Dina LaPolt is an entertainment lawyer and artist rights advocate based in Los Angeles, California. After an early career in the music industry, she became an entertainment lawyer in 1997. She is the founder and owner of LaPolt Law.
Video Dina LaPolt
Education and early career
LaPolt became an attorney in 1997 after being in the music industry since she was 13. LaPolt was formerly a musician and performed in multiple rock bands on the East Coast in the 1980s and 1990s. LaPolt later became a club promoter and artist manager working for Streetgang Productions. LaPolt eventually obtained a bachelor's degree in music from the State University of New York at New Paltz.
In 1991 she relocated from New York City to the San Francisco Bay Area where she started teaching guitar lessons to children and playing in an all-girl band, Irresistible Impulse, which became influential in the gay and lesbian club scene with LaPolt often using the stage to advocate for gay rights. In 1993 she enrolled in law school at John F. Kennedy University in Walnut Creek, and moved to Los Angeles in June 1997, shortly after passing the California Bar Exam.
Maps Dina LaPolt
Career
In 2001, she founded LaPolt Law. LaPolt's early entertainment law clients were various Playboy Playmates including Carrie Stevens and Victoria Silvstedt. From 1998 to 2010, LaPolt was the entertainment attorney for the Tupac Shakur estate and helped in the release of many of his posthumous albums on Amaru/Interscope Records including 2Pac's Greatest Hits, Better Dayz, and Until the End of Time.
LaPolt co-produced Tupac Resurrection. and served on the board of the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation and the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts.
LaPolt is a member of the National Association of Record Industry Professionals, Beverly Hills and Los Angeles Bar Associations, Black Women in Entertainment Law, and she is a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
In addition to practicing entertainment law, LaPolt has been teaching "Legal and Practical Aspects of the Music Business" in the Entertainment Studies Department at UCLA Extension since 2002, and is the editor of the book, Building Your Artist's Brand as a Business, published in 2012 by the International Association of Entertainment Lawyers in Cannes, France.
In 2013, LaPolt helped author proposed legislation on the right of privacy for celebrities and other public figures in the state of Hawaii along with Senator Kalani English, D-Maui. The "Steven Tyler Act" passed through the state Senate with only one opposing vote. Although the measure failed in the House of Representatives two months later, the legislation stays active for two years.
In 2013, LaPolt assisted deadmau5, in settling his trademark dispute with The Walt Disney Company. Disney argued that Zimmerman's signature mau5head headgear and logo resembled their Mickey Mouse cartoon character, thus attempted to block his trademark registration.
LaPolt has been involved in legislative advocacy efforts on behalf of the music community. She has submitted comment papers to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the United States Copyright Office and Department of Justice on various legislative issues. In October 2015, LaPolt spoke in front of members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee at UCLA as part of their ongoing review of copyright law. LaPolt also serves as an attorney advisor to the GRAMMY Creators Alliance, announced during the 2015 GRAMMY Awards broadcast, and Songwriters of North America.
In 2016, LaPolt made headline news when she orchestrated the filing of a lawsuit against the Department of Justice on behalf of the Songwriters of North America in connection with the DOJ's mandate requiring 100% licensing by each of the major Performing Rights Organizations.
In October 2016, LaPolt gave a TED Talk on the importance of standing up for songwriters and her journey to becoming an advocate for creator's rights.
LaPolt spent most of 2017 helping to rebuild girl group Fifth Harmony after the departure of Camila Cabello, not only by renegotiating the girls' record contract with Epic, but also by helping the girls take control of their brand.
LaPolt worked with members of Congress to craft and introduce the Music Modernization Act in 2017, which will transform the way songwriters are paid for use of their works by streaming services. In 2018, LaPolt continues to advocate for this bill in order to reform music copyright law.
Awards and honors
- 2011 Best in Biz Awards: Best Music Business Attorney National Association of Record Industry Professionals
- 2014 Tom Bradley Mishpoche Award, Awarded by the Jewish Labor Committee Western Region
- 2015 Hollywood Reporter's Power Lawyers Top Music Business Attorneys
- 2015 Billboard's Top Music Lawyers
- 2015 Association of Independent Music Publishers Individual Award for support of Songwriters and Publishers
- 2016 Hollywood Reporter's Power Lawyers Top Music Business Attorneys
- 2016 Billboard's Top Music Lawyers
- 2016 Variety's Dealmakers Impact Report
- 2016 Billboard's Women in Music
- 2017 Hollywood Reporter's Power Lawyers Top Music Business Attorneys
- 2017 Billboard's Top Music Lawyers
- 2017 Billboard's Women In Music
- 2017 Variety's Women's Impact Report
- 2018 Billboard's Power 100
Publications
- Matthew Bender Entertainment Industry Contracts; Negotiating and Drafting Guides, Matthew Bender (1986) ISBN 978-0820515564
- Multiple Rights Deals in the Music Industry, Five Eight/FRUKT IAEL (2009) ISBN 978-0955227639
- Building Your Artist's Brand as a Business, FRUKT Source (2012) ISBN 978-0423513134
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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