Screenwriting : What to look for in an entertainment lawyer. by Adam McCulloch

Nice suit, shined shoes, and expensive car. Sorry Adam, I have no constructive advice. I just couldn't resist...

Make sure they have some experience in the sector of entertainment you're involved in. So a lawyer who mostly does booking contracts for touring bands, while in entertainment law, might know little more about, say, a filmed web series contract, than a real estate attorney does. Someone who has set price or price range for what you need done and tells you those in advance and is transparent about it, rather than someone who is vague about how many hours work you might incur.

What Dave said. You want an attorney who completely understands the contracts. Someone who specializes in music contracts may not know all of the elements in a script purchase contract. You might also note their client list for a couple of reasons: 1) To make sure they have some real clients, 2) you never know when one of their acting or directing clients might be helpful to your career. For a while I shared the same lawyer as the Olsen Twins when they were doing a bunch of movies. I turned down a bunch of chances to write scripts for them that would be made... I look back on that and think I should have taken those gigs!

Thanks, all. Interesting points, especially about looking at the client list for potential collaborations. I'd be interested in a who's-who of L.A. entertainment lawyers that specialize in screenwriters if anyone has any tips.

I am looking for an attorney to write an agreement for an internship in Texas please help