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In the world of celebrity and fame the lines can sometimes become blurred between what is necessary and what is a luxury that can be replaced when it is out of fashion. A struggle for entertainment attorneys is to serve our clients and make sure they understand the necessity of having an attorney who understands the big picture (the business) and also the details (the client). Juggling these two dynamics can sometimes blur for clients what is important for their attorney to be involved with and what is something better suited for someone else to handle.

Entertainment attorneys are not much different than any other type of attorney. Entertainment is a business and most of what I do revolves around forming companies; protecting intellectual property; reviewing and drafting agreements; negotiating deals; and sometimes even litigating disputes. The only difference I can tell between entertainment attorneys and other types of attorneys are how differently our clients view us. Entertainment attorneys are increasingly expected to play more active roles in their client's lives and careers. Most of the time this is a positive experience and it benefits the client immensely. Sometimes however, you may represent a client that does not understand the limits of your role in their lives. I have learned now that I have to make it clear to these few clients why I am in their lives and what it is that I do so that I do not become one of their many accessories.

I first realized that some clients thought of me as an accessory when I bumped into a client at a club in Hollywood. The client invited me over to his table and made a big production about what a "bad ass" lawyer I was. The rest of the night I stayed at his table drinking and meeting random people that came to the table and each time I was introduced simply with "this is my attorney"... I decided after the third or fourth introduction that my client had either forgotten my name or it was very important to him that people knew he had an attorney. At one point, he entered into a heated debate with another celebrity sitting at the table about who had the better attorney. Surreal.

In the years that I have been representing celebrities it has become clear to me that having an attorney is a status symbol. It is a measure of success and legitimacy. I once received a 2 a.m. call from a client one Saturday evening-Sunday morning while I was engrossed in a rerun of "In Living Color". I looked at the caller ID and then the time and I thought for sure it must be an emergency. I answered the phone with the usual questions, "What happened?" "Are you okay?" His reply, "I'm good. Look, I met this girl and I'm trying to tell her who I am. She doesn't believe me. Tell her for me". My response, "Okay but [blank], I'm raising your rates" He says, "Cool, send me the new retainer on Monday" Hmmm, maybe it's not so bad being an accessory every once in a while.

John W. Fagerholm, Esq. is the Managing Partner at Fagerholm & Jefferson Law Corporation in Burbank, CA.
www.fjlawcorp.com