Paramount executive Shinzong Lee speaks about her journey in entertainment law

Claire Nam

9:57 pm, Oct 08, 2024

Contributing Reporter

Claire Nam, Contributing Photographer

Shinzong Lee ’05 discussed her journey as an attorney in the entertainment law industry with Yale students this past Monday. 

Lee, Paramount’s vice president of business and legal affairs, discussed the entertainment industry, her legal career and how her time at Yale shaped it. She noted that many people pursue law because they believe it is relatively stable.

“Entertainment law is actually almost the exact opposite,” Lee said. “In order to stay relevant, you have to be up to date on industry trends and be open to pivoting with constant legal changes and uncertainty regarding jobs being eliminated and companies imploding.” 

At Yale, Lee was a psychology major and an aspiring journalist who served as managing editor of the News. Following her undergraduate career, she received her law degree from the University of Chicago and served in legal roles at Apple and NBC Universal before assuming her current position at Paramount. 

Though Lee didn’t end up becoming a journalist, the fast-paced and dynamic working environment of the journalism industry were qualities she prioritized while exploring new career paths. 

The Cinemat and the Yale Undergraduate Legal Aid Association co-organized the event. Daphne Wu ’26, president of both organizations, moderated the talk. 

Wu met Lee through Cross Campus, Yale’s online networking platform. She said she invited her to speak because of her “almost blunt but refreshing honesty” about pursuing professional experiences.

When asked about recent industry shifts, Lee pointed to changes in both consumer behaviors and corporate consolidation. 

In recent years, she noted, people have stopped visiting movie theaters and instead acquire most of their entertainment from “30-second TikToks.” She predicted that virtual reality, AI and social media influencers will drive popular consumption in the future, and should be carefully followed by those interested in entertainment law. 

On a company level, Lee has noticed a shift towards a “gig economy” where entertainment companies are reluctant to hire full-time, multi-decade employees, and instead opt for contractual and project-based employment to meet their needs more efficiently. 

Lee considers herself an avid consumer of popular entertainment. In fact, the relevance of her work to “day-to-day life” was a pivotal factor in her transition from big law to entertainment law. According to Lee, although deals featured in the Wall Street Journal can be interesting, “they aren’t necessarily the type of things that you can talk to your friends about.” 

Lee also pointed out how legal judgment can extend to a variety of fields that people often don’t consider when thinking about law. When asked about an unexpected moment in her work, she recalled the process of vetting the social media of potential candidates for a reality TV show based in Los Angeles. 

“As an attorney, I never thought I’d be sitting at my desk reading social media comments and looking at crazy pictures —especially when I got an email requesting that I check the OnlyFans of a certain candidate. But I did it and it was certainly memorable,” she said, laughing. 

At the end of the Q&A session, Lee stated that her goal wasn’t to convince students to pursue law, but to share her honest experiences with the industry. 

She noted that, given Yale’s liberal arts nature and abundance of humanities majors, students often find it easy to fall into the trap of law school because they aren’t sure of what else to do. Instead, she encouraged students to only go to law school if their immediate plans are to be lawyers.

Many in the audience resonated with Lee’s philosophy for balancing creative and professional pursuits in life. 

“I realized it doesn’t always have to be one way or the other—you don’t have to choose between creativity and stability. If you’re a creative person, you’ll find ways to weave that into your career and it will always find you,” Sydney Morrison ’24.5 shared. 

The event was held at William Harkness Hall.