Unspoken Terms - SoundSage

Casey is an entertainment and digital media law attorney who helps influencers and creative entrepreneurs who struggle with navigating the legal side of their businesses and brands, specifically as it relates to contracts. She prides herself on helping creatives negotiate fair deals with Fortune 500 companies and leading entertainment brands, all while helping them build legally sound businesses that are built for generational wealth and impact. Here on the podcast, she normally does that by sharing the stories of successful entrepreneurs and influencers to help you learn from their mistakes. But occasionally, she switches things up and highlights popular culture or educates listeners on how to get the legal side of entrepreneurship in place.

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Key Takeaways

Don’t wait until there’s an issue with your contract or agreement to find a good lawyer or legal resource.
Choose a lawyer who you like personally and can trust professionally.
Know the type of lawyer you need to work with and be clear about the services they provide before you get involved

Show Notes

[2:26] – Casey highlights the importance of having a lawyer or contracts in place from the very beginning of your business journey.

[4:34] – Next, Casey shares some things to keep in mind when choosing a lawyer.

Choose someone you’re comfortable with.
Choose someone who offers the services you desire.
Choose someone who specializes in your area of need.

[7:45] – Casey clarifies that her firm, C. Handy Law, specializes in Entertainment and Intellectual Property contracts.

[9:16] – Entertainment Lawyers

Entertainment lawyers represent clients in the entertainment industry. Their clients could be individuals, like singers, or companies, like record agencies. Their work involves a lot of business deals. Most entertainment lawyers negotiate and draft many contracts and frequently deal with intellectual property issues like trademarks and copyrights.
Who might need this lawyer: Music artists, Actors, Influencers, Internet Personalities

[11:22] – Digital Media and Internet Lawyer:

This type of lawyer deals with more than just internet law – they deal with all sorts of legal issues that arise out of the use of digital platforms like mobile phones, tablets, and computers as well as the internet. Issues range from ensuring a website complies with the law, or dealing with privacy complaints, to advising entities about how they can and cannot use tracking tools in their apps and on their websites.
These lawyers would not be who to talk to about your contract and agreement disputes.
Who might need this lawyer: Bloggers, Youtubers, Anyone using the internet

[13:12] – Tax Lawyer:

Taxes can be complicated, especially for creative entrepreneurs. Still, it’s the work of the tax lawyers, along with the accountant, to make it uncomplicated for their clients, especially if they have many assets.
Tax lawyers may also help businesses or individuals with their disputes with the IRS. Ideally, this should be a lawyer who’s also familiar with litigations and court proceedings.

[15:02] – Intellectual Property Lawyer:

IP lawyers specialize in helping to secure creative, scientific, or technical inventions and creations. This is who you’d want to talk to about copyrights, patents, trademarks, and licensing agreements.
Much of the work of IP lawyers is to provide legal advice to clients on the commercial viability and marketing mechanisms of their creation. They need to have expert knowledge in both business and innovation trends.
Not every IP lawyer can handle patents, so make sure you get a patent lawyer, if you need that.
Who might Need this lawyer: Anyone who is creating original content, products, or media

[18:10] – Casey closes out with the key takeaways from this episode.

Don’t wait until there’s an issue to find a lawyer.
Choose a lawyer who you like personally and can trust professionally.
Know the type of lawyer you need to work with and be clear about the services they provide before you get involved