DOLLARS & SENSE

LAYING DOWN THE
(ENTERTAINMENT) LAW

Vernon Strickland, TextE 98, helps artists and corporations draft contracts, protect creative rights and litigate disputes.

Fall 2017 Vol. 93 No. 3 | BY ROGER SLAVENS

Over the course of his life, Vernon Strickland has enjoyed many brushes with fame, first getting a taste of the limelight as an extra on The Cosby Show as a young teenager and then enjoying a brief stint as a professional football player for the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants. But it was Strickland’s passion for the law that ultimately cemented his connection with the entertainment world. He has leveraged his knowledge and familiarity with show business in building a career representing artists and companies in litigation over everything from contracts and labor disputes to intellectual property rights.

Recently, his interest in entertainment law has become much more personal as the acting career of his 8-year-old son, Drake, has taken off. The Alumni Magazine recently sat down with Strickland, who is an attorney for the law firm of Wargo French in Atlanta, about what it takes to work on the legal side of the music, movie and TV industries.

How did you become a lawyer?
My interest in the law began in high school, when I had a class called “You and the Law,” where attorneys would come in and teach us about various legal issues and the practice of law. However, I had already been accepted at Georgia Tech to study engineering, and my guidance counselor told me that there were already too many lawyers in the world and not enough work for them. So I went to Georgia Tech   and earned my degree in textile and fiber engineering while playing football for the Yellow Jackets, joining the team first as a walk-on sixth-string linebacker and eventually earning a scholarship and becoming a team captain.  After graduating from Georgia Tech, I had a brief opportunity to play professional ball for the San Francisco 49ers, and one time found myself talking to [Hall of Fame quarterback] Steve Young on a return flight from a game about what he did during the offseason. He told me he was taking the bar exam. It surprised me, but then I realized that maybe I should be doing the same. Later on, after my NFL career fizzled, I worked as a mechanical engineer for a couple of years and then applied to law school, enrolled at Mercer University and realized that the law was the right fit for me.

And the entertainment side of it?
I’m primarily a litigator, and I have experience in a number of different aspects of law, including employment law, financial services and intellectual property. But I have always been passionate about arts and entertainment, and had been involved in it one way or another most of my life. When I was a teenager, I was diagnosed with leukemia and the prognosis for survival wasn’t great. An organization called Dreams Come True, similar to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, asked me what dream I wanted to come true. I asked to be on The Cosby Show, which was one of my favorite TV programs at the time, and I was allowed to appear in an episode as an extra. Being on the set was thrilling. I also performed in school plays, and even sang in a male vocalist group. I kept my connections in the entertainment and sports world, and with the strong music industry in Atlanta, and recently the growing movie scene, it was just something I felt comfortable with and wanted to pursue.

What exactly does an entertainment lawyer do? How is it different than being an agent?
It’s an agent’s job to look for job opportunities for the artists, their clients, and to negotiate the dollar amount. They earn their money with the percentages on the back end of the final deal. But it’s lawyers that go in and capture all the nitty-gritty details for the contracts and make sure the artists and their work are protected. I’ve helped draft and review contracts, but I’ve also been involved with intellectual property and copyright issues. For instance, early on I was fortunate enough to represent Coca-Cola on a dispute over a popular song the company was using in a marketing campaign. There are a lot of opportunities to represent both companies and artists in terms of who owns the rights to creative works and who gets paid for their use.

Any examples of how you’ve protected young artists from companies looking to take advantage of them?
Years ago, I got called into a case involving a popular teen rap artist by the name of Soulja Boy. He had a dispute with his former manager that dealt with the copyright issues of his songs—essentially how the revenues and royalties should be divided between them. Unfortunately, he didn’t fully understand everything that was in his contract. After all, he was just a kid from Mississippi who posted his songs on YouTube and MySpace and became a viral phenomenon. Then people from a management company flew in, pulled up in a big limo and offered him a big deal on the spot. They brought their own printer—and their own attorney—and printed out the contract and he signed it without representation. He didn’t understand how the business works, all the clauses in the contract, and when he found out that he didn’t own his own publishing rights, he got upset—and rightfully so. I helped represent him in court and we were able to negotiate a fairer deal. Such cases are common in the music business—and in rap music in particular— where there’s often a significant amount of money at stake because of a multitude of income streams from songs.

Are you primarily involved in intellectual property and copyright issues?
Employment law is also a big part of entertainment law. For example, my 8-year-old son is an actor, and he did a major, national commercial a couple of years ago. However, the advertising agency that produced the commercial failed to pay him and the rest of the talent involved. So I got involved, representing my son, the three other actors and their talent agency. I issued a demand letter—which gave them a short fuse to act—and I was able to get prompt payment.

Speaking of your son, Drake’s career as an actor takes your job in entertainment law into a whole new, very personal level, doesn’t it?
My wife works as his manager, and I handle all the legal issues that come with it. He’s mostly done work in commercials and shorts until now. He recently landed a principal role on a new CW Network military drama called Valor, which premieres this fall [Oct. 9 at 9 p.m. EST]. He plays the son of one of the soldiers on this particular series. One fortunate part about this opportunity is that the series is shot here in Atlanta, so there have been minimal interruptions with Drake’s schooling and other activities. His contracts are done on a per-episode basis, and I’ve been involved in making sure he’s getting a good deal and he’s protected. He’s learning the business side of acting at an early age, how to approach auditions and the like (not dissimilar from new graduates learning how to go on interviews). But overall we’re treating acting as a hobby for him, just one part of his young life. He plays youth sports. He goes to public school like other kids his age. I hope he has success, but it’s more important for us that he has a normal, balanced childhood.