Midwest Leak Magazine

Trezanay M. Atkins, esq

By: Trezanay M. Atkins, esq

1. We are advisors – we help you make informed legal decisions and to take calculated legal risks.

2. We are also advocates – we represent you in legal proceedings and contract negotiations to make sure your interests are pushed forward.

3. Lawyers have been trained to listen to the specific facts of your situation, research and review all the laws that are applicable to your situation, and provide you an opinion/recommendation that is specifically tailored to your situation.

Non-lawyer (i.e. your business manager, your A & R, your personal manager, your producer, your label) hasn’t been trained to practice law and thus usually provide you blanket advice which is typically inadequate and based on what they have seen or heard.

For example, ever heard that as long as you don’t copy more than three bars of a song, it is not copyright infringement? That’s blanket advice, based on something someone read or heard happened in the past. The truth is that it is inaccurate and gets artists in trouble. The real answer is that there is no easy rule to apply to determine copyright infringement. Each federal court has its own fact sensitive analysis/factor balancing test it uses to determine copyright infringement. Lawyers have been trained to conduct that analysis.

4. Lawyers have been trained to spot problems. That’s what law school teaches. It brainwashes us to be able find all the legal problems posed by the situation – large and small problems, short term and long term problems.

It can drive clients crazy because they think their lawyer is not trying to help them because we just keep pointing out all the problems, but it’s our job to inform you of everything – the good and the bad – so that you can make informed decisions and take calculated risks.

Some lawyers are better at this than others, so it is always good idea to shop for a lawyer with knowledge and experience. The more a lawyer knows about a subject, the better s/he can spot potential problems and the better advice s/he can give about your situation.

5. With that said, lawyers don’t exist to don’t tell clients what to do. Instead, we explain your options as well as the benefits and negatives of each option. The actual decision? That belongs to you.

Ms. Atkins is owner of tmalaw, llc, which focuses its practice on the music, entertainment, and fashion industries. She can be contacted via its website: tmalawfirm.com.