Joel Katz has a remarkable a story from his days in law school, long before he was a counselor to some of the biggest music stars in the business.

He told the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2015 that his contracts professor, considered the toughest in the school, would fail anyone who was late three times to class. Katz was working the night shift at a hotel and was late twice—and on the third tardy incident, the professor said he could leave because he was going to fail.