Entertainment Law

Mr. John Eric Seay Related Seminars and Products

The Seay Firm LLC

The Seay Firm is an entertainment law firm located in Atlanta, Georgia. We are artist advocates, dedicated to advising and protecting all manner of artists and arts-related businesses. Our founder, John Seay, is a former artist with a decade of experience in the entertainment industry as a musician, tour manager, and writer. John spent three years as Of Counsel in the entertainment practice group in the Nashville office of Loeb & Loeb and worked in the legal department at Turner Broadcasting before founding The Seay Firm in 2011. John has been named a Top Music Lawyer by Billboard for many years. He has also been recognized as a Georgia Super Lawyer and a Georgia Trend Legal Elite numerous times, both in the fields of entertainment law. John has spoken about entertainment law at SXSW, the Americana Festival, and the AJC Decatur Book Festival, among many others, and is presently Immediate Past Chair of the State Bar of Georgia Entertainment & Sports Law Section. John is a graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law, where he served as Executive Articles Editor of the Journal of Intellectual Property Law and President of The Sports & Entertainment Law Society. He’s also a father, and lives in Decatur, Georgia, with his two daughters.

Ms. Nancy Carol Prager Related Seminars and Products

Prager Law LLC

Nancy C Prager is a corporate and intellectual property attorney with clients in the entertainment and technology industries, as well as a wide variety of other businesses and individuals too.  Nancy serves as counsel to producers, production companies, and production services companies on film and television projects with micro and big budgets alike. As production counsel, she handles everything from acquisition of rights through distribution of completed projects.  Nancy has negotiated film and television distribution and purchase agreements with Paramount, PBS, WBD, Amazon, AMC, BET, and Netflix among others.

Nancy represents writers and creators who are developing film, television shows and podcasts.   As counsel, Nancy advises her creator clients on everything from First Amendment issues to distribution agreements.  Her clients’ podcasts have been produced by Campside Media and Wondery, and documentaries licensed by PBS and affiliated programs.    

In the music industry she has handled complicated copyright matters for licensees as well as licensors, including negotiating with all of the major publishing companies and record labels.  Additionally, she was part of the legal team that opposed the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster in 2010.  Recently, she represented a group of musicians who were not receiving royalties they were owed on sound recordings from the SAG-AFTRA AFM Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund.

Nancy has significant experience advising clients in brand and merchandising deals as well as influencer and sponsorship agreements.  Nancy has negotiated rights deals for the use of everything from Hello Kitty® characters to James Earl Jones’ voice in Star Wars®.  Significantly, Nancy has represented brands and agencies through multi-million-dollar influencer and talent engagements for campaigns on Twitch, Instagram and other platforms. 

Nancy is a highly sought-after speaker and writer on intellectual property and entertainment related issues.  She has appeared in the New York Times and Washington Post, as well as written for CNET, Georgia Entertainment News and other outlets.  Nancy is on the board of directors of RE:IMAGINE, a non-profit focused on providing training and opportunities for the next generation of storytellers and creators to gain experience in the entertainment industry. She also serves as board advisor to WIFTA and Film Impact Georgia. 

Ms. Michelle Esther Gilzenrat Davis Related Seminars and Products

Arnall Golden Gregory LLP

Michelle is a corporate attorney at Arnall Golden Gregory in the Technology Transactions and Entertainment & Sports practice groups. She represents a wide array of artists and creators, helping them navigate disruptive innovations and safeguard their intellectual property. Michelle’s practice includes the representation of domestic and international clients in transactions involving software development and licensing, film and television productions, talent negotiations, content clearance, and recording agreements. From Grammy winners to startup unicorns, Michelle has extensive experience advising on matters of copyright, cybersecurity, cloud technologies, and maximizing royalties.

Michelle utilizes her business-focused mindset to help her clients solve the challenges that arise in today’s digital era. Michelle takes care to cultivate close working relationships with her clients to develop a substantive understanding of their individual risk tolerance and formulate effective strategies unique to their needs. In order to best serve her clients, she dedicates herself to staying up to date with pioneering developments and was nationally recognized by the Grammy Foundation for her essay on using blockchains to track copyright ownership.

Michelle is a proud “Double Dawg” with deep ties to the Athens, GA music scene. Before practicing law, she was the music editor of Flagpole Magazine and spent a decade representing artists as a publicist and manager. When she’s not drafting or negotiating contracts, Michelle can still be found in the Classic City, teaching music business at Tweed Recording Audio Production School and chairing the board of beloved non-profit AthFest Educates.

Mr. Salim Jeremy Motlagh Related Seminars and Products

Barnes & Thornburg LLP

Jeremy Motlagh is an attorney in Barnes & Thornburg's Atlanta office and is a member of the firm's Corporate Department. Mr. Motlagh is also a member of the firm's entertainment law practice group and primarily focuses on film and television. He has counseled numerous production companies and producers in the development and production of film and television projects. Mr. Motlagh has served as production counsel for a variety of films and television projects including Finding Carter: Seasons 1 and 2, Hindsight, Single Ladies: Season 3, Drumline: A New Beat and CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story.Jeremy Motlagh is an attorney in Barnes & Thornburg's Atlanta office and is a member of the firm's Corporate Department. Mr. Motlagh is also a member of the firm's entertainment law practice group and primarily focuses on film and television. He has counseled numerous production companies and producers in the development and production of film and television projects. Mr. Motlagh has served as production counsel for a variety of films and television projects including Finding Carter: Seasons 1 and 2, Hindsight, Single Ladies: Season 3, Drumline: A New Beat and CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story.

Ms. Sheronda Monet Lawson Related Seminars and Products

Law Firm of Lawson McKinley

Shay M. Lawson is an Atlanta based intellectual property and entertainment attorney and Adjunct Professor of Law at Emory University School of Law in its Transactional Law Center. Her keen understanding of creative business and leveraging IP has allowed her to negotiate millions in client deals with brands such as Nike, Under Armour, Apple Music, Pandora, Discovery Channel, iHeartMedia, VH1, and AT&T. Billboard Magazine has named Shay a Top Music Attorney in 2021, 2022, and 2023 for her work in the entertainment industry for protecting the brand and legacies of multi-platinum, GRAMMY award winning artists, songwriters, engineers, and producers and has served three terms as a board member for the Atlanta Chapter of the Recording Academy (GRAMMYS®). Her work protecting clients has been featured by Black Enterprise, Rolling Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, Atlanta Business Chronicle, and Essence. Shay was named a SuperLawyer 2020 Rising Star Honoree which recognizes the top 2.5% of intellectual property attorneys practicing in the state of Georgia serving as Managing Attorney at the Law Firm of Lawson McKinley located in Atlanta's Buckhead neighborhood serving the transactional and IP needs of businesses and brands of all sizes. 

Mr. Bruce Benjamin Siegal Related Seminars and Products

Greenspoon Marder LLP

Bruce B. Siegal

Title: Counsel

Email: bruce.siegal@gmlaw.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bruce-siegal/

Address: Promenade II, 1230 Peachtree Street North East Suite 1900, Atlanta, GA 30309

https://www.gmlaw.com/attorneys/bruce-b-siegal/

As counsel with the Entertainment and Sports Group of the law firm Greenspoon Marder, Bruce Siegal focuses on sports brand protection and enforcement, licensing, contract negotiation, marketing, and business operations, helping brand owners and agents maximize intellectual property value through licensing, sponsorship, and endorsement agreements, and assisting licensees to navigate the licensing marketplace. 

Mr. Siegal is also an Adjunct Professor at Georgia Tech, teaching Sports Law and Public Policy.

Prior to joining Greenspoon Marder, Mr. Siegal served as the Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) and its related sports licensing entities. In his role, Mr. Siegal oversaw all litigation matters, including trademark enforcement actions and anti-counterfeiting efforts. He developed programs to protect the trademark rights of numerous sports clients, including organizing systems to protect the NCAA Final Four and College Football Playoff marks by clearing the marketplace of counterfeit and unlicensed merchandise in coordination with the event organizers, investigators and law enforcement officials.  He also established CLC as a founding member of CAPS, a trademark protection and enforcement alliance among CLC and the professional sports leagues such as the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL.

While establishing and managing the CLC legal department, Mr. Siegal implemented company-wide policies and risk management procedures as well as advised on issues related to contests, social media initiatives, and promotions. Additionally, he drafted and negotiated contracts, including agency, license, and sponsorship agreements with clients, licensees, and sponsors in the collegiate business and related sports and entertainment clients.

Mr. Siegal played an essential role in developing and guiding the implementation of CLC’s labor code of conduct and monitoring program, and worked with collegiate institutions and licensees to implement Corporate Social Responsibility programs designed to ensure that licensed product bearing collegiate trademarks are produced under safe and fair working conditions.

Throughout Mr. Siegal’s career, he has shaped the sports and entertainment law community. Currently, he serves as Co-Chair for the Entertainment, Arts and Sports Committee of the United States Intellectual Property Alliance, former Chair for the Legal Advisory Committee of the International Collegiate Licensing Association, and past Vice-Chair for Entertainment and Sports Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia. Mr. Siegal is also a frequent speaker and has authored a number of publications on trademark and licensing protection, as well as anti-counterfeiting best practices, especially surrounding sports branding and special events.

Mr. Nicholas Edward Brown Related Seminars and Products

AMB Sports & Entertainment LLC

Nick Brown is the Deputy General Counsel of AMB Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, PGA Tour Superstore, and Atlanta Drive GC. Prior to joining AMB Sports & Entertainment, Nick worked for the New York Red Bulls, King & Spalding, and Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton. Nick is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and Liberty University. 

Mr. Thomas Scott Wilkinson Related Seminars and Products

ATL Hawks, LLC

Scott Wilkinson, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer

Scott Wilkinson is the Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer for Atlanta Hawks, L.P. and Arena Operations, LLC.

In 2004, Wilkinson assumed responsibility for all Hawks and Philips Arena legal matters.  He is currently responsible for all legal and business affairs of Atlanta Hawks, LP, Arena Operations, LLC, Atlanta Hawks Foundation, Inc. and ATL Investco, LLC (and its various related affiliates). He previously had the additional duty of Hawks Assistant General Manager from 2006 until 2015, serving in that basketball operations role during a stretch of eight consecutive Hawks playoff appearances under three different General Managers.

From 1999-2003, Wilkinson served as Assistant General Counsel for Turner Sports, Inc., providing legal support to all Turner Sports properties, including the Hawks, the Atlanta Thrashers, the Atlanta Braves, World Championship Wrestling, TNT Sports and The Goodwill Games.

Before his tenure at Turner, Wilkinson practiced law with Moore & Van Allen in Durham, NC, and was also a founding member and NFLPA certified agent for the Buoniconti Sports Management Group. Prior to that, he was a litigation associate at Ginsburg, Feldman and Bress in Washington D.C., and a Judge Advocate in the United States Marine Corps. Wilkinson retired from the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve in 2006 as a Lieutenant Colonel following over 20 years of combined active and reserve service.

Wilkinson attended Duke University on a football scholarship and earned his A.B. degree, cum laude, in 1985. He earned his J.D. from Duke in 1988.

Mr. Jonathan Edward Smith Related Seminars and Products

Atlanta Braves

Jonathan Smith serves as Senior Vice President & Executive Deputy General Counsel of the Atlanta Braves.  He manages the team’s real estate and development legal affairs, including all aspects of The Battery Atlanta™ and the team’s major league and spring training facility agreements and related property matters.   Additionally, Smith provides support and guidance in connection with all of the team’s legal matters, including sales and marketing, financing, stadium and business operations, intellectual property, corporate governance, legislative affairs, employment and litigation. Prior to joining the Braves in 2016, Smith worked in private practice for over ten years, most recently as a partner at Miller & Martin PLLC in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Jonathan received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Washington & Lee University and earned his law degree from Mercer University in 2005.

Ms. Stacy Nicole Epps Related Seminars and Products

Epps Firm LLC

Stacy Epps is an attorney, artist, and philanthropist dedicated to inspiring and supporting creative professionals. She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Southern California and her Bachelor of Arts with high distinction from the University of Virginia.  Stacy is principal of Epps Firm, her own boutique law firm, where she supports creative entrepreneurs (musicians, artists, producers, filmmakers etc.) and community organizations in the formation, maintenance and success of their ventures by providing business, strategy, legal and educational services.

Stacy Epps’ career started as a singer, songwriter and performer where she experienced firsthand the unfairness of the music business. Also seeing many of her friends and associates get taken advantage of, fueled Stacy’s passion to become an advocate for creatives. From working at Arista Records to Proskauer Rose to B. Lawrence Watkins & Associates, P.C. to opening her own practice in 2010, Stacy has represented Arts & Entertainment clients large and small for 15 years. Stacy also taught music business at the Art Institute of Atlanta and UCLA Extension.

Stacy is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the Entertainment and Sports Bar Section, the Intellectual Property Section, the American Bar Association, ASCAP and the Recording Academy.

Ms. Paula J. Frederick Related Seminars and Products

General Counsel

State Bar of Georgia

Paula Frederick is General Counsel for the State Bar of Georgia, a unified bar organization with 54,000 members. As general counsel, Frederick is responsible for interpreting the ethics rules for lawyers, prosecuting lawyer discipline cases, and providing legal advice to the officers and directors of the organization. She has served in the Office of the General Counsel for 35 years, and was Deputy General Counsel for Discipline before assuming the General Counsel role.

Frederick is a 1982 graduate of the Vanderbilt University School of Law and a 1979 graduate of Duke University. Prior to joining the Office of the General Counsel, she spent six years as a staff attorney with the Atlanta Legal Aid Society handling civil legal matters for low-income people.

Frederick is a past president of the Atlanta Bar Association and the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys. She is also an active member of the American Bar Association, where she is chair of the Center for Professional Responsibility.  In the past she has served the ABA as chair of its Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, chair of the Standing Committee on Lawyer Regulation, as a member of the Board of Governors, and as chair of the Center for Racial and Ethnic Diversity. 

Ms. Chelsea Alexandria Mitchell Related Seminars and Products

Carter Woodard LLC

Chelsea Alexandria Mitchell, an Atlanta native, is a promising attorney exploring her passions at the intersection of law, music, and education. As a graduate of The University of Georgia, Chelsea is armed with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Certificate in Music Business. Upon graduating from college, Chelsea’s professional journey began in Miami, where she dedicated a year of service to City Year Miami, an AmeriCorps education reform program, channeling her passion for urban education. 

Returning to her roots, Chelsea earned her law degree from Georgia State University College of Law in 2018, setting the stage for a career in entertainment law. As an Associate Attorney at Carter Woodard, LLC—a full-service entertainment and corporate law firm in Atlanta—Chelsea collaborates with a team of devoted advocates, offering top-tier legal and business services to the music, film, television, and sports industries. 

At Carter Woodard, Chelsea’s role involves crafting and negotiating a variety of entertainment law agreements, with a focus on the sale and exploitation of music. In addition to her role as an Associate Attorney, Chelsea passionately serves as an assistant Professor in Georgia State University’s School of Music.  

Prior to working in the entertainment space, Chelsea served as a Juvenile Court attorney, Judicial Extern at the Supreme Court of Georgia, and as a legal consultant with the Hatchett Firm.  Beyond her professional endeavors, Chelsea is an active member of The Recording Academy, The Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association, the Sports and Entertainment Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia, the Gate City Bar Association, the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.  

In her work as an attorney and professor, Chelsea’s professional journey and service endeavors are a testament to her commitment to making a lasting impact in the realms of law, entertainment, and education. 

Ms. Uwonda S. Carter Related Seminars and Products

Carter Woodard LLC

Uwonda S. Carter is a founding partner of Carter Woodard, LLC and a transactional attorney who advises clients on both business and entertainment matters and focuses on securing and negotiating recording and other music-related agreements, television and film agreements, contracts for licensing, sponsorship and endorsement opportunities and book publishing. Uwonda’s roster currently includes award-winning recording artists, music producers and songwriters; television personalities, television production companies, comedians, authors, fashion companies and entertainment industry executives. Presently, some of Uwonda’s clients include Lil Yachty, Metro Boomin, Avery Sunshine, Kelly Rowland, Lil Duval, Organized Noize, Earl on the Beat, and Tenderfoot TV.

In 2021, Uwonda, along with Carter Woodard partner Donald Woodard, received the Dealmakers Award from Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association (BESLA). Uwonda was also recognized by BESLA in 2017 as its Entertainment Lawyer the Year, by Variety in 2024 as one of its Top Entertainment Lawyers and in 2023 as one of the Top Music Attorneys; and by The Hollywood Reporter as one of its Power Lawyers in 2023. Additionally, Billboard Magazine named Uwonda as one of its Women in Music honorees for 2025 and has also recognized her as one of Billboard Magazine's Top Music Lawyers in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Uwonda is a Lifetime Member BESLA; a member of the Recording Academy and the Entertainment and Sports Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia, where she served as the Entertainment Vice-Chair for six years. Uwonda earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Georgia State University and subsequently earned her Juris Doctorate from Georgia State University College of Law. She is a member of both the State Bar of Georgia and the State Bar of New York.

Malita Rice Related Seminars and Products

Malita Rice is an entertainment entrepreneur with a background in talent management, and brand development. She is the Founder of Mogul Mentality, a boutique management & publishing  company. She also holds the post of Vice President of A&R at Warner Records and is the sole VP based in Atlanta.

Originally from Baltimore, Rice has been a key figure in today’s music business. She is recognized globally as an accomplished, high-energy entertainment maven with 10+ years of industry experience. With her finger on the pulse of Atlanta’s music scene, several publishing companies look to Rice for her guidance and expertise. In 2019, Malita was tapped for an A&R consultancy at Interscope by former Vice President Joie Manda. She has also established substantial relationships with Major labels. Now, Malita Rice is Vice President, A&R at Warner Records since 2021 

Mogul Mentality’s client roster includes Multi-Platinum, Grammy Award Winning producers OG Parker, Romano, $k, Xeryus, and more. With consistent placements with some of today’s brightest stars, her roster dominates the charts. One instance occurred in 2021, where the boutique firm had 5 records charting in the top 10 of Urban simultaneously.  While at Warner, she has signed rising superstar Baby Tate. Rice understands how to navigate the industry’s ecosystem as well as the important of community. In effect, she has become a mentor to several upcoming music executives, even taking the initiative to help them secure jobs at top companies. 

Rice has garnered several accolades including ASCAP - Women in Music (2020), Top 50 Women in Atlanta (2021), the Trailblazer award for Women in Music: Atlanta Chapter (2021), and more. She’s been featured in Atlanta Magazine both in 2018 and 2021 for being a driving force within music and having an outstanding impact on the city. In addition, Rice is a member of the esteemed Recording Academy (Atlanta) and is apart of its Black Music Collective. No doubt about it, Malita is a results-driven executive lauded by both clients and colleagues for unparalleled tenacity, drive and vision.

Jini Thornton Related Seminars and Products

Jini D. Thornton, CPA, is a serial entrepreneur, author and finance expert in media who has built her career around empowering people to create, maintain and transfer wealth.

For more than 27 years, Thornton has been an accountant in the entertainment industry, leading the financial lives of some of the world’s most talented stars. She’s the founder and CEO of Envision Business Management Group, which provides accounting, tax, tour accounting & logistics, and other financial related services for A-level talent in the entertainment industry.

Thornton champions her clients to go beyond music – as their business manager, she has guided their entrepreneurial endeavors to expand into real estate, retail, and other industries.

As the founder and Executive Director of the Thank Me Later Foundation, Thornton transforms the lives of Black families for generations by helping Black women complete their estate plans including wills for free.

Radio has been Thornton’s biggest classroom over the last 27 years.  She is currently the financial expert for Reach Media and appears weekly on the nationally syndicated Rickey Smiley Morning Show, Willie Moore, Jr. Show and Erica Campbell Get Up Morning Show.

Thornton received a Master of Science in Taxation from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from North Carolina A&T State University.

Mr. Ronald Lawrence Barabas Related Seminars and Products

Legal Counsel

TNT Sports

Ron is Director, Legal Counsel – Sports for Warner Bros. Discovery (“WBD”), where he provides legal support for WBD’s sports media business, which includes broadcasts of NBA, NHL, MLB, US Soccer, and NCAA March Madness men’s basketball games on TNT, TBS and Max, as well as other operations for properties like Golf Digest and Bleacher Report. Among his responsibilities, he advises on and negotiates contracts for a wide range of transactional matters, including strategic partnerships and other custom collaborations, media rights acquisitions, licenses (e.g., technology, data, content), talent agreements with marquee sports personalities, operational matters (e.g., studio construction, production management, special events), and various revenue-generating transactions (e.g., official marketing partnerships, sponsorships, on-air integrations, ad sales, merchandising). Ron also presently serves as Vice Chair - Sports for the Georgia Bar’s Entertainment & Sports Law Section, as a mentor with the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, and as a member of The Amputee Coalition's board of directors. Ron graduated from the State University of New York at Albany with a BA in English with Honors and received his JD from Emory University School of Law.

Deven Desai Related Seminars and Products

Deven Desai is an associate professor of Law and Ethics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Scheller College of Business. His is also the Associate Director for Law, Policy, and Ethics for ML@GATECH. He was the first and, to date, only Academic Research Counsel at Google, Inc., and a Visiting Fellow at Princeton University’s Center for Information Technology Policy. Professor Desai’s scholarship examines how business interests, new technology—especially computer science-driven technology—and economic theories shape privacy, technology, competition, and intellectual property law and where those arguments explain productivity or where they fail to capture society’s interest in the freedom and development.

Mr. David Charles Vigilante Related Seminars and Products

Warner Media

David Vigilante is Executive Vice President and Head of Legal for CNN and TNT Sports. Vigilante’s responsibilities include serving as chief counsel for CNN’s worldwide operations, as well as legal oversight of all U.S. based sports brands and programming owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery, such as the NBA on TNT, NHL on TNT, MLB on TBS, Bleacher Report, March Madness and NCAA.com. 

David co-founded CNN’s first in-the-industry drone news gathering business, CNN AIR, which was the driving force in creating the legal framework for commercial use of drones over people.  In 2023 David led CNN’s efforts to create CNN’s new 24-hour streaming service, CNN Max. 

David occasionally contributes to CNN, and in 2013 was awarded the national Edward R. Murrow Award for writing.

He is a 1993 graduate of Emory Law School and is based in Atlanta.