Personal Statement - JD with concentration in entertainment law, copyrights and IP property
Taking
stock of my career to date, I have concluded that pursuing a Juris Doctor
program with focus on entertainment law, copyrights and intellectual property,
is my next logical learning progression that will bring my career to the next
level. While still in High School and completing my baccalaureate in Electronic
Music Production and Sound Design, I have taken several academic and professional
engagements that not only built up my competencies, earned a Grammy this year
for best music video, and consistently placed me in the Dean’s list at the
Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, On the side, I have learned to
appreciate the creative significance and business implications of Intellectual
Property (IP) and Copyright laws in my profession that have rooted my passion
to become a legal practitioner in this direction., .
Looking
back, I could not pinpoint the exact moment in time when I rooted my interest
in music or the technical demands of music production. All I can say is that music runs in my veins.
Coming
from an educated family with my mom a Doctor of Pharmacy and my dad a notable
entrepreneur, I remember that music was always part of my life as there was no
quiet moment in the house. There was always music around me weather someone in
the family was playing an instrument or just listening to the radio or stereo
system. As a migrant family taking refuge from civil war in Hungary, my parents
rose above the acculturation demands in the United States. I grew up as a send generation migrant influenced
by the western cultural relationships and learning a second language that
contributed to my morals and values of human rights, freedom of speech, and
equality. These values would root my interest to become a lawyer.in the
entertainment industry,
My parents
recognized my talents early and brought me to take piano lessons, but I was
more fascinated towards percussion instruments. I was enrolled in ballroom dancing, drumming
and DJ classes during high school, which made me realize that music was my life.
Competing in Latin-American ballroom dancing and DJ’ing became my serious
hobbies. Along the way, I was introduced to the idea that music is not only
about giving reign to my talents as a performer, but also giving it a more purposive dimension
in entertaining, making people happy, and producing the music for commercial,
and business ends. But there was more to it from a legal perspective.
By the time
I was 10, I took my first DJ class where I earned a DJ Mixing, Production and
Composition certification from Scratch DJ Academy. As I worked on my electronic music production
skills, I begged my father to study under world-famous record producer Professor
Frank Rodriguez “El-Medico”. I barely turned 12 and was still in 5th
grade when my father took me to the SAE Institute to meet him. As we entered the
advisor’s office, he just glanced at me, almost ignoring me and then extended
his hand to my father saying “Hello Alexander, nice to meet you”. My father and
I looked at each other with a smile, and introduced me with “This is my son
Alexander”. The look on advisor’s face was priceless. After the initial shock,
he asked how old I was and if I had interest in taking classes at the
institute. After interviewing me, he said, “Welcome to our college”. This was one
of my most rewarding moments in my career journey.
After turning 12, I enrolled for an online
program at the world renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, making me
one of the youngest students to pursue a college education. While completing college, I have performed
before large audiences worldwide at numerous festivals such as SXSW Austin,
Miami Music Week, Exit Music Festival Europe, Groove Cruise Los Angeles, and
SunFest West Palm Beach. Given these
successes, I was recognized as among the world’s top 10 DJ’s and landed as a
guest DJ for Ellen DeGeneres. I then
worked closely with Vanilla Ice and was a guest DJ for the 3 seasons on his TV
show, Vanilla Ice Project. I also collaborated with many major brands like The
Gap, Susan Komen, Captain Morgan, Groove Cruise, and others.
As an
artist, I had thought that giving reign to my musical talents was enough to
entertain an audience, whether on the radio airplay, a concert stage, or an
album in a home entertainment system. That
was clearly not enough in the real world. .Even a mere 20-second commercial
jingle advertising a product or service was not so simple. Over the last 8
years, I have regularly released original music that grew my knowledge and
competencies from novice to become a professional. Along the way, I have dealt
with music publishers involving content protection, copyright and infringement
issues, distribution and performance rights, and contracts, among others. My
extensive work experience as an artist working for a record label has given me a
firmer grasp into the real-world commercialization of talents, the business,
and the laws meant to protect the artists, music labels, and independent
producers.
Learning about the various facets of the
entertainment industry attracted me towards the various career possibilities. In
particular, I was drawn to the process of agreements, copyrights, contracts,
publishing, and distribution between talents and a record label like Universal
Music, Sony Music, and Virgin Records. Having completed relevant college
courses in music technology, I learned to apply my technical wizardry, business
communication and finance, as well as trends and strategies that prepared me to
think critically and integrate finance and business management with talent
management. But the one area that intrigued me most was the legalities behind
the music industry. I saw how talents and the business could easily go to waste
if not protected by law. I saw how much more work needs to be done not only to protect
the rights of artists, but also ensure that they earn equitably with music
producers and distributors. This has become even more compelling with online
access to musical content, opening more
opportunities for illegal music downloads that deprive artists and producers of
their due income. I have become more determined to address these issues after
my internship at the Remote Control Productions in Los Angeles last January. I
was exposed to legal aspects involving copyrights and royalties and the need to
have strong legal understanding of corporate entertainment law, a field that I
am now determined to pursue as my career.
At this
point in my education, I know I still have so much to learn to bring my career
to where I can find the fulfillment I seek as a consummate musician with a
solid grounding in the laws governing the entertainment industry. I am already
18 years old facing the challenge of blending my musical experience with Law
and making a profound difference in the entertainment industry. With some due
diligence on my postgraduate learning options, I have decided to put my career
future at the hands of ______________________ [name of university] and become a
corporate and entertainment lawyer. Insert the sentence
(s) here corresponding to the choice of university. Its extensive curriculum dovetails
perfectly with my interest to acquire the skills to succeed in a legal practice
providing legal counsel and representation to artists and companies, building
their confidence that they are in good hands in contract negotiations, business
deals, copyrights and intellectual property compliance.
Ultimately,
with a view to giving back to society what I have been fortunate to gain in
building my career, I see myself as a legal luminary supporting the
entertainment industry and fostering justice among artists, producers, and
consumers. I am elated at the prospect of sharing my insights with students in
the program while learning from them for a mutually enriching Juris Doctor
experience. I hope to commence the program in time for fall enrollment this
year.
University Choices
(1)
University
of Florida
I am
particularly impressed with its stated commitment to the highest standards of
the legal profession through the advisement of legal scholarship to best serve the
public in promoting justice. (No need to farther
expound on something the admissions committee members are well aware of. You
would just insult their intelligence. )
(2)
UCLA
I am
particularly impressed with its stated primary purpose as a public research
university that creates preserves, distributes and applies knowledge for the
betterment of our global society through teaching and scholarship in developing
successive generations of leaders with skills and commitment to legal and social
engagements. (No need to farther expound on something the
admissions committee members are well aware of. You would just insult their
intelligence. )
(3)
Loyola
Marymount University
I am
particularly impressed with its goals as a Catholic Institution under
the Jesuit and Marymount traditions carrying out its mission to maintain
academic excellence in the instruction of law and promote legal scholarship and
research in the context of academic freedom. (No need
to farther expound on something the admissions committee members are well aware
of. You would just insult their intelligence. )
Pepperdine University
I am
particularly impressed with its Christian values in providing high-quality legal
education that emphasizes the highest principals in ethical conduct and
professional responsibility enabling them to assume future positions in the
legal field. (No need
to farther expound on something the admissions committee members are well aware
of. You would just insult their intelligence. )
(4)
University
Southern of California Gould
I am
particularly impressed with its mission in enriching enrich human knowledge and
the principles of justice through exceptional scholarship that enable graduates
to become future legal eagles who can address injustices in our community. . (No need to farther expound on something the admissions
committee members are well aware of. You would just insult their intelligence. )
Chapman University, LA
I am
particularly impressed with its mission in transforming qualified students to become
multidimensional thinkers in the legal profession and thrive in a challenging
world. (No need to further expound on something the
admissions committee members are well aware of from their website. You would
just insult their intelligence. )
(5)
California
Western
I am
particularly impressed with its stated commitment in using the law to prevent
and solve human and social issues by mounting high level of scholarship to
develop ethical, competent, and compassionate lawyers in fostering equitable
justice. (No need to further expound on something the
admissions committee members are well aware of from their website. You would
just insult their intelligence. )
(6)
Brooklyn
Law School
I am
particularly impressed with its commitment to contribute to the advancement of
our understanding of law, legal institutions, and society through a community
of outstanding legal scholars, professors, and graduates who are among the best
and the brightest in the legal profession. (No need to further
expound on something the admissions committee members are well aware of from
their website. You would just insult their intelligence. )
(7)
Georgetown
College
I am
particularly impressed with the fact that it is the nation’s first Catholic
institution of higher learning committed to the Jesuit traditions of an
integrated education and research in the
liberal arts, humanities, languages, sciences, and social sciences, harnessing
local and international resources to achieve its mission. (No need
to further expound on something the admissions committee members are well aware
of from their website. You would just insult their intelligence. )
(8)
Penn State Law
I am particularly
impressed with its mission to educate students in an inclusive campus,
promoting the highest levels of scholarship that will transform them to become responsive
practitioners addressing legal and social needs within the country’s legal
profession and justice system. (No need to further
expound on something the admissions committee members are well aware of from
their website. You would just insult their intelligence. )
