Leaders in Media and Entertainment Law
The Ziffren Institute is recognized across the media and entertainment industry as a training ground for top attorneys and executives. A robust curriculum, cutting-edge clinics and access to experienced alumni open the door to careers in TV, movies, sports and tech.
The Ziffren Institute for Media, Entertainment, Technology and Sports Law is a gateway to a meaningful, lifelong career in the technology, intellectual property, entertainment and sports communities. The institute's experienced faculty, including leading practitioners, offer one-of-a-kind training, and Ziffren clinics give students the opportunities to make an impact while still in school.
In their first year, students are invited to a wide array of talks, lunches and alumni events with executives from leading enterprises such as Electronic Arts, Microsoft and Warner Bros. In the second year, students take core classes in subjects including entertainment law, patent law, film finance and copyright, and participate in externships with Los Angeles’s best technology firms, talent agencies, unions and production companies. The third year provides greater networking opportunities and on-campus experiences including the school’s Documentary Film Legal Clinic, Music Industry Clinic and Sports Law Simulation. Student journals and organizations offer great extra-curricular opportunities and the Ziffren In series brings leading lawyers and executives to campus to share their inside perspectives on the industry.
Projects
Industry Pros Guiding Students
The Ziffren Institute brings leading lawyers, executives, agents, managers and producers, together with students for candid discussions on subjects at the forefront of the media, entertainment, technology and sports worlds.
UCLA Entertainment Symposium
A flagship event in the entertainment industry bringing together hundreds of professionals to the UCLA campus each spring to focus on trends and topics affecting the industry.
One Year Out and Five Years Out
A candid look at the day-to-day work lives of UCLA Law alumni five years into their professional careers.
Ziffren IN-Series
Insights from the dealmakers at the center of the sports and media landscape.
Supplemental Practical Legal Education
High-level industry practitioners tap into the Ziffren Institute’s vast well of insights on the top issues of the day.
Who We Are
- Executive Staff
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Faculty
Susan Akens
Executive Director, Ziffren Institute for Media, Entertainment, Technology and Sports Law
Professor from PracticeSteven A. Bank
Vice Dean for Curricular and Academic Affairs and Paul Hastings Professor of Business LawEugene K. Chong
Partner, Chong IP Law Group
Lecturer in LawDale Cohen
Special Counsel, "Frontline"
Director of Documentary Film Legal ClinicJohn W. Crittenden
Senior Counsel, Cooley LLP
Adjunct FacultySteven K. Derian
Lecturer in LawSusan C. Genco
Co-President, The Azoff Company
Lecturer in LawMark F. Grady
Distinguished Professor of LawCurt Hessler
Former Chairman and CEO, 101 Communications
Lecturer in LawSusan Hilderley
Lecturer in LawJerry Kang
Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Distinguished Professor of Law
Professor of Asian American Studies (by courtesy)
Korea Times--Hankook Ilbo Chair in Korean American Studies and LawNicholas La Terza
Of Counsel, The Point Media
Lecturer in LawDouglas Lichtman
Professor of LawJeffrey Light
Lecturer in LawDaniel M. Mayeda
Associate Director, Documentary Film Legal ClinicCatrice Monson
Lecturer in LawNeil W. Netanel
Pete Kameron Professor of LawDavid Nimmer
Of Counsel, Irell & Manella LLP
Adjunct FacultyKal Raustiala
Promise Institute Chair in Comparative and International Law
Director, UCLA Ronald W. Burkle Center for International RelationsSeana Shiffrin
Professor of Philosophy
Pete Kameron Professor of Law and Social JusticeSandra Stern
Lecturer in LawEugene Volokh
Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of LawSteven Thomas
Partner, Irell & Manella LLP, Adjunct FacultyMichael A. Woronoff
Partner, Kirkland & Ellis, LLP, Adjunct FacultyKenneth Ziffren
Partner, Ziffren Brittenham LLP, Adjunct Faculty
Advisory Board
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Members
Valerie "Val" Ackerman '85 J.D.
Big East ConferenceHoward L. Berman '62 B.A., '65 J.D.
Covington & Burling LLPJohn Branca '75 J.D.
Ziffren Brittenham LLPBernardine Brandis '75 B.A., '78 J.D.
Walt Disney CompanyJoseph A. Calabrese
Latham & Watkins LLPA. Barry Cappello '62 B.A., '65 J.D.
Cappello & Noël LLPMelanie Cook '74 B.A., '78 J.D.
Ziffren Brittenham LLPRobert "Bob" DeBitetto '81
John D. Diemer '76 B.A., '80 J.D.
Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher LLPAlan J. Epstein '87 J.D.
Venable LLPMatthew Erramouspe '96 J.D.
Legendary EntertainmentStephen Espinoza '96 J.D.
Showtime SportsJeffrey H. Frankel J.D. ‘91
McKuin Frankel Whitehead, LLPJeffrey M. Freedman '93 J.D.
Creative Artist AgencyCarlos K. Goodman '88 J.D.
Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher LLPStephen "Steve" D. Greenberg '77 J.D.
Allen & CompanyYakub Hazzard '90 J.D.
Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLPWendy A. Heller '95 B.A., '98 J.D.
Law Offices of Wendy HellerDale Kinsella '74 J.D.
Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert LLPIra L. Kurgan '78 J.D.
Kurgan MediaDan Limerick '97 J.D.
William Morris Endeavor Entertainment LLCJoseph A. Lopez '09 J.D.
MGA EntertainmentRobert "Bob" Marshall '73 J.D.
Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLPKevin S. Masuda
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLPThomas "Tom" McGuire '76 B.A.
NetflixRobert "Bob" D. Offer '92 J.D.
Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern LLPDaniel "Danny" Passman '05 J.D.
Gang Tyre Ramer & Brown Inc.Peter Paterno '76 J.D.
King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano LLPLouis "Lou" Petrich '62 B.A., '65 J.D.
Ballard Spahr LLPRobyn Polashuk '94 J.D.
Covington & Burling LLPNancy Newhouse Porter '78 J.D.
Newhouse Porter HubbardHarriet Posner '84 J.D.
CallidaeJason C. Sloane '88 J.D.
Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern LLPJoel McCabe Smith '68 B.A., '71 J.D.
Sandra Stern '79 J.D.
LionsgateJoseph "Joe" R. Taylor '87 J.D.
Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PCMatthew C. Thompson
Sidley Austin LLPBarry Tyerman '67 B.S. '71 J.D.
Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & KleinKenneth Ziffren '65
Partner, Ziffren Brittenham LLP
Adjunct Faculty
For Students
The Ziffren Institute on Media, Entertainment, Technology and Sports Law offers students an immersive, cutting-edge experience. Classes are taught by leading academics and accomplished professionals in the field. A wide array of externships and internships offer students real-world experience and vital connections in the industry. Student-led organizations and publications explore industry trends and current issues in the law while forging strong bonds among students, and UCLA School of Law’s annual Entertainment Symposium is a one-of-a kind event where students learn from the leaders who are shaping the industry.
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Internships / Externships
EXTERNSHIPS
UCLA Law has a well-established program to offer credit for appropriate school-year placements, including externships with movie and television studios, networks, Silicon Beach digital media companies, production companies, talent agencies and others.
Full-time, semester-long externships give J.D. students in their second and third years the opportunity to develop legal skills outside the classroom context, gain practical experience in supervised settings, and acquire perspectives about the lawyering process.
Both J.D. and LL.M. candidate students also may seek part-time corporate-venue externships, so long as they comply with school requirements. Students are encouraged to check with the UCLA Law Externship Director about venues, credit, and applicable requirements.
PAID INTERNSHIPS
Students also have robust opportunities to pursue paid, year-round internships with media and entertainment industry organizations. Past placements have included Activision, CBS, FOX, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal, SAG-AFTRA, Warner Bros. and William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, among others.
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Programs and Speakers
The Ziffren Institute brings a wide variety of industry professionals - including executives, agents, journalists, lawyers and others - to the law school for informal discussions of their areas of expertise, their views of the present and future of their sector of the business, and how they got to their present positions.
One example is the "Lunch with the Corner Office" which allows students to enjoy an intimate conversation with entertainment notables such as Nancy Tellem, Executive Chairwoman and Chief Media Officer of Eko, and Congressman Howard Berman, Senior Advisor at Covington & Burling.
The Ziffren Institute's Supplemental Practical Legal Education Program offers lunchtime presentations by mid-level law firm associates and in-house lawyers on matters impacting lawyers in their early years of practice. Presentations have included associates from O’Melveny & Myers LLP, Latham & Watkins LLP, and most recently, entertainment boutique firm Sloane Offer Weber and Dern, to cover the basics of social media endorsement deals.
The institute also supports participation in opportunities generated by industry institutions, such as the GRAMMY Foundation Entertainment Law Initiative national writing competition for law students.
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Student Organizations
Art Law Society
Entertainment Law Association
Gaming Law Association
Intellectual Property Law Association
Sports Law Federation
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Entertainment Law Review / JOLT
The Entertainment Law Review is a scholarly journal devoted to legal issues affecting film, television, radio, computer and print media. Topics addressed in professional and student work include copyright and patent issues, the regulation of the entertainment industry, and labor, constitutional, administrative and antitrust law as they relate to entertainment and media law. The Entertainment Law Review is organized by UCLA students, who manage all aspects of the publication.
The UCLA Journal of Law and Technology (JOLT) is a student-run publication dedicated to producing the best literature on the web concerning intellectual property at the forefront of academia, society and innovation. These materials include traditional scholarly articles and comments, practical advice, and notes on emerging trends and activities from attorneys broaching the cutting edge.
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Entertainment Symposium
The UCLA Law Entertainment Symposium Links to UCLA Entertainment Symposium project>, which celebrates its 43rd year in 2019, brings hundreds of entertainment professionals to the UCLA campus for a weekend each spring to focus on trends and topics affecting the industry. Volunteer opportunities for students abound. Interested students should contact the Ziffren Institute executive director for more information.
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Online Information Sessions
Liveguide - View recorded sessions with students on entertainment, intellectual property and sports law opportunities at UCLA Law.