Villainaire
New member
I've considered getting an entertainment lawyer, and I've heard from sources that entertainment lawyers can help shop material. Is this true? I'd appreciate any info from ANYONE who knows ANYTHING about this subject.
Would it be a stupid idea to get an attorney from a big city like NY, LA, or ATL if you lived in say... St. Louis. I would assume you'd be dealing with an attorney with more contacts in a bigger city, but I nothing about this subject.
Attorneys are licensed by state; if they aren't a member of the bar in your state, they generally (very generally - exceptions of course abound) cannot deal with you as a client.
Aside from that, a musician's relationship with his attorney should be a close one, and that closeness would be seriously hampered if you had to hop a plane anytime you needed to meet.
2. Unless you are going to court or filing some legal documents or something like that, it does not matter if your "lawyer" is licensed to practice in your state or not. All that matters is that he knows how to read a contract, understand a contract and draft a contract. In fact, he doesn't even have to e a "lawyer" at all... You just need someone who can deal with your contracts.
...and as for "shopping your music"-- like I already said, that is not a normal function of a "lawyer", anyway.
Your other points are correct, but this is iffy. Drafting up contracts is generally considered the practice of law. That means that in most states, it is illegal for a nonlawyer to engage in contract drafting, and illegal for a lawyer to draft a contract for someone outside the jurisdiction he is licensed to practice in.