Attorney to the stars

A man who knows and understands how the law works in Hollywood is coming to Hamilton to teach for a couple of weeks.

Richard A. Rosen will teach a graduate paper in Entertainment Law at Waikato University's Summer School in February.

Rosen has practised entertainment law in LA for nearly 30 years and his clients have included Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Rebecca De Morney, Scott Baio, Leif Garret and Flip Wilson, as well as producers, directors, writers, singers, agents and distributors.

As a litigator, his work has included copyright, trademark, contract and agreement issues, and in non-litigation practice he's negotiated agreements in film, television, music and theatre and been a production attorney on a number of independent films including La Linea.

Moving away from the law, Rosen has co-produced an off-Broadway show and an independent movie, and been president of the Academy for New Musical Theatre.

He's taught entertainment law before too, using cases that draw on his long involvement in the sector, and it was while he was teaching an intensive course at Western Ontario School of Law in Canada that he met Waikato Law School's Professor Barry Barton who was also teaching there.

"We got chatting and I asked Rick if he'd like to come to New Zealand," says Prof Barton. "What he teaches is a specialised type of commercial law, involving project finance, contracts, and intellectual property and protection of reputation. And while people might think it has little relevance in New Zealand, law students should understand that a lot of law is done across countries, on the international stage. Students who have a lot of knowledge, who are willing to expose themselves to new and different ways of practising law will have an edge when looking for jobs in a competitive market."

The Waikato University Entertainment Law paper will be 24 hours over two weeks. "It's a bit of a coup getting Rick Rosen to teach the course," says Prof Barton. "This man has unique expertise, teaching and practising in what is quite a complex area of law and commercial activity."