<p>I'm a senior in undergrad and I'd like to work in the music industry after graduating. I've recently become more interested in music/entertainment law.
This interest has made me strongly consider applying to law school now. The only program I've really researched and think I have any chance of getting into is the U of Miami Joint J.D. & M.M. degree.</p>
<p>I've essentially come here to ask advice on such a late interest in law school and also to see if it's such a good idea to apply to law school if I have such a narrow area of interest in law.</p>
<p>One consideration is: go to a law school located in a major entertainment business area so you benefit from specialists working or consulting in the industry- and so you can make contacts early and etc. Eg, NY/Chi/LA/Nashville, whatever. (I would guess Miami is the place for Spanish-lang music; I don’t know anything about that.)</p>
<p>Nothing wrong with late interest- but, generally, the best jobs go to grads of the best law schools- often a very short list.
Also, law school involves heavy reading and the ability to id, track, analyze and apply minute details/threads. (Or, whatever better words apply; same concept.) You will study far more about law than just your specific interest. If you are up for all that, why not? ps. It’s not a bad idea to go work in the music biz for a year or two and then apply; many advantages to that, including a little edge on your app.</p>
<p>That was one of my main concerns with U of Miami, the location. I don’t really care much for miami.<br>
I’m aware of the requirements that law school brings, and it doesn’t bother me too much. I’m a philosophy major and I tend to enjoy analyzing and breaking down things.
As for the music biz, I technically work in the industry now. I book and manage a 350 capacity venue on campus and I have a fair amount of contacts in the industry.
Actually my main fear of going to grad/law school is that I’ll be out of the loop for 3+ years and will loose touch with all my contacts in the industry.</p>
<p>Out of contact? Yes. And No. Not in the new media age. Most law kids do intense real world summer jobs in some aspect of the law- yours could be entertainment related. </p>
<p>But, the kind of interim post-BA “work in the music biz” I mean is inside some corp or operation. Managing a venue is super- can be tons of responsibility. But, it’s only step one. Can any of those contacts lead you somewhere? You have 6 mo to make this happen.
Phil. major is perfect. Remem, tho, you want to go to a hot school, to have the most leverage when you grad.</p>
<p>Do you think my job would give any more leverage to a school that has a focus in entertainment law?
My biggest worry is the LSAT. While I fee like a lot of my philosophy coursework will be of great help (logic and reasoning courses), I do feel like i don’t have much time to prepare and take the lsat.</p>
<p>Your current job? Don’t know. It’s sheltered, occurs under the auspices and protection of a U. It can’t parallel the full range of what ent lawyers do. It may parallel some jobs in the music industry. (If you’ve done it for a while and have deep and broad resps, it could look good to an MBA program. ) The advantage to a real-world job after graduation is it gives you time to mature and solidify your career interests. That’s reputed to be an advantage, nowadays, to some law schools. And, it gives time to focus on the LSAT. (You may end up taking that more than once- confirm whether all scores are sent to law schools or just your best.) Have you gotten sample test info?
Why is Miami the only program you think you “have any chance of getting into?” If it’s gpa or course rigor, you need to make up for that.</p>
<p>"Do you think my job would give any more leverage to a school that has a focus in entertainment law?
My biggest worry is the LSAT. While I fee like a lot of my philosophy coursework will be of great help (logic and reasoning courses), I do feel like i don’t have much time to prepare and take the lsat. "</p>
<p>I second lookingforward’s advice to go work in the industry for a couple of years to build contacts and gain deeper knowledge of the music/entertainment industry. Will help you later gain an edge not only on law school applications, but more importantly in getting a legal job related to the industry. Will certainly differentiate you from the hundreds of law school applicants/students/graduates who have little/no meaningful work experience…especially in the T14.</p>
<p>UCLA Extension offers some excellent courses in entertainment law and the music sector. My advise is to take a few courses and see if you like it, before investing in three years of law school.</p>
<p>Also, the bulk of case law and decisions relating to the entertainment field is in New York and California. If you plan to work in that area, then you should attend law school in one of those states, preferably in a major hub like NYC or LA.</p>
<p>my d worked for a labor union which represents performing artists and she may use that background when making career decisions. She is now a first year law student.<br>
To help her stay connected with her industry, she continues to stay in touch with her union contacts- has attended a music industry symposium that was held at her school- and will probably join the “sports and entertainment” club (or whatever they call it) at the law school. I have learned from her experience as a union rep, that there are unique labor and ownership issues (copyright) when it comes to paying performing artists for their work. So it is definitely the type of background that might set you apart from a chunk of the other law students.</p>
<p>As you are aware- your LSAT score will be the deciding factor as to where you go to law school. So to speculate now- without the LSAT score may be a waste of time–
but you might want to check out programs at Vanderbilt (Nashville is big time music city) and Cordoza in NYC has a pretty decent array of classes in the entertainment/music field and of course UCLA/USC. As we are NY people, I’m not that familiar with other west coast schools. Good luck</p>
<p>also- (and i’m sure law students/lawyers can chime in). I don’t think it has to be such a narrow field of law- as you will be dealing with many labor-contract-Intellectual Property (copyright) issues and will need to take all the basic law classes that are necessary regardless of your specific interest in the music industry.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s such a great idea. Lots and lots of law students and prospective law students have the idea of doing entertainment law. So it’s super competitive. Not only that, the music industry is constantly changing due to changing tastes and technologies. So there’s very little job security, it seems to me.</p>
<p>If you are really interested in working in the music industry, why not just take a job in the industry straight out of college?</p>