Timothy L. Warnock
Partner
Riley Warnock & Jacobson, PLC
Tim Warnock's practice is focused almost exclusively on commercial and intellectual property litigation in federal and state courts. He has extensive jury and non-jury trial experience in corporate and business litigation, entertainment litigation, intellectual property litigation, construction litigation and general commercial litigation. He is listed as a Rule 31 mediator approved to conduct court-ordered mediations by the Alternative Dispute Commission established by the Tennessee Supreme Court. He is a member of the Tennessee Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the Southeastern Region of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He served as President of the Tennessee Chapter of ABOTA in 2009. Tim has also been selected for recognition as a Best Lawyer since 2008.
Tim serves as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Vanderbilt Law School, teaching Advanced Evidence and Trial Advocacy. He lectures and has been published on topics related to intellectual property and commercial litigation. Tim has been recognized in Chambers USA, Super Lawyers, Mid-South edition, and in Best Lawyers in America for his expertise in commercial litigation. Best Lawyers recently named Tim the 2018 Nashville Lawyer of the Year in intellectual property litigation.
Tim is a member of the Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries and Intellectual Property Law Sections of the American Bar Association. He is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association, and a former Chair of the Federal Practice Section and the Sports and Entertainment Law Section. Tim was a member of the inaugural class of Leadership Law and is a former member of the Steering Committee of Leadership Law. He is also a member of the Nashville Bar Association and a former Chair of the Intellectual Property Committee and of the Entertainment and Sports Law Committee, and a former Co-Chair of the Federal Courts Committee and of the Entertainment, Sports and Media Law Committee.
He is also a member of Leadership Music and currently serves on the Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board of Directors. Tim is a former member of the Board of the Nashville Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Tim graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1984 with a B.A. degree. He received his J.D. with high honors in 1987 from the University of Tennessee where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and Moot Court Board.
Stephanie Furgang Adwar
Partner
Furgang & Adwar, LLP
Stephanie Furgang Adwar is a founding partner of Furgang & Adwar, LLP. She brings over 25 years of experience in both transactional and litigation matters in entertainment, copyright, trademark, technology and unfair competition law. She represents a wide variety of clients in the entertainment field, including independent film productions, screenwriters, producers, actors, comedians, authors, performing artists, musicians, independent record labels, music publishing companies, and television production companies as well as obtaining, maintaining, and protecting the firm's clients' complex intellectual property rights, from licensing and other transactions through litigation.
Ms. Adwar began her career in entertainment at The Gersh Agency, NY, Inc., DeLaurentis Entertainment, and CBS/Fox Video in New York. She went on to produce music videos for Time Shift Video in New York. She has been quoted in the news media, including ABC-TV Network's Nightline, and in numerous publications as an expert in entertainment, copyright, and trademark law.
In 2012, she was appointed to the part-time position of Acting Village Justice of the Village of Suffern, New York, and served until 2015. She was the first female justice in the 218-year history of Suffern.
Ms. Adwar has remained deeply committed to improving knowledge of entertainment law among both attorneys and entertainment industry leaders. She has directed the Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program for the Cutting Edge Music Festival in New Orleans and judged both NYU's Mobil Awards for excellence in film production and Cardozo Law School's BMI Moot Court Competition. She lectures regularly at educational institutions like the Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film and Television at Tisch School of Arts at New York University (NYU), The Learning Annex, and the 92nd Street Y, industry events like CMJ Music Marathon and Diversafest Music Festival, and before professional organizations like the American Bar Association and at the North American Entertainment, Sports, and Intellectual Property Law Summit. Ms. Adwar serves as Communications Chair on the Governing Board of the American Bar Association's Forum on Entertainment and Sports Industries and has, in the past, served as its Membership Chair and Co-Sponsorship Chair. She is a member of the International Trademark Association, the New York State Bar Association's Entertainment and Sports Law Committee and Intellectual Property Law sections, and the Rockland County Bar Association. She also maintains active roles in entertainment professional organizations, including the prestigious New York Women in Film and Television, The Recording Academy, and the American Film Institute.
Ms. Adwar has received an "AV" peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory (the highest rating) and is listed in the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers.
Beverly J. Davis
Managing Member
Davis Law, PLLC
Beverly J. Davis is the managing member of Davis Law, PLLC – a Washington, D.C.-based law firm representing businesses, content producers, and other creative professionals in entertainment, trademark, copyright, labor, and employment matters.
The daughter of an interior designer and granddaughter of a restaurateur and recording artist, Beverly has been surrounded by entrepreneurs, artists and creative expression her entire life. She is constantly amazed by human ingenuity and is dedicated to helping it flourish by providing practical legal advice that allows her clients to stop worrying and do what they do best – create and innovate.
During her legal career, Beverly has served as an attorney with National Public Radio, Inc., Southwest Airlines Co., the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and a big law firm. Her years of experience representing some of America’s most respected companies and brands prepared her to address legal issues in a practical, down-to-earth way. So, whether you produce content for television, film, digital media, podcasts, or the stage, are a showrunner or show host, write stories that will become the next theatrical or streaming hit, or head up the Programming or HR department at a network, Beverly can help you think creatively and act strategically through contract negotiations, content and music licensing, attracting and retaining talent, co-production and distribution deals, paying employees and independent contractors, engaging with labor unions, and many other areas. She is licensed to practice law in California, the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Texas and can’t wait to serve you. Click below for more information on Davis Law’s practice areas.
Kirk T. Schroder
Partner
Schroder Fidlow, PLC
Kirk T. Schroder is an experienced entertainment and arts law attorney.
Kirk’s national peers in the entertainment and sports law profession elected him the current chair of the American Bar Association’s Entertainment and Sports Law Section. His law practice draws entertainment and arts-related clients from around the world.
Mr. Schroder serves as counsel for production companies and film financiers who have distribution agreements with major Hollywood studios for theatrical motion pictures. He represents a significant number of award-winning independent filmmakers and producers and has extensive working knowledge of the many legal and business aspects of filmmaking (including production matters, applicable union and guild collective bargaining agreements, and financing and distribution arrangements). Many of his clients have production deals with cable networks such as the Discovery Channel, HBO and Showtime. He also handles a variety of talent issues on behalf of radio and television personalities, several of whom are nationally syndicated and have some of the highest rated television shows on cable networks.
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