A lawyer who represents clients in the music business was given one of the industry’s top awards, it was announced last week. Jay Cooper, who is the founder of Greenberg Traurig’s Los Angeles entertainment and media practice, was named Music Attorney of the Year at the A&R Worldwide’s International Music Industry Awards 2014.
According to a statement issued by Greenberg Traurig, Cooper, who works in the firm’s Century City office on Century Park East, was recognized for “his outstanding contributions to The Worldwide Music Industry.”
Cooper reportedly accepted the award April 9 at a ceremony held during the tenth annual MUSEXPO music conference in Los Angeles.
In addition to founding the firm’s entertainment and media practice in Los Angeles, Greenberg Traurig stated in a release that Cooper has been entrenched in the entertainment industry for about four decades and is well-known for his “deal making and balanced understanding of both the artist and business.”
Beyond music, Cooper’s law practice also delves into intellectual property, motion picture, multimedia, and television issues.
When he is not practicing law, Cooper is giving lectures at recognized institutions of higher learning such as UCLA and USC locally and national schools including Stanford, Michigan, and Harvard. Cooper also delivered presentations at the American Film Market, which is annually held in Santa Monica, and Cannes Film Festival in France.
Coincidentally, Cooper is also musically gifted himself; the Century City-based attorney is a member of the Los Angeles Big Band Barristers & the Los Angeles Lawyers Philharmonic.
According to Greenberg Traurig, Cooper currently serves as an advisory board member of The Recording Academy’s Entertainment Law Initiative, co-chairman of the Alliance of Artists & Recording Companies, and board member of SoundExchange. He was also the former president of The Recording Academy.
Greenberg Traurig also stated Cooper has previously been the recipient of the Entertainment Law Initiative (ELI) Service Award and has been named the Entertainment Attorney of the Year by the Beverly Hills Bar Association Entertainment Law Section, the Century City Bar Association, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Section.
Earlier this year, Cooper was also listed in the motion pictures and music categories of the publication The Best Lawyers in America.
Admitted into the California State Bar in 1953, Cooper is a graduate of DePaul University’s College of Law and formerly served as an adjunct professor of entertainment law at Loyola Law School in Downtown Los Angeles. Cooper also has licenses to practice law in Illinois, New York, and in front of the Supreme Court.
Greenberg Traurig states it has “one of the preeminent, international multidisciplinary entertainment and media practices.”
The firm’s entertainment and media practice represents clients and matters in digital media, the Internet, motion pictures, music, publishing, sports, television, and theatre. About 1,750 attorneys work for the firm at one of its 36 offices worldwide. Its Century City office is located at 1840 Century Park East, Suite 1900.
