Chapman's 10th Annual Law Review Symposium is Red Carpet Crowd Pleaser

The 10th Annual Chapman Law Review Symposium, "Publicity Rights in Bytes," lived up to its advance billing as a unique and thought-provoking scholarly event. Images of The Three Stooges and works of Andy Warhol flashed behind panelists, while custom-made bobble-head dolls were displayed alongside bottles of Marilyn Monroe wine. From the outset of the all-day symposium, participants provided a wide range of legal issues on publicity rights in sports and entertainment law. Humor was also well-represented, such as one panelist's PowerPoint display depicting an image of a Hillary Clinton doll that doubled as a nutcracker. Irreverent, perhaps; poignantly demonstrative of the issues at stake with publicity rights, certainly.

The day's keynote luncheon featured an insightful talk by Micheal Flaherty, President and Co-Founder of Walden Media, the production company that created Chronicles of Narnia, Holes and  other popular films based on youth-oriented literature. Mr. Flaherty engrossed the capacity crowd with a discussion of the vision and drive behind his company.  Humorous, heartfelt, and inspirational, the story of Mr. Flaherty’s journey from law-school reject to the head of one of the most successful movie production companies in the country touched everyone within earshot.

The afternoon panels picked up where the morning panel left off, where YouTube videos, the estate of Tupac Shakur, and fantasy sports were among the topics discussed while another panelist played a clip from the rap group Public Enemy.  A fantastic reception followed the panels, complete with a red carpet entrance of VIP guests that included ABA law school deans in town for the annual ABA dean's conference in Los Angeles. The deans and other guests joined student members of Chapman Law Review for a VIP "Taste of Hollywood" dinner followed by an invitation-only screening of Michael Clayton in the impressive 500-seat Folino Theater at the Dodge School of Film and Media Arts. At the conclusion of the Oscar nominated legal thriller, everyone dissipated into the cool Southern California evening, having thoroughly enjoyed an unforgettable day of scholarship, fine food and film.