Today in the Law School Insider we explore the journey that Catherine Katona went on to find the success she has had in her own entertainment law legal career.
Through working at places such as Nickelodeon, Dreamworks as well as other small agencies, Catherine Katona has gotten a good taste of what entertainment law is and what it takes to be successful in the field.
Catherine has also worked in both Los Angeles and New York City, the meccas for entertainment law, so she shares some of the differences in these markets and things to consider when going into them as a new graduate.
In speaking with Catherine Katona, it was interesting to note that she really did not know what she wanted to do with her legal career when she first started law school. She knew she was interested in justice and contractual work. It was not until her third year in law school where she learned more about what she wanted and did not want to do with her career.
When she first graduated and passed the bar she took a different path, working in pharmaceutical sales for about a year. It did not take her long though to see that this was not her calling and with her many years of dance experience, she thought that trying entertainment law would be the place to go, and Los Angeles was the place to do this.
Catherine Katona mentioned that the traditional model for a career in entertainment law is to work in a firm for 2-5 years but then apply for larger corporate companies in the field.
Catherine took a different approach, going straight from law school to the corporate setting at Dreamworks as well as other law departments throughout Los Angeles, through working as a temp. While this was as a legal secretary, she took advantage of this and started to get to know the lawyers around her. As she got to know these lawyers and made positive connections, she would ask them if they had any entry-level legal work that she could do for them, and this started to pay off.
Catherine offered a few tips for networking in entertainment law:
- Take the 1st few days to scope out the atmosphere and personalities. What people are friendly and like to talk?
- Talk to the friendly people
- Take a walk-around to introduce yourself
- Don't push if people don't want to talk
Through these steps Catherine met and developed a relationship with an attorney that paid off. One day, while in the woman's office she received a phone call asking whether she knew of a person looking for a position, and she immediately passed the phone over to Catherine and this turned into a position she held for some time.
I asked Catherine about the differences between working in television and movies. She said that the pace was different and some of the areas of focus can be different.
Catherine made it clear that entertainment law was more though than just television and movies. She stated that people in the entertainment law field can specialize in many different areas including:
- Litigation
- Intellectual Property
- Copywriting
- Regulatory Compliance
- Corporate Affairs & Business Conduct
- Transaction & Contracts
- Privacy & Anti-Piracy
- Unions
Catherine mentioned that the field is split on whether you need to specialize or not, however, she did say that everyone should work to try and have an internship or externship experience in the field of entertainment law to build your network and understanding of the field.
There were many other pieces of advice shared in the interview, but one that everyone should note was that she thought that everyone interested in entertainment law should join associations that have entertainment law subsections. Once you join the larger association, join that subsection and get involved!
Did you like this interview? Are you interested in Entertainment Law? If so, leave a comment below to let me know what you are most interested in!
Are you a practicing lawyer? A law student? Would you like to be a guest on an upcoming episode of the Law School Insider? Send me an email at lawschoolinsider@cooley.edu