John Branca Harvard Educated Music Lawyer

John Branca is a UCLA-educated music lawyer. He has worked with various artists, including Michael Jackson and the Beach Boys. Read on to learn more about things John Branca has been involved in, as well as what it means to be a music lawyer.

Leaving Neverland

Michael Jackson died in 2012 due to an alleged drug overdose. His estate, valued at over $1.3 billion, was then left to his children, mother, and charities. In 2019, a documentary was released on HBO titled “Leaving Neverland” brought back up old accusations, leading the courts to call the Jackson estate back because of new changes to the law. Additionally, a tax bill threatened to take a significant portion of the estate. When Michael Jackson’s case was reopened in 2019, it was left to John Branca to rectify the situation. Between that and attempts to appeal the tax bill, things were looking rocky for the Jackson estate. Luckily, John Branca‘s education left him more than prepared. In October 2020 and April 2021, respectively, the estate was triumphant in both cases.

UCLA Law Speech

Outside of court, John Branca Harvard has given a speech to UCLA law students. In his speech, he discussed how he didn’t know exactly what it would be like to be a music lawyer. He told a funny story that explained it in good detail. Hear this story in the video below:

John Branca on Being a Music Lawyer from John Branca on Vimeo.

Making a Music Lawyer

Not just anyone can walk up to an award-winning artist and offer to be their lawyer. A music lawyer must be well-educated, professional, and experienced. You may be wondering what one of these people does in their day-to-day routine. Well, a music lawyer’s primary responsibility is to maintain the artist’s intellectual property. This could be anything from songs to album covers to the artist’s likeness. Intellectual property must be guarded against things such as piracy and copyright infringement. A music lawyer can sometimes also be responsible for drafting contracts with recording studios and labels. Generally speaking, they are there to protect their client’s interests.

To conclude, John Branca is a UCLA-educated music lawyer with impressive clients such as Michael Jackson. He gave an informative and entertaining speech to UCLA students about how he came up as a lawyer. Lawyers like Mr. Branca must guard their clients’ intellectual property and do their jobs well.