Ben Sternberg Attends ABA Forum on Entertainment & Sports Industries

In October, I attended the 2013 Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association Forum on the Entertainment and Sport Industries. The Annual Meeting, which was held at the Ritz-Carlton in New York City, was a wonderful opportunity to connect with practitioners from around the world and discuss cutting-edge legal issues and market trends. The Annual Meeting offered instructive skills workshops on entertainment contract drafting and contract negotiation, as well as plenaries covering a wide-range of legal and ethical topics relevant to our firm’s practice. The plenary on publicity rights for entertainers and athletes—which noted Lutzker & Lutzker’s appeal on behalf of legendary soul singer Sam Moore as a “key case” to watch in 2013—was particularly interesting and afforded me the opportunity to share my views regarding the appropriate balance between the right of publicity and the right of free speech. As a newly admitted attorney, it was a pleasure meeting other members of the ABA Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries and developing personal and professional relationships with other attorneys with shared interests. I look forward to becoming an active member of the ABA’s Entertainment and Sports Section and reconnecting with colleagues at future ABA conferences.