The Top Law Schools For Entertainment Law (2024) – Above the Law

Representing celebrity clients is likely to catapult your name into the news and turn your business into a household topic of conversation. Maybe that’s one of the many reasons why you’re so interested in pursuing a career in entertainment law. Attorneys who practice in the field of entertainment law have worked with some of the most celebrated — and sometimes reviled — clients in the country (or the world), and that’s exactly the kind of career experience you envision for yourself.

If you’re still deciding where to go to law school and you’re dreaming of someday practicing law with Hollywood’s brightest stars as clients, perhaps it’s time to take a look at The Hollywood Reporter’s latest law school rankings.

This ranking is based on the number of lawyers included in THR’s most recent Power Lawyers lineup (aka the “Hollywood 100”) who graduated from each of the law schools listed here, in addition to novel course offerings and externship programs. The Hollywood Reporter has ranked the top 13 law schools, but unlike in years prior, it’s an alphabetical list as opposed to a numerical one.

So, which schools made the cut? You might be surprised…

Berkeley
Cardozo
Columbia
Georgetown
Harvard
Loyola
NYU
Southwestern
Stanford
UC San Francisco
UCLA
University of Michigan
USC

While it certainly helps to go to a top-ranked law school, going to a law school in California seems to be even more helpful. (You may remember that Camille Vasquez of Johnny Depp trial fame is an alumnus of Southwestern.) As a real-life entertainment lawyer told us years ago, the key to making it as an entertainment lawyer isn’t about specializing in a niche practice, but in mastering straightforward transactional skills. So, if you’re interested in entertainment law, you should know that it’s a relatively tough field to get into, and it may take you quite some time to reach the peak of your career — or, you could get really lucky.

The 13 Best Law Schools to Jumpstart Your Hollywood Career [Hollywood Reporter]