Third-year student focuses on entertainment, copyright law
Shady talent agents beware. Third-year Loyola Law School student Martin Hirshland may be coming after you in the near future.
Hirshland has wanted to practice entertainment law "for most of his adult life," and his interest in this area was inspired, in no small part, by experiences as a member of a band in high school called The Flypaper Cartel.
"We won our high school's Battle of the Bands finale at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles," Hirshland says. "We played shows around town and always got ripped off by unscrupulous ticketing promoters.
"I wanted a career that protects the rights of musicians and creative people — to be an adviser, counselor and confidant for people more talented than me."
Hirshland was attracted to Loyola by its reputation for "hands-on experience and effective advocates" as well as location and alumni. He has made his mark on campus as president of the student-run Entertainment & Sports Law Society, which regularly hosts top Hollywood attorneys and executives for talks with students.
"Growing up in Silver Lake, I knew that I wanted to be close to downtown and my family and community," he says. "Loyola was the perfect fit and has produced some very successful entertainment attorneys."
One of Hirshland's favorite classes is Right of Publicity with Prof. Jennifer E. Rothman, the Joseph Scott Fellow at Loyola.
"She is a world renowned expert on the subject, and also hired me as her RA my 2L year. Name and likeness rights — especially in the age of ubiquitous photos on social media and the inadvertent surrendering of these rights that my generation is unfortunately accustomed to — will be very important for a future practice in the entertainment context.
"Prof. Rothman's familiarity with the subject was eye-opening and her enthusiasm was contagious."
As for his professional goals, Hirshland wants to argue copyright infringement cases in federal court, start his own firm and return to Loyola at some point to teach as a professor.
And despite a full course load, he's still squeezing in time to practice and play gigs around town in a band with friends.
"Playing live music is something I have always loved, and hopefully I will be able to continue to do so throughout my legal career."