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Summer 2019
Power Alums Return to UCLA Law
From left: Val Ackerman, Bruce Rosenblum and Howard Berman.
From Capitol Hill and Silicon Valley to the heart of Hollywood, leading UCLA School of Law alums from the worlds of entertainment, sports and technology returned to campus in 2018-19 to speak to Ziffren Center students in small-group settings. These special appearances highlight one of the Ziffren Center's greatest strengths: Elite alumni willing to share their experience and insights with today’s students. In '18-19:
• John Branca ‘75 of Ziffren Brittenham and Val Ackerman '85, commissioner of the Big
East Conference, offered talks in UCLA Law's Distinguished Alumni Lecture series.
• Former Rep. Howard Berman (D-L.A.) ’65, and Bruce Rosenblum ’82, former president of Warner Bros. Television, were guests for Corner Office lunches with students.
• BJ Watrous ‘00, vice president and chief IP counsel at Apple, and Erich Andersen ’89, VP vice president and chief IP counsel at Microsoft, took part in a special breakfast talk during Professor Doug Lichtman's Patent Law class.
A Record-Setting Symposium
The 43rd UCLA Entertainment Symposium, "Hollywood Analytica," welcomed more than 550 entertainment attorneys, executives and business leaders to UCLA for two days of talks on hot-button issues.
Quibi CEO Meg Whitman and Chairman and Founder Jeffrey Katzenberg headlined the event with a Q&A on their new short-form streaming service. The sold-out symposium broke records for fundraising and ticket sales.
Save the date: The 44th UCLA Entertainment Symposium
will be March 20-21, 2020.
From left: Ken Ziffren, Meg Whitman and Jeffrey Katzenberg.
Ziffren IN-Series Goes In Depth
From left: Adam Sullins, Jeffrey Moorad, Ahmad Nassar and Steve Greenberg.
The Ziffren IN-Series inaugurated its IN-DC events in Fall 2018—offering talks with leaders in the cross section of public policy and media, entertainment and technology. The inaugural presentation featured a candid discussion with Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of the MPAA. In Spring 2019, IN-DC welcomed presentations by Andrei Iancu ’96, Director of the USPTO, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Rep. Jerry Nadler.
Also, in Spring 2019 the Ziffren IN-Sports
event, “All Bets Are On,” brought business leaders in the worlds of sports and entertainment together for a half-day conference on the future of sports gambling. Two lively panels featured: Steve Greenberg ’77, Managing Partner of Allen & Co.; Kip Levin, President & COO of FanDuel; Brandon McNulty, SVP of Technology at Legends; Jeffrey Moorad, chair and CEO of Moorad Sports Partners; Ahmad Nassar, President of NFL Players Inc.; Zack Sugarman, SVP of Properties at Wasserman; Adam Sullins ‘99, partner at Latham & Watkins; and Jennifer van Dijk, EVP of Marketing at Wasserman.
Labor Relations Expert Monson Returns to Teach Guilds Course
Accomplished alumna Catrice Monson ’97, senior vice president of diversity and inclusion at CBS, returned to UCLA Law in Spring 2019 to teach a course on Navigating through the Entertainment Unions and Guilds. Previously the senior vice president of labor relations at CBS, Monson now works to expand and enhance diversity initiatives for the CBS Corporation and its business units. She will teach the course again in Spring 2020.
Getting Deals Done
From left: Dale Cohen, John Branca, Taylor Hackford and Carrie Lozano.
Students in the Documentary Film Legal Clinic and Music Industry Clinic played key roles in helping artists get their works in front of audiences in 2018-19. The Documentary Film Legal Clinic provided legal services to several notable documentary films, including Maxima, winner of the top audience award at Hot Docs in Toronto; and Ernie & Joe, which made its world premiere at the SXSW film festival and will debut on HBO later this year. The students of the Music Industry Clinic provided legal services to emerging artists and producers, notably Cheryl K, whose
cover of Money (That’s What I Want) was featured in the soundtrack for Warner Bros. box-office hit Crazy Rich Asians.
In a joint effort with the Documentary Film Legal Clinic, the Ziffren Center co-sponsored with the USC Annenberg School for Communicaion and Journalism, a panel discussion, “Truth Be Told? Documentary Films Today,” drawing more than 100 entertainment law practitioners, students, filmmakers and others. Headlining the panel was top music attorney, John Branca ’75 of Ziffren Brittenham; Oscar-winning filmmaker and former Director’s Guild of America
president Taylor Hackford; Carrie Lozano of the Independent Documentary Association; Christopher Smith, professor of communications and journalism at USC; and Howard Weitzman of Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert. The panel was moderated by Dale Cohen, director of the Documentary Film Legal Clinic.
SPLE Goes Boutique
Connecting students with practitioners is a marquee initiative of the Ziffren Center. This year alums from leading entertainment boutiques and their colleagues came to campus to offer Supplemental Practical Legal Education presentations: Jonathan Sauer ’14 and Kiley Wong of Sloane, Offer, Weber and Dern presented on Social Media Endorsement Deals; Joshua Lewin ’15, Lorien Whitehead ’14 and Andrea Seikaly ’17 of Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin &Dunham talked Talent Representation and
From left: Ayo Adeyeye and Erez Rosenberg.
Negotiating a Release; Allen Secretov ’14 and Daniela Spencer of Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert offered “Entertainment Litigation 101– Big to Boutique"; and Ayo Adeyeye ’13 and Erez Rosenberg ’15 of Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein gave an overview of transactional law and the Certificate of Engagement.
Social Media in the Spotlight
The Ziffren Center and the Program on Understanding Law, Science and Evidence (PULSE@UCLA) co-hosted “Can Social Media Be Fixed? (And Do They Need Fixing?).” Led by Professor Neil Netanel, the full-day conference examined new media and threats to free speech and democracy. Experts included Shaarik Zafar, Facebook’s Manager of Public Policy, and Haroon Azar ’08, program director of the UCLA Initiative on Security and Religious Freedom.
Shaarik Zafar and Haroon Azar.
New to the Practice
From left: Adrienne Platts, John Meller, James Hill, Audrey Benoualid and Christina Tajalli.
Bringing young alums back to talk about life in the real world for the second consecutive year, the Ziffren Center hosted the One Year Out and Five Years Out presentations. In the fall, alumni from the Class of 2017 shared their experiences and networked with students. Panelists included Tal Kapelner, Managing Partner, Tally-Ho Ventures, Inc.; Sam Lehman, Associate, Latham & Watkins; Brandon Milostan, Associate, Greenberg Glusker; Alexandra Morris, Director, Business & Legal Affairs, Warner/Chappell Music; Jillian Rickard,
Counsel, Business & Legal Affairs, H Collective. In spring, members of the Class of 2013 were up. Panelists included Audrey Benoualid, Music Associate, Myman Greenspan; James Hill, Litigation Attorney, Greenberg Glusker; John Meller, Associate, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips; Adrienne Platts, Senior Counsel, Legal Affairs, NBC Universal; and Christina Tajalli, Counsel, Skydance.
And the Grammy Goes to ...
Cameron Berkowitz and Recording Academy President Neil Portnow.
UCLA School of Law student Cameron Berkowitz ’19 scored the top prize in the Recording Academy’s 21st Annual Entertainment Law Initiative Writing Competition. He took the honor for his essay “Streaming in the Free Market: Releasing Songwriters from the Compulsory Music License." Berkowitz received a $10,000 scholarship and tickets to the 2019 Grammy Awards, held in February at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Staying at #1!
In 2019 UCLA School of Law was ranked No.1 entertainment law school in America by The Hollywood Reporter for the sixth consecutive year.
Twenty of the school's alumni were listed among the legal legends and power lawyers working today in music and entertainment law.
Ziffren Center for Media, Entertainment, Technology and Sports Law
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