Page 15 - 1318 HITS LAWYERS SECTION

graduating, Plinio was a litigator specializing in entertainment before eventually, with some luck, becoming a music lawyer
at the Manatt firm representing many high-profile clients. Armed with a degree in mathematics and computer science, Plinio was also an early proponent of the convergence of music and digital technology. That led to various executive positions with digital- music ventures. But he missed representing artists and returned to the music-lawyer fold. At Greenberg Traurig, Plinio has a diverse practice, representing art- ists across various genres includ- ing Katy Perry, The Neigh- bourhood, Winnetka Bowling League, Chris Lake, GTA, Johan Lenox, Postmodern Juke- box, Tommy Trash, Matthew Koma and Dave Barnes, as well as such producers/composers as Frank E, Terry Date, Jason Hill, Rob Kirwan and Scott Stevens.
One of the country’s top enter- tainment attorneys, serving as trusted legal counsel to many of the music industry’s biggest names, Rosen is Co-Chair of
Top row: Jonathan Koby, Steve Plinio, Jess L. Rosen; middle row: Paul D. Schindler, Charmaine D. Smith; bottom row: Jeffrey M. Smith
Smith, who has been practic- ing IP law for more than two decades, has dedicated herself to working in the digital space with a focus on music-rights licensing for the last 14 years. She specializes in assisting clients with navigating the digital-music-licensing land- scape, creating and finetuning her clients’ business models and licensing proposals and obtaining the necessary rights by taking advantage of avail- able statutory licensing or through negotiating direct deals with the various music- content licensors. Smith has considerable knowledge and understanding of music-pub- lishing-rights licensing in the U.S. and abroad.
Residing at the firm’s Atlanta office, Smith represents high- profile entertainers, companies and athletes in deals involving cosmetics, sports equipment, casinos, themed restaurants, hotels, computer games, recordings and music publish- ing. Clients he’s served include Aerosmith, Jimmy Buffett, Def Leppard, Eldridge Indus- tries, Future, Alan Jackson, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Magic Johnson, Margaritaville Enterprises, Bret Michaels, the Raine Group, Matt and Dean Serletic, Kelly Slater, George Strait, Justin Timber- lake, Virgin Gaming and the estates of Isaac Hayes, Michael Jackson and Bob Marley. In addition, he is the sole trustee of the Margaritaville Alcohol BeverageTrust.n
CHARMAINE D. SMITH
SHAREHOLDER, ATLANTA
HITS May 10, 2021
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GT’s Atlanta Entertainment
& Media Practice. For three decades, he has guided pre- eminent songwriters, producers, recording artists, actors, writers and executives in critical career decisions. Rosen has successfully represented numerous high-pro- file clients in significant matters since the pandemic began. As
a professional musician, Rosen has a unique perspective and understanding of issues faced by talent today. His clients include Kenney Chesney, FGL, Lady A, Miranda Lambert, Steve Martin, Kacey Musgraves, Reba and Thomas Rhett.
PAUL D. SCHINDLER
SHAREHOLDER, NEW YORK
Schindler, the Senior Chair of GT’s New York Entertainment & Media Practice, brings together a range of music and entertainment interests to complete prestigious endorsement and merchandising deals, as well as joint-venture and touring agreements. In addition, he handles a variety of licensing, publishing and record deals for numerous award-winning, multi- platinum artists, producers, and labels. Over the years, Schindler has served as counsel to Paris Jackson, The Nederlander Orga- nization, Y Entertainment/AGI agency, Palace Entertainment/ Detroit Pistons, Jermaine Dupri, Gary Clark Jr., Marc Anthony, Live Nation, Harman Inter- national, Aman Resorts, Rap- A-Lot Records, Keith Sweat, Jennifer Lopez, the New York Yankees, Alice Cooper, Uptown Records and Black Coffee.
JEFFREY M. SMITH
SHAREHOLDER, ATLANTA
JONATHAN KOBY
SHAREHOLDER, ATLANTA
Koby focuses his practice on the representation of talent in a broad range of transactional matters throughout entertainment. While attending law school, he got his start in the biz managing the careers of several major-label artists before beginning his legal career
at Davis Shapiro Lewit & Hayes. Koby represents three-time Gram- my winners Dan + Shay, indie pop sensation Lauv, Internet Money, Taz Taylor and The Governor’s Ball Music Festival, among others.
JESS L. ROSEN
SHAREHOLDER, ATLANTA
STEVE PLINIO
SHAREHOLDER, LOS ANGELES
Plinio got his start in music as a drummer, but not a good one, so he went to law school. After