are interested in.

Thanks for the advice, I'll look more into them now, strongly considering adding at least 2 of them to my roster.