Childrens Music Portal
Entertainment Lawyer : Howard Leib
Entertainment Lawyer : Howard Leib
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cultivating resources
HOWARD LEIB, ESQ.
President
HDL Consulting
Howard Leib is an intellectual property and entertainment attorney and consultant with his own practice in New York City. He offers a full range of legal services, with specialties in entertainment law, and trademark and copyright practice, including litigation. Through the years, Leib has worked with artists such as Whitney Houston, B.B. King, Kiss, BeBe & CeCe Winans, Bobby McFerrin, and Judy Collins. Corporate clients include MCA, BMG, Atlantic Records, Arista Records, Rhino Entertainment, and 20th Century Fox. As a consultant, Leib has worked with companies such as Nickelodeon, Rhino and Golden Books Family Entertainment.
Howard has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association Entertainment and Sports Law Section, where he was chair of the Music Committee and editor of the section newsletter. He has been a member of the Board of Contributing Editors of "Entertainment Law and Finance." Leib currently teaches "Entertainment Law for Producers" at NYU's School of Continuing and Professional Studies. He previously taught business law at Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Leib acts as attorney and/or consultant for many entertainment interests and as a consultant for individuals and companies seeking a greater understanding of the children's entertainment market and where it is going. Leib also publishes BrainCamp News a weekly e-mail newsletter on important events within the kids' entertainment industry.
As an entertainment lawyer and consultant, Leib has built a specialty for himself in the field of children's entertainment. Over fifteen years ago, while at one of our country's top entertainment law firms, Leib became involved in the children's entertainment industry. He has represented Raffi, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Lightyear Entertainment (producers of the award-winning "Stories to Remember" series), Kid Rhino, Bob McGrath of "Sesame Street," Rory from TLC's "Rory and Me," Parents Choice winners Vitamin L, and former BMG recording artist Karan & the Musical Medicine Show, among others.
Getting in before the big boom of 1991-92, Leib found that the kids' entertainment market was generally a nicer and friendlier area of the entertainment industry. He also discovered that while there were many talented people producing wonderful product for kids, there was no sense of "industry" in the children's market. Realizing that there could be no real market growth until these talented people started seeing themselves as part of a larger business community, Leib worked to create a cohesive kids' entertainment industry. After opening his own law practice, he created both the Kids' Entertainment Seminar and the not-for-profit trade association the Children's Entertainment Association. Leib is currently president of both organizations. Through KES and CEA, and with the efforts of many others, a cohesive kids' entertainment industry has begun to grow in this country. Leib is also a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences' (NARAS) Grammy Screening Panel for children's categories.
In 1997, Leib, created BrainCamp to provide a forum for those at the top of the kids' entertainment food chain to meet, exchange ideas and socialize in an informal and informative environment. BrainCamp is the only high-level, cross-media conference specifically geared to major players in children's entertainment.
In addition to his work as an attorney, consultant and seminar producer, Leib ventures into the creative world. A student and historian of comedy and a former stand-up comedian himself, Leib served as producer of Rhino Records' critically acclaimed 4 CD compilation "But Seriously - The American Comedy Box" which traced the history of American recorded comedy from its roots in the early 1900s to the 1990s. Leib also produced comedy records for Sony Wonder's Nick at Nite label, including Bob Newhart's Grammy-nominated "Button Down Concert" CD as well as "New York Songs" on the Rhino label, a 16-track compilation tracing how New York has been viewed through the years in song. Leib's latest release is "Now That Sounds Kosher," a CD of funny songs by Jews about being Jewish for Shout! Factory Entertainment. Leib is also a recognized expert on TV Trivia, having come in third in the second ever "Ultimate Fan Search" game show on TVLand.
Leib's work has appeared in various publications over the years. In addition to the previously mentioned weekly BrainCamp News and various articles in Entertainment Law and Finance, where Leib was a member of the editorial advisory board, his articles and commentaries have seen print in such publications as Billboard, The Comic's Bible (where he did a regular column), Goldmine, and the Children's Music Network's Pass It On, where he has also had a regular column.
Leib holds a bachelor's degree in psychology and urban studies from Columbia University and received his Juris Doctor with honors from Yeshiva University's Cardozo School of Law, where he worked on both the Law Review and the Law Revue and where he is currently Chair of the Alumni Association anda memeber of the Board of Trustees. He is married with two children, Abby, age 17 and Josh, age 13, who serve as a test audience for the many projects he is asked to review each month.
(ed. Howard's been practicing in NYC since forever, and is the founder of the Children's Entertainment Association.
Visit his sites: http://www.kidsentertainment.com/ and http://www.braincamp.com/
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