What are the best college courses to take if you are interested in entertainment law?

It all depends on the specific area of entertainment law that you want to practice. There is no one general area that covers all of entertainment law, because entertainment law covers all aspects of the law. There are a lot of intellectual property, privacy and contract issues. However, there are also entertainment practices built around bankruptcy, government compliance, family, immigration, tax, probate and other legal areas.

Some schools might have a tailored pre-law or entertainment law program, so those classes would be good ones to take if they are available. However, if they are not available, then don't worry. There is no specified college course track for an entertainment lawyer. I would focus on any classes that emphasize reading and writing. Math, tax and accounting classes will be good too if you plan to have entertainment business clients.

If you want to increase your options and opportunities in the entertainment field, I suggest going to the best law school that you can get into, getting the best grades you can get, and then working for the best firm you can get hired at post-law school. For example, if you go Harvard Law (or some other tier 1 school) and work at a big firm right after law school, your options in the entertainment field will be virtually limitless. Everyone cannot get into Harvard, but if you can, then do it. If you can't, then go to the best rated school you can and get the best grades you can get. I didn't go to Harvard or work at a big firm, so it can be done, but you may have to take an alternate path to get into entertainment law.

In the meantime, work hard, live life to the fullest and meet as many people as you can meet. You should start networking with artists and musicians now, because today's unknown will be tomorrow's star. Networking will take you further than anything, and you will be in a good space in college to meet many young artists and musicians.

Entertainment law is a subset of intellectual property law, which includes patent law, trademark, copyright, contract law, torts, and Constitutional law (including the First Amendment). College government classes will help you understand the Constitution. Composition classes will help you understand contracts and learn to write more clearly. Engineering and science classes will help with patent law. Business classes like finance and accounting will help you understand the financial aspects of contracts.

Some colleges/law schools offer an actual entertainment law course. As entertainment law consists of a lot of contracts, contract law, drafting and the like, are most helpful. They frequently use sports contracts and agency contracts as teaching examples. Additionally, copyright and trademark law is helpful as well as the sports figure/entertainer may very well have copyrights and trademarks to protect.

In addition to contracts, business law and any introduction to Copyright, Patent and Trademark courses that may be offered, you may want to look for any licensing or Moot Court program that you can find in college or even high school.

A Moot Court or mock trial program will challenge you to present your case in the best light, to advocate for your client, even if their position has some flaws. You will also learn the challenges of rebutting the other party's position and formulating the arguments why your position is superior. It can help you hone your "selling" skills, which will serve you well in the entertainment law industry when you negotiate deals.

One program which may be available in your area is designed for high school seniors who are interested in a legal career is the Street Law program. The topics often include negotiation of licensing deals for sports stars and other contract negotiations. This could be an opportunity for you to get a sneak peak of your fields of interest. The link for the program is: http://www.streetlaw.org.