Wade Leak of Sony Music Entertainment will present “An Insider’s Legal Perspective on the Music Industry” as part of the Drake Intellectual Property Law Center’s Big IDEA Speaker Series.
The lecture is scheduled for April 6, 3 p.m., in Cartwright Hall, Room 206. It is free and open to the public.
Leak is senior vice president, deputy general counsel, and chief compliance, ethics, and privacy officer at Sony Music.
During the lecture, he will share his thoughts on the ever-changing legal landscape affecting the music industry, highlighting several recent key legal developments and impactful cases involving Sony Music. He will also discuss his experience overseeing the compliance program at the major music company.
“The Intellectual Property Law Center is thrilled about Wade’s visit,” said Shontavia Johnson, Kern Family Chair in Intellectual Property Law and director of the Drake Intellectual Property Law Center. “He brings wide-ranging expertise and a unique perspective on the intersection between law, innovation, and the entertainment industry.”
Leak manages all U.S. litigation and provides day-to-day legal advice to the label groups at Sony Music on a wide range of matters, including copyright, trademark, online marketing, and data privacy issues. He has also handled a variety of governmental and internal investigations.
Prior to joining Sony Music, Leak worked for the Zomba Group of Companies, the largest independent music company in the world at the time. He also served as a judicial clerk for Justice Christine M. Durham of the Utah Supreme Court and worked at the law firms of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Bodian & Eames.
Leak is a graduate of Columbia University Law School, where he sits on the law school’s alumni association board of directors.
Tobi Parks, a current Drake Law student and director of copyright administration at Sony Music, was instrumental in helping bring Leak to Drake’s campus.
The lecture has been approved for 1.0 CLE hour (Activity ID Number: 257072).
The Drake Intellectual Property Law Center was created in fall 2007 to promote global, interdisciplinary understanding of intellectual property law and policy. The center was established with the support of a $1.5 million gift from Wayne, LW’72, and Donna Kern, which endowed the Kern Family Chair in Intellectual Property Law, and a $750,000 leadership commitment from DuPont Pioneer.
Launched in fall 2016, the Big IDEA Speaker Series brings renowned intellectual property law experts to Drake University’s campus to share their ideas about innovation and entrepreneurship.
Learn more about the Intellectual Property Law Center.