A Career in Copyright Law: Where Do I Start?

 A Career in Copyright Law: Where Do I Start?

Copyright law protects the creative expressions of authors, musicians, artists and numerous other content creators. A career in copyright law has the potential to allow attorneys to practice in the media, arts, entertainment or technology industries.  It’s one of the most exciting and rapidly changing fields of intellectual property.

However, recent law school graduates and new attorneys trying to forge a career in copyright law are often faced with one tough question: “Where do I start?”  To answer this question, our New York Chapter has put together a panel featuring Leia LeFay and Joshua Graubart, two prominent copyright law attorneys currently practicing in the field. With their help and guidance, this panel will not only answer the question of what a recent graduate or new attorney can do to pursue a career in copyright law, it will provide insight into what a copyright attorney does and how a copyright attorney networks and maintains a foothold in the field.

Leia LeFay began her path towards a career in copyright law when she launched DanceRecords.com, an online vinyl record store, in 2000. DanceRecords quickly became a leading retailer of vinyl records for dance music DJs in the early 2000s, supplying records to many of the nation’s top DJs and winning awards at Miami’s annual Winter Music Conference. Through this experience, Ms. LeFay became fascinated by copyright law and the business and legal challenges facing content creators in the digital era. In 2007, she left DanceRecords to pursue a JD at Cardozo School of Law. In 2011, Ms. LeFay joined Practical Law Company as the second addition to their in-house legal team and remained with the business following an acquisition of the company by Thomson Reuters in 2013. In her role at Practical Law, Ms. LeFay was responsible for a range of transactional matters, including copyright licensing and other copyright issues. She has recently accepted a position at Shutterstock Inc. and looks forward to broadening her copyright knowledge and experience in this new role. Ms. LeFay has been an active member of CSUSA since 2010 and currently serves as the co-chair of the Social Media Committee as well as participating in the New York Chapter’s Planning Committee.

Joshua Graubart is a technology and media attorney whose practice focuses on intellectual property-related prosecution, transactions and commercial litigation, particularly those with cross-border aspects. He practices as a solo, and as of counsel to the boutique firm of Winslett Studnicky McCormick & Bomser LLP; he also heads Megatron Music Management, Inc., a music royalty administrator.  Josh currently chairs the Information Technology Law Committee at the New York City Bar Association.

Betsy Dale (Moderator) is a recently admitted attorney and former legal fellow at Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. After studying studio art as an undergraduate and learning about copyright issues that fine artists encounter, her practice focuses on copyright and contracts. She is a member of the Planning Committee of CSUSA’s New York Chapter and an affiliated member of the New York Bar Association’s Art Law Committee. 

With thanks to the organizers of this Brown Bag Lunch, Betsy Dale and Benjamin Humphreys, members of the New York Chapter Planning Committee.

The New York Chapter Brown Bag Lunch Series is a series of informal panel discussions on a range of copyright topics.  Brown Bag Lunches are intimate and casual with ample opportunity for audience participation. In true brown-bag spirit, no food or drinks will be provided, so attendees are encouraged to bring their own.  The admission fee is kept modest to encourage attendance by new or solo practitioners and law students, but all are welcome!