Mercer Music at Capricorn will host an Entertainment Law Seminar on April 13, 2024, as the next program in its ongoing Professional Development Series. The one-day seminar will feature leading entertainment law practitioners from Nashville and Georgia who will address topics such as copyright, trademarks, artist and performance contracts, as well as negotiations. 

Co-sponsored by Mercer’s law and music schools, presenters will include:

• Tim Griggs, a Macon native and entertainment attorney, educator, and writer/researcher who has represented GRAMMY^® winners, No. 1 songwriters and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers

• Rush Hicks, a Mercer Law graduate and Nashville-based attorney who has made recording and publishing deals for artists including Kelsea Ballerini, Alan Jackson, Paul Overstreet and others

• Cheshire Rigler, a Nashville-based attorney whose legal practice focuses on entertainment, copyright, trademark, patent and business law

• Vernon Strickland, a Mercer Law graduate and Newnan-based attorney who assists artists, athletes and entertainment companies with contract drafting, creative rights protection and dispute resolution

“Navigating legal issues in the entertainment industry can be daunting for artists and others who are new to the music business,” said Mercer Law School Dean and Professor Karen Sneddon. “Our presenters for this day-long seminar have decades of experience in various aspects of entertainment law. Following an introduction to the scope and breadth of entertainment law, the presenters will spotlight critical copyright issues and highlight important trademark concerns. The seminar will also feature elements of a songwriter/artist contract and elements of an entertainment contract for performance. A simulated negotiation will conclude the seminar.” 

The seminar begins at 8:30 a.m. and concludes at 4:30 p.m. 

Registration fee for the conference is $99, which includes access to all sessions. The full lineup of seminars, as well as online registration, is available at https://capricorn.mercer.edu/entertainment-law/.