Jaia Thomas

Jaia Thomas, Esq. is a Los Angeles-based sports and entertainment attorney with over fifteen years of experience on both coasts. Her day-to-day consists of structuring, drafting, reviewing, and negotiating an array of agreements related to the production, distribution, publishing and licensing of television and film content. Her clients range from artists, filmmakers, producers, production companies, social media influencers, and studios. She also represents a number of current and retired professional athletes with various entertainment endeavors and technology ventures.

Jaia has been quoted as a legal expert in publications such as The New York Times and USA Today. She has also served as a speaker for the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Beverly Hills Bar Association and an array of sports and entertainment law conferences throughout the country. She has had several articles published in academic journals including, Pace I.P., Sports and Entertainment Law Journal (“For the Love of the Name: Professional Athletes Seek Trademark Protection”), Journal of Sports Media (“Twitter: The Sports Media Rookie”) and the American Bar Association (“1 Million Followers: Understanding Social Media Influencer Agreements”).

In addition to practicing law, Jaia is the founder of Diverse Representation. The mission of Diverse is to increase the hiring and exposure of Black agents, attorneys, managers, and publicists in the sports and entertainment industries. Diverse Representation also spearheads various diversity programs, events, and initiatives across the country to widen the opportunity landscape for Black professionals in sports and entertainment. Since launching, Diverse Representation has partnered with several media behemoths such as Netflix, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal, DreamWorks, Warner Bros. Discovery, and more.

Throughout her career Jaia has taught at several universities such as University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Southwestern Law School and American University. She has also guest lectured at several colleges and universities such as Stanford University and Carnegie Mellon University.  

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Jaia Thomas is a graduate of Colgate University (BA) and The George Washington University Law School (JD). She also holds a Certificate in Television, Film and New Media Production from UCLA.