Barnes & Thornburg Attorneys to Take Part in ABA Entertainment and Sports Industries Fall Conference
Barnes & Thornburg (www.btlaw.com) attorneys Dan Cohen and Stephen Weizenecker will be among the panel participants at the American Bar Association Forum on Entertainment & Sports Industries Fall Conference, set for Oct. 7-9 at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead.
Weizenecker, an Atlanta-based Barnes & Thornburg partner, serves as chair of the ABA Forum on Entertainment & Sports Industries, which brings together more than 6,000 attorneys, agents, corporate executives and law students working across the sports and entertainment industries. He will participate in rends in “Film Financing and Deal Making.”
Cohen, a partner in Barnes & Thornburg’s sports law practice, also will participate in conference programming addressing issues affecting the rapidly changing sports industry. The conference will feature attorneys and industry executives examining legal and business developments across professional and collegiate sports. Cohen will participate in “NIL at Five: The Next Phase of College Athlete Compensation.”
The sports programming will address artificial intelligence platforms for sports lawyers, franchise valuation and expansion, league governance, regulatory approvals, name, image and likeness issues, college sports sponsorships and the continued growth of women’s sports.
Those subjects come as sports lawyers confront changes in the economics and regulation of both professional and college athletics. Franchise valuations have continued to attract attention as leagues explore expansion and new ownership structures, while NIL, revenue sharing and commercial partnerships are reshaping the college sports landscape.
The conference also will feature extensive entertainment law programming, including sessions on celebrity branding, film finance, litigation, labor relations, dealmaking and content production. The ABA said the program will include separate learning tracks offering Continuing Legal Education and Continuing Professional Education credit.
The three-day conference marks a move to Atlanta for the Forum, with the ABA citing the city’s growing role in both professional sports and film and television production as a backdrop for the event. The ABA is offering a $100 early-registration discount through Sept. 25. Register for the ABA ESI Fall Conference
The agenda follows below:
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7
Welcome Reception & Casino Night
7:00 – 10:00 PM
Barnes & Thornburg LLP
3340 Peachtree Rd NE Suite 2900
Atlanta, GA 30326
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8
Mentoring Program
(8:00 – 9:00 AM)
Speaker: Brianna T. Smith,Esq., Arrington & Phillips, LLP, Atlanta, GA
Breakfast
(8:00 – 9:00AM)
Plenary & Welcome
(9:00 – 10:30 AM)
Building Celebrity-Driven Brands
Moderator: Lawrence A. Waks, Sterlington Law, Coconut Grove, FL
Speakers: Dom Alcocer, President and COO, Hampton Water and Lily Pond Group, Nashville, TN
Gary Crowell, COO, Sir Davis Whiskey Santa Fe, NM
Jon Glick, Chairman and CEO, Chay Brands LLC, Glenview, IL
Zamira Zapata Valdés, Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL
Break | 10:30 – 10:45 AM
Entertainment
10:45 – 11:45 AM
How AI is Impacting Entertainment & Sports Investments and Valuations
Moderator: Ben Sheppard, BRG, Los Angeles, CA
Speaker: Tod Cohen, Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP, San Francisco, CA
Brian Marler, Houlihan Lokey, Los Angeles, CA
Sports
10:45 – 11:45 AM
NIL at Five: The Next Phase of College Athlete Compensation
Moderator: Jeremy Evans, California Sports Lawyer, Los Angeles, CA
Speakers: Kordell Caldwell, Associate, Baker Donelson, New Orleans, LA, Dan Cohen, Barnes & Thornburg
Donald Remy, Former NCAA Chief Operating, Officer and Legal Executive
Lunch | 11:45 AM – 1:30 PM
Suno, AI, and the Future of Music: A Conversation with Suno’s General Counsel, Phil Castro
Join Suno General Counsel Phil Castro and music-industry veteran and journalist James Barber for a candid, wide-ranging conversation about the forces reshaping music.
As generative AI moves from novelty to a powerful part of the creative ecosystem, Castro and Barber will explore what this transformation means for artists, songwriters, labels, publishers, platforms, and fans. Their conversation will confront the legal, commercial, and cultural questions defining this new era: the use of copyrighted music in AI development; emerging markets for training-data and product licenses; attribution, compensation, and artist consent; and the status of AI-generated works under copyright and related-rights regimes.
They will also examine how AI is changing creative practice and music discovery—and what responsible innovation looks like in practice. From product design and industry partnerships to platform accountability and creator protections, the discussion will offer Suno’s perspective on building an AI-enabled music marketplace that expands creative possibility while supporting a vibrant, sustainable future for music.
Entertainment
1:45 – 2:45 PM
Trends in Film Financing and Deal Making
Moderator: Stephen Weizenecker, Barnes & Thornburg LLP, Atlanta, GA
Speaker: Randie Brooks, City National Bank, Atlanta, GA
Sports
1:45 – 2:45 PM
Prediction Markets: Regulation, Litigation and What’s Next
Speakers: Elizabeth Lan Davis, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, Washington, D.C.
Gregory R. Gemignani, Dickinson Wright, Las Vegas, NV
Aalok Sharma, Sinson, Minneapolis, MN
Break | 2:45 – 3:00 PM
Entertainment
3:00 – 4:00 PM
You Never Give Me Your Money: Streaming Royalties in the Modern Music Business
Moderator: Matthew V. Wilson, Arnall Golden Gregory LLP
Speakers:
Marylynne Drexler, ADA Worldwide, New York, NY
Serona Elton, The Mechanical Licensing Collective, Nashville, TN
Laxmi Vijaysankar, Hunter Cottingham, New York, NY
Sports
3:00 – 4:00 PM
League Expansion: Legal and Business Fundamentals
Moderator:
Melinda Morris-Zanoni, Founding & Managing Member, Apollo Sports & Entertainment Law Group, Los Angeles, CA
Speakers:
Stephen Hanson, ArentFox Schiff, New York, NY
Russell Hedman, Latham & Watkins LLP, New York, NY
Derrick Heggans, Shepherd Park Sports Properties, Washington, DC
Break | 4:00 – 4:15 PM
Ethics and Professionalism Lessons from Hit TV Shows: “Suits”
(4:15 – 5:45 PM)
Speakers: Jeff M. Smith, Greenberg Traurig, Atlanta, GA
Brent A. Turman, Munsch Hardt, Dallas, TX
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9
Committee Breakfast | 8:00 – 9:00 AM
Litigation Update
(9:00 – 10:30 AM)
Moderator: Tim Warnock, Loeb & Loeb LLP, Nashville, TN
Speakers:
Lauren J. Fried, Loeb & Loeb LLP, Los Angeles, CA
Mike Ingersoll, Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP, Charlotte, NC
Bethany Rabe, Greenberg Traurig LLP, Las Vegas, NV
Brent A. Turman, Munsch Hardt, Dallas, TX
Hot Topics in Art, Museum and Design Law
(9:00 -10:00 AM)
Moderator: LeAnn Shelton, Rockwell Group, New York, NY
Speakers:
Alexandra Darraby, The Art Law Firm, Los Angeles, CA
Deborah Gerhardt, Professor of Law, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NCJames Trigg, Kilpatrick, New York, NY
Break | 10:30 – 10:45 AM
Trial by Algorithm: Litigation and Reputation in the (Mis)Information Era
(10:45 – 11:45 AM)
Moderator:
Esra Hudson, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, Los Angeles
Speakers:
Tony Freinberg, President, Edendale Strategies, Los Angeles, CA
Lisa Kaplan, Alethea Group, Inc. Washington, DC
Stephanie Roeser, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, Los Angeles, CA
Women’s Sports: Investment, Growth and Infrastructure
(10:45 – 11:45 AM)
Moderator:
Kate Porter, Bay FC, San Francisco, CA
Speakers:
Taylor Carter, Assistant General Counsel, AMB Sports & Entertainment (Atlanta NWSL), Atlanta, GA
Jen Flynn, SVP, Business Affairs & General Counsel, Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), Boston, MA
David Palanzo, SVP & General Counsel, Womens Tennis Association (WTA) Ventures, Raleigh, NC
Reba Orloff, Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs – Youth, League One Volleyball (LOVB), New York, NY
Lunch and Program | 11:45 AM – 1:30 PM
Audits in the Era of Digital Streaming
(1:45 – 2:45 PM)
Moderator: Cedar Boschan, Forensic Accountant & Royalty Expert, Boschan Corp., Culver City, CA
Speaker: Mark Tratos, Greenberg Traurig LLP, Las Vegas, NV
A View From the Top
(1:45 – 2:45 PM)
Moderator:
Joshua Pila, Gray Media, Atlanta, GA
Speakers:
Joe Pierce, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, AMB Sports & Entertainment, Atlanta, GA
Lesley Wainright, Chief Legal Officer, PlayOn! Sports, Atlanta, GA
Scott Wilkinson, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA
Coffee Break | 2:45 – 3:00 PM
At the Bargaining Table: The New Rules of Rule of Labor in Entertainment
(3:00 – 4:00 PM)
Moderator:
John T.L. Koenig, Barnes & Thornburg LLP, Atlanta, GA
Speakers:
Matt Blackett, Deputy GC for SAG-AFTRA
Alan Brunswick, Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, Los Angeles, CA
A.I. Considerations for Sports Lawyers
(3:00 – 4:00 PM)
Moderator:
Kaelin Brittin, Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer, Arena Docs, Washington, DC
Speakers:
Ryan Becker, Senior Director, Senior Legal Counsel, The Coca-Cola Company, Atlanta, GA
Nick Brown, Chief Administrative Officer, Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta, GA
Allie Chinsky, Vice President & Associate General Counsel, Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA