Don Franzen

Don Franzen’s practice focuses on the entertainment industry, including recordings, live entertainment
(concerts and stage), film and television, celebrity rights, business formation, and copyright and
trademark. In addition to his legal work he has acted as a producer on video and audio recording
projects involving major performing artists. His legal career has also included exclusive experience in civil litigation, state and federal, on both trial and appellate levels. He is an adjunct professor in the Music
Industry Program at the Herb Alpert School of Music at UCLA, and also at the Peabody Conservatory at
John Hopkins University, where he lectures on music industry law and copyright issues. He has also
lectured on entertainment law for the Santa Monica Academy of Entertainment and Technology, the
Colburn School of Music, the Berklee School of Music (Valencia, Spain), the Eastman School of Music,
and the California Institute of the Arts. He was the Founding Director of the Los Angeles Opera, and has
served on its board of directors since 1986. He is a fellow at the USC Institute for the Humanities, a
member of board of Heyday Books, and the legal affairs editor for the Los Angeles Review of Books. He
is the author of articles and book reviews on a variety of legal topics. He is the co-editor of “Your Inside
Track,” a monthly newsletter on law, music, and technology. In addition to his native English, he also
speaks Spanish, Italian, and conversational German. He is married to Dale Franzen with three children.