Let me start by saying that I am grateful for this opportunity to share part of my story with you all. Thank you for including me!

I have grown in my field over the last decade since graduating from UMiami Law to now having a very strong presence as a music and entertainment attorney largely through patience, education and tolerance. If you embody “PET” in your career, I believe there is no set path you must take, and that is the legacy I want to discuss today.

I started two years out of law school by hanging up my own shingle instead of joining an established entertainment law firm. Remember — this industry is built on connections so if you have basically none like I did at that time, and you also are in student loan debt from law school (which I hope you don’t have haha), it is not easy to get traction fast.

However, because I constantly was trying to learn new areas of the law and new techniques, learn about the changing industry, about new technology, about my clientele and about the people running the business, I was able to carve a place for my baby firm amongst the existing giants. Education is your biggest tool and asset. Fortunately, there are so many incredible resources at your disposal these days, both online and traditionally. However, I see too often that, because this can be a fun, sexy industry, people don’t take the learning part of things as seriously as they should. Don’t fall into that trap! If you want this to be a career and not a hobby, you must accept the task of mental growth on a daily basis.

Also, don’t be deterred about the time it takes. My success wasn’t overnight — it took years. Hence, you must also have extreme patience to be successful. Sometimes it was very difficult. I often thought “Why can’t I be there now? Why can’t I get those clients now? Why can’t I have the acknowledgement now?” And I now realize I could only have those things when it was my time and when I was ready to take on the role. You must trust the process and remind yourself that, so long as you are staying the course and putting the right foot forward, the check is already in the mail. You simply need to be there to receive it when it arrives.

I know that patience isn’t easy, but with tolerance it becomes more natural. Along the way, and even now, I encounter difficult individuals and situations. It’s easy to become spiteful or vindictive, but I can assure you that is not the answer. That is a weak response to adversity. Especially today after the world has been spun around in a dryer and spit out a bit dizzy and confused, you must be tolerant of people. You must have faith in humanity. You must give people the benefit of the doubt. I don’t mean let your guard down — I just mean to be loving and kind. It will serve you well.

In sum, I want the next-ups to embody PET in their careers and their lives. I want these traits to help create a better industry and a better world. And I want this mindset to be my legacy.

I started by playing music (I bought my first guitar at age 13) with friends early in high school. We weren’t good (lol) but it was a lot of fun. Prior to guitar, I played drums in the middle school band and had about ten years of classical piano training. I knew by age 15 that I wanted to work in the music industry, but at that time I didn’t really know the difference between a music attorney, manager and agent. That also didn’t matter — I knew what I wanted to do with my life.

Fast forward after spending undergrad at my dream school, UGA, and I’m now at University of Miami Law in South FL. I was a Grammy U member, President of the Entertainment and Sports Law Society, active member of the Intellectual Property Law Society, career development office liaison for incoming new students seeking to be in the entertainment space, and intern at a top boutique entertainment management and law office. Again, I knew what I wanted to do so I came to UM Law with a ferocious appetite.

After law school, I briefly worked at a couple other boutique offices and in-house for a major music festival. None of that was for me. I needed to do things my way, on my time and embodying my principles. So I opened up my shop and have been building ever since.

Now, my firm handles entertainment, sports, corporate, intellectual property, NFT/crypto and legal cannabis industry needs. My clientele in the entertainment industry are primarily centered in music, but I also work in fashion, film/TV, fine art, adult entertainment and influencer representation.

My goal is to help professionals in these fields take their own unique abilities and ideas and turn them into a functioning, profitable business. This means assisting from ground zero all the way up to the top. From setting up your initial LLC to handling multi-million dollar mergers and acquisitions, to structuring all of your contracts, and protecting your brand and intellectual property by way of federal trademark and copyright. It is easy to forget that each talent is not just an artist and person, but a business!

On the side and for fun, I still play music (almost daily), I read Billboard and any articles about the business I find, and I spend time with my incredible fiancé, Laina, and my French bulldog, Pumpkin.

Easily I can say that the best source of new clients is word of mouth. I pride myself on being reachable (within reason, of course), energetic, passionate and savvy, and I hope these traits make it easier for someone to refer new leads my way. Currently, my entire business is referral-based — I’ve never spent a dollar on marketing my firm.