Past Events
Spring Symposium: Restitution & Revolution: Art Law in the Modern Era
Thank you to all those who attended Friday’s 2026 Spring Symposium! EASLS extends deep gratitude to our guest speakers for sharing their time, wisdom, and perspectives with our students. From discussing moral rights to landmark copyright litigation, AI indemnification clauses & more, we left Symposium energized about the future of art law.
Behind the Brand
“Behind the Brand,” in collaboration with the Columbia Business Law Association, was all about demystifying the (often misunderstood) in-house role.
In addition to exploring industry-specific legal questions, our panelists, 4 esteemed Columbia alumni, left our students with a few takeaways that challenged their intuition:
• It’s not a 9–5. You work when the business works.
• Louis Vuitton’s Charles Goldschmid reminded us that lawyers are business partners, and that reputational risk can matter as much as financial penalties.
• National Basketball Association (NBA)’s Alex Chelesnik emphasized that you can’t always plan for serendipity.
• HBO’s Daniel Nemet-Nejat underscored trust and the need to discern goals to manage regulatory risk.
• Major League Soccer’s Jaymon B. spoke about new intiatives and brought it back to integrity of the sport.
Grateful to our incredible panelists for their time and contribution to the Featured Alumni Speaker Series, and to our Co-President Emanuella for leading a thoughtful conversation.
Stay tuned for what’s next!
FGP X EASLS: Young Alumni Associates Panel
It felt just like old times — April 2025, that is — when these young alumni returned to William & June Warren Hall yesterday! From discussing workplace attire & time management skills to mastering work-life balance & seeking professional mentorship, our panel with CLS’ First Generation Professionals was insightful and informative.
Thank you to Alexander, Collier, Jane & Molly for giving back to our students and reminding us what this journey to J.D. is all about. As our EASLS & FGP 1Ls embark on their first summer internships, we wish you all the best in your journeys through corporate law.
CFLS X EASLS: Careers in Fashion Law
Thanks to our wonderful panelists, our inaugural collaboration with Columbia Fashion Law Society was a success. From discussing Diotima and Vivienne Westwood to dissecting the role of M&A, bankruptcy, and trademark law in fashion, we are so grateful to Douglas, Julie, Rachelle, and Nicholas for their insights.
Congratulations to CFLS’ co-founding board members on launching the organization — and kicking off fashion month on a high note!
Careers in Music Law
Thank you to Darren, Danielle, and Greg for braving the cold & speaking with our EASLS members Tuesday afternoon! We sincerely appreciated hearing your stories & insights on breaking into the music industry, learning about the current NIL & AI landscape, and much more.
Here’s to hashtag#GrammysWeek and more stellar programming to come this semester!
First External Competition in Entertainment at Tulane
Three of our 2Ls walked into New Orleans this weekend… and walked out sharper and more strategically wired for entertainment law negotiations than ever. Representing Columbia EASLS’ first-ever external competition team, Lea Herzfeld, Danielle Senderovich, Emanuella N. Rozenfeld (Co-President of EASLS) and coach Professor Petros Mavroidis, traveled to Tulane for the Entertainment Negotiation Competition.
Over an intense weekend, our team dove into the realities of TV rights and profit participation for a major show-runner, music-producer credits, MFN clauses, recoupment structures, IP approvals, and NIL protections.
We practiced staying collegial while drawing firm lines, uncovering interests behind positions, and building value instead of conceding it. We learned how to negotiate like counsel who understand leverage, precedent, industry custom, and (most importantly) the business.
Huge thanks to Tulane University Law School for hosting competitors from across the country and giving us the space to sharpen our craft. We were especially grateful to learn from an incredible panel of judges—GC of the LA Clippers, partners from Venable, Fox Rothschild, and Reed Smith, and counsel from Universal Pictures and Motion Picture studios, just to name a few—whose feedback pushed us to think like real deal-makers.
Proud of our Columbia crew for setting the foundation as we build out a full roster of future EASLS competition teams—open to students who want hands-on negotiation experience at the intersection of entertainment, sports, and media.
This is just the beginning.
Second Annual Sports Symposium
With over 100 attendees, our Sports Symposium — Power Plays: Law and Strategy in Global Sport — brought together trailblazers from every dimension of the sports industry.
In collaboration with Columbia Journal of European Law, our speakers joined us from Geneva, Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia, and our audience represented every corner of the Columbia community — Sports Management, SIPA, CBS, and Columbia undergrads — along with students from NYU Law, Brooklyn Law, St. John’s, Baruch, and Montclair State.
We discussed sports betting, labor relations, data analytics, private equity investment in sport, and European competition regulation, with tangible insights and advice for students and professionals eager to shape the future of global sport.
We are especially thankful to our speakers Jasper M. Wauters, Jodi Balsam, Steve Ross, Damien Neven, David Fish, Dan Lust, Esq., Larry Ferazani, Marc Edelman, Derrick A. Davis Jr., Jeffrey Pash, Frankie Garland, Russell Yavner and to the students who filled the room with curiosity, questions, and ideas.
Panel 1 was moderated by Professor Petros C. Mavroidis, and our EASLS Co-President Emanuella N. Rozenfeld moderated Panels 2 and 3, alongside a dedicated student team — Eric Rousso, Xiuping Xiong, Paul Akere, Davi Lennon, Elliot Lin, Arianne Rowe — whose vision and hard work brought this symposium to life.
Second Annual Sports Symposium Panel One: Regulation and Dispute Resolution in Global Sport
Featuring:
Damien Neven
(Professor of Economics, Geneva Graduate Institute; Previous Chief Competition Economist)
Jasper Wauters
(Head of Sports Practice & Co-Head of the International Trade and Regulatory Practice, White & Case)
Jodi Balsam
(Professor of Clinical Law at Brooklyn Law School; Co-Author of Weiler's "Sports and The Law")
Stephen Ross
(Executive Director, Penn State Center for the Study of Sports in Society; Author of "Advanced Intro to Global Sports Law")
Second Annual Sports Symposium Panel Two: Ethics and the Athlete: Financial Pressures and Labor Relations
Featuring:
Larry Ferazani
(GC, NFL Management Council)
David Fish
(Partner, Romano Law; Previous GC, Paradigm Sports Management)
Daniel Lust
(Counsel, Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP; Author of: "College Sports Law in a Nutshell" West Academic)
Professor Marc Edelman
(Director of Sports Ethics, Zicklin Center for Corporate Integrity)
Second Annual Sports Symposium Panel Three: The General Counsel Roundtable
Featuring:
Jeffrey Pash
(EVP & GC, NFL)
Russell Yavner
(Deputy GC, Brooklyn Nets)
Frankie Garland
(Deputy GC, Philadelphia Phillies)
Derrick Davis Jr.
(GC, Angel City Football Club)
Sony Music Entertainment Visit
Our EASLS members visited Sony Music Entertainment to tour the beautiful Madison Avenue office and learn about the many paths to practicing music law.
Thank you to Brooke Ford, Marisa Angiolillo, and alumni Greg Norman & Tucker McCrady for lending their time to our students and sharing such valuable insights from their careers. We look forward to more extracurricular adventures next semester and exploring companies that shape global culture & entertainment, right from the heart of New York City.
In House Internships Webinar
We’d like to thank Ariana Gonzalez, Esq. for participating in our In House Internships Webinar on Friday, October 17!
We’re incredibly grateful to her for offering thoughtful career advice and sharing personal experiences from her journey in the entertainment and sports law fields! We look forward to continuing to host conversations that empower our members to explore diverse career paths.
Women in Sports Panel
EASLS was thrilled to host our Women in Sports panel featuring Wendy Li, Binta Niambi Brown, and Sara Jane Schlafstein. Each shared powerful insights on navigating a male-dominated industry, the evolving landscape of sports, and their unique career paths from TKO, to BSE, to BigLaw.
We’re grateful for their candor, inspiration, and advice to aspiring professionals who aim to make an impact both on and off the field.
Deals and Disputes
Last week, students got an inside look at what it really means to work on “deals” versus “disputes.”
We tackled questions like:
What’s the single most important skill a junior associate needs to succeed in your practice area?
What role does an associate play in the life cycle of a deal or dispute?
If you had to give an elevator pitch for your side of the profession (the “deal” or the “dispute”) why should law students choose it?
Grateful to our panelists for making the conversation so real. Zach Blumenfeld Seongjin Kwon @Megan Vincent @Saumya Vaishampayan
And thankful to our moderators, Emanuella N. Rozenfeld and Ruth Samuel.
"Go Big or Go Boutique" Lunch Panel
Our “Go Big or Go Boutique” lunch panel drew a packed room of Columbia Law students eager to hear what life looks like inside both BigLaw firms and boutique/mid-size practices.
Moderated by our Co-Presidents, Emanuella N. Rozenfeld and Ruth Samuel, the panel featured thoughtful and inspiring insights from attorneys who shared the realities of different career paths. The conversation left our students with plenty to think about as they chart their own journeys.
We’re so grateful to our speakers, Caroline Rimmer, Domenic Romano, Brandon Zamudio, and Joseph Erdos, for making time to join us.
Featured Alumni Speaker Series: Tim Nevius
Thank you to Tim Nevius for helping EASLS close out the 2024-2025 school year with one last event! Our students sincerely enjoyed discussing the intricacies of NCAA class action suits, labor law, and the NIL landscape with you.
Spring 2025 Sports Symposium
Led by 2L co-chairs Austin J. Shorter, Kira Schumm and Ani Ghazarian, last night, EASLS held our Spring 2025 Sport Symposium in William & June Warren Hall. We are so grateful to our moderator Jennifer Rodgers & panelists Mikkaela Salamatin, Michelle Torres, Christopher R. Chase and Bill Squires for lending their time & insights to our members. Thank you all for fostering an amazing discussion — and thank you to our Symposium Committee members for their hard work in bringing this to fruition.
Featured Alumni Speaker Series: Jeffrey Kessler
Today, the Featured Alumni Speaker Series, hosted by the Columbia Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Society, welcomed Jeffrey Kessler — a true pioneer in the world of sports law.
From shaping the future of college athletics and NIL rights with a unanimous Supreme Court decision, to securing NFL free agency, to fighting for equal pay in women’s soccer, students had the incredible opportunity to hear firsthand from one of the most influential figures in the field.
His key advice to aspiring sports lawyers? “Be relentless in your pursuit.”
Featured Alumni Speaker Series: Greg Beaton
Thank you to Greg Beaton, Senior VP and Head of Domestic Media Distribution at the NBA, for spending yesterday afternoon with our EASLS members! It was an honor to welcome Greg back to Columbia Law School and hear his insights on the evolving sports, media, and legal landscape. We look forward to continuing our Featured Alumni Speaker Series following next week’s Spring Recess. Don’t miss it!
Featured Alumni Speaker Series: Jaymon Ballew
Thank you to Jaymon Ballew for kicking off EASLS’ Featured Alumni Speaker Series! Our students sincerely appreciated such thoughtful discussion & advice as we embark on our legal careers.
