Turning Disney into a career?

[pkpope]

I am about to begin applying to law schools and am interested in doing IP and products liability law. I live in Tampa currently but plan on living in Orlando after I get my JD as I have some connections with IP firms in that area. I also love Disney, but it’s very hard to find information on their legal team. So i’m wondering if anyone knows how much Disney wants IP lawyers (I know they offer a summer internship for law students) and any tips for getting my foot in the door after getting some experience after graduating.

(Disclaimer: I’ve noticed that many disney career posts seem to get a lot of negative comments i.e. “it’ll never happen” or “unless you know someone forget about it”. I am looking for constructive opinions and/or helpful advice only.)

Thank you in advance for any help!

 

[Jess_S]

I am a lawyer. I have never worked for Disney as a lawyer (I was a CP though), but I did used to work for a firm where my practice included litigation for entertainment companies.

Disney hires pretty much the best lawyers in the business. If you want to work for Disney, my advice would be to become one of the best lawyers in the business. That starts by getting into the best law school you can and then doing as well as you can in law school. Your goal should be to go work for a firm that is outside counsel for Disney because the easiest way to go in house is to get hired by your own client. Disney mostly uses large law firms who only hire the top 10-20 percent of students at a given law school (depending on how good the school is).

None of this is to say that you can't work for Disney if you don't take this path. It's just the path of least resistance (in part because law is a very status-oriented profession where it's assumed you are better if you went to a better school and worked at a more exclusive firm).

For reference, here is the bio of Disney's general counsel: https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/leaders/alan-braverman/. I'm sure you can find bios of other Disney lawyers online so that you can understand the path they took to their current job.

If you know people who are IP lawyers, talk to them now and make sure you like what they do. The legal profession is full of people who don't actually like being lawyers and I think part of the problem is not understanding what the job actually entails before going to law school.

You don't mention what type of IP lawyer you plan to be. Do you have a technology or engineering background? If so, you will be in very high demand. If you are interested in "soft" IP i.e. copyright and trademark, then there will be much more competition. None of this means that you can't do what you want. Just understand that it will take hard work, networking and a thick skin.

 

[pkpope]

I am a lawyer. I have never worked for Disney as a lawyer (I was a CP though), but I did used to work for a firm where my practice included litigation for entertainment companies.

Disney hires pretty much the best lawyers in the business. If you want to work for Disney, my advice would be to become one of the best lawyers in the business. That starts by getting into the best law school you can and then doing as well as you can in law school. Your goal should be to go work for a firm that is outside counsel for Disney because the easiest way to go in house is to get hired by your own client. Disney mostly uses large law firms who only hire the top 10-20 percent of students at a given law school (depending on how good the school is).

None of this is to say that you can't work for Disney if you don't take this path. It's just the path of least resistance (in part because law is a very status-oriented profession where it's assumed you are better if you went to a better school and worked at a more exclusive firm).

For reference, here is the bio of Disney's general counsel: https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/leaders/alan-braverman/. I'm sure you can find bios of other Disney lawyers online so that you can understand the path they took to their current job.

If you know people who are IP lawyers, talk to them now and make sure you like what they do. The legal profession is full of people who don't actually like being lawyers and I think part of the problem is not understanding what the job actually entails before going to law school.

You don't mention what type of IP lawyer you plan to be. Do you have a technology or engineering background? If so, you will be in very high demand. If you are interested in "soft" IP i.e. copyright and trademark, then there will be much more competition. None of this means that you can't do what you want. Just understand that it will take hard work, networking and a thick skin.

So unfortunately i am not interested in patents, i find trademark and copywright to be much more interesting. I have seen and read that that area is much more competitive due to the lack of jobs. My dad has a friend from Orlando who is an attorney for one of the top IP firms in the south east, and I have plans to sort of pick his brain about working in the industry. I will say that i want to work in that field even if i never end up working for disney (i find it foolish to make such a large, life-changing decision based on a goal that is so difficult to achieve), i just think working hard and maybe getting a job for disney would be a great perk and accomplishment! Thank you for your honest input though, i always appreciate hearing from actual lawyers for advice!