Patrick Knapp Schwarzenegger, the boardroom lawyer for the New Celebrity Apprentice, happens to know the boss on the popular television show. What are the odds?

The governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is taking over the show for Donald Trump. But if you want to become an entertainment lawyer, it is all about connections or “networking.” Just ask. The Hollywood Reporter did:

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Close enough: Arnold is Patrick’s uncle.

It definitely helped that Patrick is a bona fide entertainment lawyer. He is a partner at the entertainment law firm Bloom Hergott, where his uncle is a longtime client. Patrick, a graduate of USC Law School, has worked on deals behind movies such as Fast and Furious 7, Karate Kid, National Treasure, and Terminator 5.

Although every story is different, Patrick’s path to entertainment law is similar to others. Tara Kole, who made it to the top among entertainment lawyers at the relatively young age of 35, said she got into the practice through a connection.

Kole, a Harvard law grad who clerked for the U.S. Supreme Court, wanted to be an entertainment lawyer but didn’t know anybody in the business. She did know Judge Alex Kozinski, however, which was close enough. Kozinski really knew movies, having crafted an opinion with 200 movie titles woven into a 14-page decision.

Kozinski introduced Kole to Bruce Ramer, a partner at the entertainment law firm Gang Tyre Ramer & Brown. The rest, as they say in Hollywood, is probably fiction.

Jeffrey Fuhrman, a Pennsylvania law school alumnus who was toiling at a big law firm, was ready to do any kind of entertainment job. He got lucky when a friend referred him for an interview to work on a television show that he parlayed into an executive legal position at NBCUniversal Inc.

“Being in LA allowed me to meet the critical people and gave me an advantage in getting the job, so I was hired, without any relevant experience,” he said.

Related Resources:

  • Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Celebrity Lawyer? (Law Practice Today)
  • Entertainment Law – What It Is and How to Jumpstart Your Career (FindLaw’s Greedy Associates)
  • Ex-Bar Member Starts Baking, Breaks Into Reality TV (FindLaw’s Greedy Associates)

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