Ziffren Institute for Media, Entertainment, Technology and Sports Law

Valerie "Val" Ackerman '85 J.D.
Big East Conference

Howard L. Berman '62 B.A., '65 J.D.
Covington & Burling LLP

Gabriel Brakin, '01 B.A., '05 J.D.
Participant Media

John Branca '75 J.D.
Ziffren Brittenham LLP

Bernardine Brandis '75 B.A., '78 J.D.
Walt Disney Company

Joseph A. Calabrese
Latham & Watkins LLP

A. Barry Cappello '62 B.A., '65 J.D.
Cappello & Noël LLP

Melanie Cook '74 B.A., '78 J.D.
Ziffren Brittenham LLP

Robert "Bob" DeBitetto '81

John D. Diemer '76 B.A., '80 J.D.
Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher LLP

Alan J. Epstein '87 J.D.
Wilkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

Matthew Erramouspe '96 J.D.
Legendary Entertainment

Stephen Espinoza '96 J.D.
Showtime Sports

Chad Fitzgerald '01 J.D.
Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump Holley LLP

Jeffrey H. Frankel J.D. ‘91
McKuin Frankel Whitehead LLP

Jeffrey M. Freedman '93 J.D.
Creative Artists Agency

Carlos K. Goodman '88 J.D.
Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher LLP

Stephen "Steve" D. Greenberg '77 J.D.
Allen & Company

Yakub Hazzard '90 J.D.
Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP

Wendy A. Heller '95 B.A., '98 J.D.
Law Offices of Wendy Heller

Ira L. Kurgan '78 J.D.
Kurgan Media

Dan Limerick '97 J.D.
William Morris Endeavor Entertainment LLC

Joseph A. Lopez '09 J.D.
Rothy's

Robert "Bob" Marshall '73 J.D.
Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP

Kevin S. Masuda
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

Thomas "Tom" McGuire '76 B.A.
Netflix

Catrice Monson '97 J.D.
​​​​​​​Right Size Media; Adjunct Professor UCLA School of Law

Robert "Bob" D. Offer '92 J.D.
Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern LLP

Daniel "Danny" Passman '05 J.D.
Gang Tyre Ramer & Brown Inc.

Peter Paterno '76 J.D.
King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano LLP

Louis "Lou" Petrich '62 B.A., '65 J.D.
Ballard Spahr LLP

Robyn Polashuk '94 J.D.
Covington & Burling LLP

Nancy Newhouse Porter '78 J.D.
Newhouse Porter Hubbard

Amy Siegel
O'Melveny & Myers, LLP

Jason C. Sloane '88 J.D.
Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern LLP

Sandra Stern '79 J.D.
Lionsgate

Joseph "Joe" R. Taylor '87 J.D.
Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC

Matthew C. Thompson
Sidley Austin LLP

Barry Tyerman '67 B.S. '71 J.D.
Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein

Kenneth Ziffren '65
Partner, Ziffren Brittenham LLP
Adjunct Faculty

Students in the Media, Entertainment and Technology Law and Policy Specialization gain training in fundamental principles and specialized knowledge to practice law related to film, television, music and other creative industries.

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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.

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 Bernardine Brandis '78, Executive Vice President, Business Affairs at the Walt Disney Company, and Bruce Rosenblum '82, Former President of Warner Bros. Television.

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, as well as entertainment boutique firms Sloane Offer Weber and Dern LLP and, Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham LLP.

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.

Art Law Society

Entertainment Law Association

Intellectual Property Law Association

Sports Law Association

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.

The UCLA Law Entertainment Symposium, which celebrates its 47th year in 2023, 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.

Tickets | Sponsorship Packet

Liveguide - View recorded sessions with students on entertainment, intellectual property and sports law opportunities at UCLA Law.

Follow the Ziffren Institute Linktree to stay up to date with news and events or to book an appointment. 

MCLE Readings for the 2023 Nimmer Lecture

• Free Speech is a Triangle
• How to Regulate (and Not Regulate) Social Media

Lecture information