Entertainment Lawyer in New Orleans
In the year 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that there were 510,360 individuals employed in the entertainment industry. The number of total entertainers is projected to grow by over 7% by the year 2029. These entertainment professionals, due to the nature of their work, need entertainment lawyers to represent their business interests. Whether you’re working as a producer or voice-over actor in Louisiana, a New Orleans entertainment lawyer could reduce your workload, offer guidance in legal matters, and help protect your interests.
Thespians, singers, and musicians offer their creative products or ideas in exchange for compensation but conflicts can arise about the ownership of this intellectual property. An entertainment attorney in New Orleans could offer support in settling disputes in matters of copyright, intellectual property, international, and employment laws. Considering there were 82 entertainment work-related fatalities in 2018, an entertainment lawyer could also make referrals to personal injury attorneys that could help an entertainer’s loved ones recover economic and non-economic damages in the event of wrongful death.
New Orleans Entertainment Attorney Roles
Entertainment lawyers are usually hired to review, draft, and negotiate contractual agreements but they can fulfill other roles as well. Entertainment attorneys also could litigate a case in the event of a breach of contract, or when an agent takes more than their fair share. The entertainment industry is offered referred to as cutthroat and having an adept entertainment law professional could prevent managers from stealing.
Types of Entertainment Attorneys
Some New Orleans entertainment attorneys specialize in the following types of legal issues that arise in entertainment law:
Litigators
Litigating entertainment law professionals specialize in handling lawsuits and typically represent actors. These attorneys only work in trying and settling entertainment law cases. Litigators can represent their clients in court and build a case that recuperates losses they’ve suffered due to broken contracts, stolen intellectual property, and more.
“Shopping” Lawyers
Connections can sometimes spell the difference between those working in the entertainment industry and others trying to breakthrough. An entertainment lawyer that specializes in “shopping” their clients can help their clients make connections to entertainment industry professionals. They have contacts with different agencies, music labels, companies, studios, casting directors, and other industry professionals. Lawyers who solicit work for their clients are normally lawyers due to their training but playing the role of an agent or manager.
Transactional Attorneys
The most common type of entertainment lawyer is a transactional attorney whose primary job is to create and negotiate contracts on their client’s behalf. Transactional attorneys can also fulfill the following roles:
- Drafting and negotiating production contracts for writers, actors, directors, producers, and acting professionals
- Advance and negotiate distribution and publishing agreements for entertainment-based projects
- Broker financial arrangements with sponsors, banks, investors, grants, and other financial players
- Prepare documents for clients, licensing, and release agreements
- Analyze the rights of their clients
- Provide solutions and offer guidance on entertainment law
In addition to the above-listed specializations, entertainment lawyers can review creative ideas that may be submitted to an entertainment company to inspect its legal ramifications and provide insight on budgeting in an upcoming creative project.
Do I need an entertainment lawyer?
An entertainment attorney in New Orleans works with writers, directors, actors, producers, musicians, special effects coordinators, sound engineers, sound technicians, and a variety of other creative professionals. Entertainment lawyers assist creatives in bringing projects to life. Entertainment attorneys usually have a personal interest in the entertainment industry and want to see their clients grow their ideas and brands.
Entertainment lawyers have a wide array of skills and normally have a diverse skillset that may apply to tax law, litigation, copyright law, and connections that can help their clients excel.
Right of Publicity
Entertainment lawyers can also protect an entertainer’s likeness and image well beyond their death. Publicity rights allow individuals the legal right to protect the usage of their name, likeness, or image in commercial projects. Businesses and advertising firms often use images and other intellectual properties without the creative’s consent and in doing so violate their rights. It’s important to have an entertainment attorney in your corner to protect your ideas and image and help you to ensure you’re fairly compensated for the distribution of your image and creative ideas. Contact our attorney at The Hayes Law Firm, PLC today!
