乱伦强奸

Alumni Gazette

With multimillionaire international pop superstar Pitbull as a client, Leslie Zigel 鈥�85 travels a couple times a year on the musician鈥檚 private jet.

鈥淭here鈥檚 music, vodka, and great conversations about life and business,鈥� says Zigel, named last year by Billboard Magazine as one of the top music lawyers in the United States.

The jazz bass player-turned-lawyer is principal of Ziglaw, one of the country鈥檚 premier multimedia entertainment law practices. He started the Miami-based firm鈥攕pecializing in talent and endorsement deal negotiations, music publishing, film and television production counsel, and other areas鈥攊n 2006.

鈥淚 view my job in negotiating deals as very analogous to jazz improvisation,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou have rules, but there鈥檚 a lot of flexibility within those rules as to how you get to the end result.鈥�

At 乱伦强奸, Zigel played bass in the River Campus Jazz Ensemble, was a jazz deejay for three years at WRUR, and served briefly as business manager of the Eastman Jazz Ensemble.

He designed his own interdisciplinary major on the sociological study of the music industry, and wrote an honors thesis exploring bebop鈥檚 revolutionary impact on the music scene as it fought racism during the 1940s and 1950s.

Zigel thought of the major his sophomore year, after deciding he wanted to become a jazz festival producer and work for Newport Jazz Festival founder George Wein. He secured an internship with Wein鈥檚 company three months after graduation, then got hired and ran numerous festivals for six years before heading to law school.

Although rubbing elbows with celebrities is an exciting part of his job, Zigel says it鈥檚 only a small part of being an entertainment lawyer.

鈥淧eople think that being an entertainment lawyer is all glamour, all the time. Yes, I鈥檝e gotten to be in jets and party and go backstage, but it鈥檚 a lot of very, very hard work, and it takes a lot of thoughtfulness to do it well.鈥�

For those embarking on careers in the arts or entertainment industries, Zigel offers some tips that apply to a broad range of roles:

Do your research. When interviewing to work for BMG, one of the world鈥檚 largest music publishers, Zigel studied transcripts from Senate testimony his interviewer had given years before on record industry copyrights. 鈥淚 was able to speak with him intelligently about that,鈥� he recalls. 鈥淩esearching the person you鈥檙e meeting with shows you care and are willing to go the extra mile to get the job done.鈥�

Be honorable. If Zigel notices an opposing lawyer鈥檚 mistake in a document鈥攁 mistake in favor of Zigel鈥檚 client鈥攈e will phone the lawyer to request a correction. As his mother used to say, and as he tells his two sons, ages 16 and 12: 鈥淭he best thing about telling the truth is you never have to remember what you said.鈥�

Know what you want, then go out there and do it. Many people, especially new artists, worry too much about photo shoots and other things that have little effect on overall success. Instead, focus on the work. For example, 鈥淚 tell musicians to get a gig, perform, and get fans one by one,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he rest will come.鈥�

Have fun. Work feels like play for Zigel. 鈥淏e diligent and focused, but smile a lot,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat infectious energy goes a long way in building long-lasting professional and personal relationships.鈥� 鈥擱obin L. Flanigan.