Pepperdine School of Law Launches LLM in Entertainment, Media and Sports

Pepperdine University School of Law Professor Maureen Weston has seen first-hand what a great sports law program looks like. After all, she is a long-time representative on the Board of Advisors at the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University, one of the nation’s premier programs.

So when all the right pieces fell into place, such as a hungry student body, a very active sports law society and a proud group of sports law alumni, Weston and others at Pepperdine knew it was time act.

Last month, Pepperdine announced that it will offer a Master of Laws (LLM) in Entertainment, Media, and Sports (EMS) beginning in Fall 2017.

Designed for international and domestic JDs and law students specializing in the fields of entertainment and sports, the 26-unit EMS program is part of Pepperdine’s larger network of programs including the Institute for Entertainment, Media and Culture (IEMC); Sports and Entertainment Law Society (SELS); Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship and the Law; Intellectual Property Student Association; and the Industry Expert Speaker Series. These programs provide additional opportunities for students to connect with alumni working at distinguished organizations in the entertainment and sport fields.

Weston, the co-faculty director, told Sports Litigation Alert that what may separate Pepperdine from other sports law programs is that the program melds “entertainment, media, and sports law with dispute resolution and business courses” as well as “Pepperdine’s location in the heart of the Southern California entertainment industry.”

In other words, the pieces were already in place, “but everything was in silos,” noted Weston.

In addition to offering the LLM in EMS, Pepperdine is host to a variety of entertainment, media, and sports law events including the National Entertainment Moot Court Competition, first public sports arbitration, Farmer’s Field Mediation. Symposiums including Arbitrating Sports; Doping and the Culture of Sports; Women in Hollywood: 100 Years of Negotiating the System; and The New Normal in College Sports have also been hosted.

Learn more about the Pepperdine School of Law LLM and certificate in Entertainment, Media, and Sports here. For more information about Pepperdine University School of Law visit law.pepperdine.edu/ems