Southwestern's Entertainment, Media, and Sports Law Program | Southwestern Law School

Southwestern's Entertainment, Media, and Sports Law Program | Southwestern Law School
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Southwestern
Law School
Los Angeles
Biederman Entertainment, Media, and Sports Law Institute
Southwestern's Donald E. Biederman Entertainment, Media, and Sports Law Institute was established in 2000 to take advantage of the law school's long history of involvement with the entertainment and media industries. The Institute offers a rich spectrum of entertainment, sports, and media law courses and experiential learning opportunities under the direction of faculty who have tremendous practical experience in the field.
Southwestern has been recognized as one of the top ten law schools in the country for entertainment law by The Hollywood Reporter eight years in a row, and as #1 in the Top Law Schools for Entertainment Law by lawstreetmedia.com, among other honors.
Connections to the Industry
Southwestern's Donald E. Biederman Entertainment, Media, and Sports Law Institute is intimately connected to a plethora of entertainment, media, and sports companies, law firms, and other organizations operating in every aspect of the industry. Lawyers and executives from many of these entities participate in various elements of the Institute’s programs.
*Click on the tabs below to learn more about our upcoming and recent events, "A Conversation With..." series, and our Annual MLRC Conference.
Events
Speaker Series / Podcast
"A Conversation With" Speaker Series Programming
The Biederman Entertainment, Media, and Sports Law Institute is excited to announce the upcoming "A Conversation With" programming throughout the academic school year! Detailed invitations will be forthcoming, but please see below for prior and scheduled future dates.
We don’t want you to miss out on these conversations!
"A Conversation With" Speaker Series Events
25th Biederman Institute Anniversary
Date:
Thursday, November 13, 2025
Time:
7:30 p.m.
Location:
Southwestern Law School,
Louis XVI Room
Danielle Thomas & Jodie Schoenbrun Carter
Date:
Friday, April 11, 2025
Time:
2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. PT
Location:
Via Zoom
Jeff Borris '89 (MLB Agent with Ballengee Group) with 3L Nastassia Tiangco
Date:
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Time:
12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. PT
Location:
Southwestern Law School,
Louis XVI Room
Ben Tenzer '12
(Vice President of Basketball Operations, Denver Nuggets)
Date:
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Time:
12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. PT
Location:
Southwestern Law School,
BW390 & via Zoom
Shawn Holley '88
(Partner, Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir LLP)
Date:
Tuesday, October 29, 2024
Time:
5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. PT
Location:
Southwestern Law School,
Louis XVI Room
Ksenia Maiorova & Stephanie M. Scamman,
from Green & Spiegel, LLC
Date:
Thursday, October 24, 2024
Time:
12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. PT
Location:
Via Zoom
Chris Perez & Dale Nelson,
from Donaldson Callif Perez LLP
Date:
Thursday, April 11, 2024
Time:
12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. PT
Location:
Via Zoom
Jere R. Hausfater
(Entertainment Attorney, Executive Producer, and Film Consultant)
Date:
Tuesday, April 2, and Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Time:
12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. PT
Location:
W511
Ken Basin
,
Global Head of Business Operations (Film/TV) for Riot Games
(previously at Paramount Television Studios, Sony Pictures Television, Amazon Studios), author of
The Business of Television
Date:
Tuesday, February 6, 2024
Time:
7:30 p.m. PT
Location:
In-Person at the 2
nd
Floor of the Bullocks Wilshire Building; Reception to follow at 8:30 p.m. PT
Entertainment and Media Law Conference 2026
For 23 years, the Media Law Resource Center and Southwestern Law School have hosted an annual forum at which renowned experts discuss the most timely, important, and controversial topics in entertainment and media law.
This year's conference features panels on:
Advising Creators in the Artificial Intelligence Age
Intellectual Property Review
Hollywood Under Threat
Breakout Session on Celebrity Defamation, Dealmaking for Online Content, and Video Games
Thursday, March 19, 2026
1:15 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. PT
Southwestern Law School
4 MCLE Credits offered
Register to attend the 2026 MLRC Conference
Visit the 2026 MLRC event page for more details.
Join our e-mail list to stay up-to-date on upcoming Biederman event programming and courses.
Click here to view our past events
These informative, insightful, and provocative "IRL living room" conversations with prominent entertainment and media figures are brought to you in collaboration with our Entertainment & the Arts Legal Clinic.
We welcome our Southwestern community, our Clinic clients, fellow Golden Globe Foundation grantees, those in the entertainment practice at large, and others in related fields to join us for these speaker series events.
*Golden Globe Foundation generously supports Southwestern Law School’s Entertainment & Arts Legal Clinic for the 2018/19,  2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25 academic years.
Past guests have included:
Jeff Toobin, CNN legal and political analyst;
Arn Tellem, at the time the Vice Chairman and President of the Team Sports Division of Wasserman Media Group, now Vice Chairman of Palace Sports & Entertainment which owns the Detroit Pistons;
Paul Williams, renowned composer, performer and ASCAP President;
Leah Weil, Senior Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Sony Pictures;
Martin Garbus, renowned trial lawyer, and First Amendment expert.
The Institute co-sponsors symposia and other events with other entertainment, media, and sports law organizations including the Media Law Resource Center, American Bar Association, and the Beverly Hills Bar Association. Additionally, the Institute offers continuing legal education (CLE)  entertainment, media, and sports law programs for alumni and other practitioners.
Listen and Subscribe to "A Conversation With..." Podcasts
Influential members of the Entertainment, Media, & Sports Law industries discuss their careers and hot-button issues.
You will hear top-notch entertainment, sports, and media lawyers and experts share their journeys and provide insights in conversation-style panel discussions with Q&A.
All previously-recorded episodes are now available!
Danielle Thomas & Jodie Schoenbrun Carter
Episode 25
• Interview recorded on April 11, 2025
Ben Tenzer '12
Episode 24
• Interview recorded on March 19, 2025
Jeff Borris '89 also featuring Nastassia Tiangco
Episode 23
• Interview recorded on April 9, 2025
Ksenia Maiorova and Stephanie M. Scamman
Episode 22
• Interview recorded on October 24, 2024
Chris Perez and Dale Nelson
Episode 21
• Interview recorded on April 11, 2024
Ken Basin
Episode 20
• Interview recorded on February 6, 2024
Henry Lydiate
Episode 19
•
Interview recorded on October 11, 2023
Erika Kirkwood
Episode 18
• Interview recorded on September 7, 2023
Kenneth Trujillo-Jamison
Episode 17
• Interview recorded on April 18, 2023
Carolyn Forrest
Episode 16
• Interview recorded on February 7, 2023
Dr. Michael Epstein
Episode 15
• Interview recorded on October 24, 2022
Two Theater Lawyers
Episode 14
• Interview recorded on September 6, 2022
Ina Fichman
Episode 1
3
• Interview recorded on April 12, 2022
Anita Surendran
Episode 12
• Interview recorded on October 12, 2021
Priyanka Khimani
Episode 11
• Interview recorded on August 18, 2021
Kenneth Wu
Episode 10
• Interview recorded on July 7, 2021
Mark Hiraide
Episode 9
• Interview recorded on January 28, 2021
Neville Johnson
Episode 8
• Interview recorded on November 17, 2020
Judith Finell
Episode 7
• Interview recorded on August 22, 2020
Nina Shaw
Episode 6
• Interview recorded on August 18, 2020
The Deepfakes Phenomenon
Episode 5
• Presentation recorded on June 16, 2020
Sandra Williams
Episode 4
• Interview recorded on February 27, 2020
Andrew Schwartzman
Episode 3
• Interview recorded on January 6, 2020
Dina LaPolt
Episode 2
• Interview recorded on February 11, 2020
Women In Sports Law
Episode 1
• Interview recorded on October 17, 2019
Listen and Subscribe
Entertainment & the Arts Legal Clinic
The Clinic provides pro bono legal services to independent filmmakers, series creators, writers, actors, legit stage producers, artists, and musicians. Students work on documentation of underlying rights (clearance reports and fair use analysis) and chain-of-title review, drafting shopping and commenting on and option purchase agreements, music agreements, personal services agreements for producers, directors, actors, other principal crew, location agreements, releases and other development and production related contracts. The Clinic also reviews sales, licensing, and distribution agreements. The students, trained by taking copyright and other entertainment law courses, do the legal work (including client correspondence) which is supervised and reviewed by a panel of 4 or 5 experienced practicing attorney professors.
Learn more about the Entertainment & the Arts Legal Clinic here.
Biederman Scholars
In an effort to recognize excellence in academic achievement, and encourage and facilitate career success, the Biederman Institute established the Biederman Scholars program to mentor students and help expand opportunities for promising future entertainment, media, and sports lawyers. Each year, a few outstanding students are selected for this honor.
Journal of International Media and Entertainment Law
Southwestern's Donald E. Biederman Entertainment, Media, and Sports Law Institute established the
Journal of International Media and Entertainment Law
through a joint venture with the American Bar Association’s Forums on Communications Law and the Entertainment and Sports Industries.
The first of its kind, the Journal addresses all aspects of international and comparative media and entertainment law, including topics related to content, regulation, intellectual property, distribution, publishing, internet and technology, and transactions.
Students are selected to work with the Board of Editors, composed of Biederman Institute faculty and members of the Forum committees, and headed by Supervising Editor, Professor Michael Epstein.
London Summer Program
Southwestern Law School, under the auspices of the Biederman Entertainment, Media, and Sports Law Institute, will host a five-week Summer Program in International Entertainment and Media Law and Public Interest Law at The University of London SOAS, Brunei Gallery from
June 21 to July 24, 2026
.
This unique and exciting program offers a variety of academic, cultural, and social experiences through:
Courses on on international entertainment, art, music, sports, negotiating and drafting international entertainment contracts, and public interest law.
Instruction provided by U.S. and British faculty with extensive international experience
Guest lecturers on course-related topics
Field excursions to the Royal Courts of Justice and other legal, entertainment, media, and cultural institutions in London
Visit the London Summer Program webpage.
On This Page:
Scroll further down to learn more about:
"A Conversation With..." Series + Podcasts
MLRC Annual Conference
Upcoming and Past Events
Biederman Scholars
Journal of International Media and Entertainment Law
SWLAW Excellence in Entertainment and IP Law
PDF
BEMLI - Tips for Students Interested in Studying Entertainment, Sports, Music, and/or Media Law
PDF
Biederman Institute Entertainment Law FAQs
PDF
BEMLI Three-Year Course Roadmap 2025
PDF
Entertainment & the Arts Legal Clinic
Connect with us!
Sign up below and stay up-to-date on Biederman event programming and courses.
About Donald E. Biederman
The Donald E. Biederman Entertainment, Media, and Sports Law Institute is named in memory of Professor Donald E. Biederman (1934-2002), a highly admired teacher, scholar and pioneer in the world of entertainment and media law and the Institute's founding director.
Prior to joining Southwestern's full-time faculty in 2000, Professor Biederman served for nearly two decades as Executive Vice President and General Counsel and Executive Vice President of Business Affairs at Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., the world's largest music publishing company. Earlier in his career, he was a partner in the law firm of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, Vice President of Legal Affairs and Administration for ABC Records, Inc., and a general attorney for CBS Records Group, among other positions in private practice and government.
Read his full bio here.
Contact Information
Biederman Entertainment, Media, and Sports Law Institute
Tel:
213-738-6602
Email:
institute@swlaw.edu
London Summer Program
Biederman Entertainment, Media, and Sports Law Institute
Tel:
213-738-6602
Email:
GoToLondon@swlaw.edu
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