Bio
The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law
Juris Doctorate
Institute for Communications Law Studies
Howard University May 2005
Bachelor of Arts, Political Science
Minor, Communications and Culture
EXPERIENCE
Capital Area Law Group May 2009-Present
Partner
• Advise entertainment clients on intellectual property-related matters, including licensing, trademark protection, and copyright issues
• Provide legal advice for non-profits organized under IRS Section 501(c)(3) with respect to compliance issues, tax laws, state governance matters, and state charitable solicitation issues
• Structure complex business entities including real estate fund syndications and single purpose film production companies
• Advise clients on federal and state securities laws in connection with private offerings
• Negotiate and draft entertainment agreements across media platforms, including those related to content distribution, project financing, rights acquisition, marketing, talent deals, merchandising, and recordings agreements
• Maintain/cultivate relationships with television networks, movie studios, and record labels to make project proposals on behalf of clients that include actors, recording artists, and television/film production companies
• Educate clients new to the industry on how business works and how to identify pitfalls in business deals
The Travel Channel (Cox Communications) December 2007-May 2009
Manager, Business Affairs & Partnerships
• Drafted documentation for a variety of transactions related to producing, financing, and acquiring television content for Travel Channel Media
• Negotiated business terms including back-end participation and ancillary deal components, such as home video rights, digital download rights, and merchandising exploitation for television production agreements and transactions across internal business units
• Provided on-going legal advice and risk analysis to internal clients on issues related to production, broadcast, and clearance of media content
• Successfully closed multiple programming deals under tight timelines while acquiring the appropriate rights package for each program, within network’s budgetary and editorial parameters
• Negotiated and drafted a range of talent agreements, including voice-over and personal services agreements
• Drafted and reviewed marketing/promotion agreements
• Located and exploited revenue-generating outlets for content after on-air exploitation
National Geographic Channel (Fox Cable Networks) July 2006-December 2007
Rights Analyst, Business/Legal Affairs
• Negotiated and drafted union and non-union talent agreements
• Negotiated and drafted various commission and acquisition programming agreements
• Created and maintained program rights data management system
• Tracked program rights for domestic and international content distribution on various platforms
• Oversaw domestic home video distribution
• Advised internal departments on video/still rights clearance issues
National Geographic Channel (Fox Cable Networks) May 2005-July 2006
Contracts Coordinator, Business/Legal Affairs
• Drafted programming agreements negotiated by Manager, Senior Manager, and SVP
• Negotiated and drafted independent contractor agreements
• Maintained contracts database
• Drafted non-disclosure and footage license agreements
• Communicated programming deal points to internal units
• Aided Senior Manager and SVP in administrative duties as necessary