Legal Question in Entertainment Law in California
Should I Keep My Legal Rep Local?
I just recently received an invitation from a reputable production company to fly out to L.A. to discuss a potential option deal on my screenplay. I haven't secured legal representation yet and I'm wondering if I should find an entertainment attornery that is not only highly experienced, but local to my area which is Boston, MA just for the convenience of communicating back and forth while I travel to and from Boston to L.A. until this deal is hopefully made. Maybe I'm just paranoid but I'm wondering if I should consider this if I'm on the east coast with my rep on the west coast. Any feedback would be great and if I should just relax, please say so. Thanks again.
6 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Should I Keep My Legal Rep Local?
It is the experience of your representative and his or her quality of representation that is most important not their location.
Re: Should I Keep My Legal Rep Local?
It really depends upon what you are comfortable with. In my opinion it would be best to work with an entertainment lawyer who is licensed in California. A good rep, no matter where they are located would work to make any physical distance a non-factor. Feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss further.
Yours truly,
Bryan
Re: Should I Keep My Legal Rep Local?
It is much more important for you to have an attorney who is experienced with the Entertainment Industry verses someone who is just close in proximity. It is very easy to stay in touch these days by phone, fax, email, etc. You probably won't be physically meeting with your attorney frequently anyway (we have clients all over the country).
Re: Should I Keep My Legal Rep Local?
These days, no reason that you have to use a CA lawyer (and pay through the nose at Hollywood rates). The studios certainly don't care where your lawyer is. My former firm in MA did lots of entertainment work and charged half the per-hour rates....
Best wishes,
LDWG
Re: Should I Keep My Legal Rep Local?
I don't want to encourage you to do one thing or another, but I am originally from Boston and I went to law school there. My family still lives there. Right now, I live in Southern California and do a lot of work in Entertainment. Let me know if I can offer you any assistance.
Jillian
Re: Should I Keep My Legal Rep Local?
I also think location is not as important as what your attorney can do to protect your interests. We have an office in Orange Co.