ENTERTAINMENT ATTORNEY / MUSIC CLEARANCE SERVICE 2001 to Present

Entertainment Law: Clients include recording artists, managers, producers, record companies, television producers, film makers, digital content providers, and others.

Music Clearance Service: Clear songs and recordings for audiovisual programs including television, home video, TV commercials, motion pictures and webcasts. License masters for use in audio compilations. License samples for use in audio recordings.

SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT INC.
Director, Business Affairs/Television & Video;
Attorney: 1991 to 2001
Negotiated and wrote agreements for the production, acquisition and distribution of records, TV programs and videos. Supervised business affairs and legal work for television series "Sessions at West 54th" (4 years on PBS) and "Live By Request" (6 years on A&E).

Television/Video: Principal attorney for Automatic Productions, Sony's television and video production company. Negotiated and drafted agreements with broadcast, cable and Pay TV services for the production and transmission of a variety of programs including music concerts, documentaries and talk shows. Structured and implemented deals for featured musical artists, musicians, actors, directors, producers, sponsors and others. Administered contracts for production of over two hundred and fifty promotional videos each year for Columbia and Epic Records.

Records: Negotiated recording agreements between Sony Music and recording artists. Implemented other recording industry transactions for Columbia and Epic Records such as soundtrack album contracts, label deals, producer agreements and master use licenses. Responsible for all business affairs and legal work for Sony Wonder, the children's music group, from 1991 to 1995.

New Technologies: Structured, negotiated and drafted website and software licenses. Implemented deals for the acquisition of content for Sony's websites. Licensed content to third party sites. Administered contests and promotions on the Internet. Negotiated deals with artists and music publishers for webcasts of concerts.

Clearances: Cleared musical compositions, samples, masters, movie footage, photographs and other content for use in hundreds of TV concert programs; music documentaries; VHS, DVD, CD Extra and CD-Rom titles, screensavers, webcasts and websites.

MAYER KATZ BAKER & LEIBOWITZ
Associate: 1990-1991
Negotiated and drafted artist recording agreements for Elektra and Atlantic Records.

SESAC, INC.
Senior Counsel: 1987-1990
Structured and implemented licensing agreements for the public performance of music on television, radio, and other media.

DE LAURENTIIS ENTERTAINMENT GROUP
Attorney: 1986-1987
Negotiated and drafted agreements with actors, writers, directors and other talent. Implemented all soundtrack album agreements for the studio. Cleared music for use in motion pictures and home videos.

ARROW EDELSTEIN & GROSS
Associate: 1985-1986
Specialized in litigation involving music, television and theatre. Wrote appellate briefs and handled all legal research for landmark case of Silverman vs. CBS involving the theatrical presentation of "Amos 'n' Andy".

Law Clerk, Appellate Division, New York State Supreme Court
Performed legal research, drafted judicial opinions and bench memos involving civil, commercial and criminal law.

New York University School of Law, J.D.
SUNY Binghamton, B.A., Honors

Member, Board of Contributing Editors, Entertainment Law & Finance, Feb. 2002 to Present.
Liaison, Committee on Cyber Law, Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section, NYS Bar Assoc., 2001 to Present.
Member, Entertainment Law Committee, NYC Bar Association, 2001 to Present.
CLE Speaker, NYC Bar Association (New Associates Pro Bono Day), December 2001.

"Clearing Music Recordings and Compositions for Use in
Digital Music Services" Part II
Entertainment Law & Finance, March 2002.

"Clearing Music Recordings and Compositions for Use in
Digital Music Services" Part I
Entertainment Law & Finance, February 2002.

"Negotiating Licenses for Use of Music in Television Advertising"
NYSBA Entertainment, Arts & Sports Law Journal, Fall 2001.

"Obtaining Content Rights for Music DVDs"
Entertainment Law & Finance, September 2001.

"Clearing Musical Recordings for the Internet"
Entertainment Law & Finance, August 2001.

"Clearing Synchronization Rights for the Internet"
Entertainment Law & Finance, January 2001.

"Audio Home Recording Act Strikes an Historic Compromise"
New York Law Journal, 1992.

"Stranger In Parodies - Weird Al and the Law of Musical Satire" Fordham Entertainment, Media & Intellectual Property Law Forum, 1990.

"Small Is Beautiful in Charity Benefits"
Billboard Magazine, 1989.

"Silverman vs. CBS: Amos 'n' Andy Go to Court"
ABA Entertainment & Sports Lawyer, 1989.

"The Rap On Sampling: Theft, Innovation, or What?"
New York Law Journal, 1989 (republished Entertainment, Publishing and the Arts Handbook).

"The Celebrity Rights Act"
ABA Entertainment & Sports Lawyer, 1988.

"Should States Pay for Copyrighted Materials?"
New York Law Journal, 1988.

"Director's Guild vs. Film & TV Producers: Strike 1"
New York Law Journal, 1987.

"Promotion Must Have Element of Skill, Not Chance, To Avoid Ban on Song as Lottery"
New York Law Journal, 1986.

"The Lawyer and the New Video Market-Place"
New York Law Journal, 1985.

"New York's Artists' Authorship Rights Act and Commercial Artists"
New York Law Journal, 1985.

"Theater on TV: There Is Life after CBS Cable"
Theater Times, 1985.

EDITOR: Entertainment Law (Case Book) by Melvin Simensky and Tom Selz (Mathew Bender 1984).