The Insider
Erica Carter ’15, Senior Counsel at Epic Games, Shares Advice From Her In-House Counsel Journey
When Erica Carter ’15 spoke to incoming students at 2024 Convocation about the law school journey that lay ahead, she elicited laughs and brought levity to the formal courthouse setting, including by offering personal advice: Have fun and embrace the community.
“Just know that the time that you’re going to spend in law school will go by really fast,” Carter said. “It’s been 12 years since I was in your place, and it doesn't feel that long. You should have fun. You should experience different opportunities. You should make the most of it.”
Carter’s affinity for fun shines through in an impressive career as in-house counsel for a series of companies that are embedded in our pop culture. She is currently senior counsel in the legal and business affairs department at Epic Games, the video game company behind hit games like Fortnite (and yes, Carter plays it herself, as it helps her communicate with colleagues on the business side). Her responsibilities have included philanthropic activities, partnership and music licensing, IP enforcement and protection processes, performing merger and acquisition due diligence, assisting with regulatory investigations, and advising on e-commerce and player health and habits, among other duties.
Previously, Carter served as counsel in business and legal affairs at Sesame Workshop, the producer of “Sesame Street,” and as assistant general counsel at The Collective, aka Ecko Unltd., the parent company behind fashion entrepreneur Marc Ecko’s streetwear brand. She has appeared at speaking engagements at Brooklyn Law School and around the world, including at the Games Industry Law Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, and the Marques Luxury Brands Symposium in Florence, Italy.
In an interview, Carter shared advice about her own journey, key paths to working in-house, and how alumni across the board can expand their teams. (Hint: Hire Brooklyn Law School interns).
Know Yourself: Trusting your gut on what you like to do and determining your ideal approach to work are some of Carter’s suggestions to law students. “For me, being an in-house counsel was where my spirit was, where I was at peace,” Carter said. “I did not want to become this hyper-competitive person and try to outperform everyone else. With Big Law, for me, I didn’t like the lack of work-life balance. I didn’t want to work the long hours and be on call 24/7.”
Get Experience: It is tough to know where your own sense of peace and contentment lies without experimentation. Carter decided to go in-house after an internship working at a small entertainment firm. It wasn’t for her, nor was Big Law, and she wasn’t afraid to forge a different path from others. For those who want to obtain an in-house position, she advises, “Work in as many entertainment placements as you can, in in-house settings, because it starts to train your mind to think like an in-house lawyer, which is a very different perspective from law firm lawyers, because your risk analysis is different,” Carter said. “The way you communicate with clients who are internal businesspeople is much different…After I went to internships at Chanel and then to Burberry, I found the structure where I learned how to act as in-house counsel, and I don’t think there’s any other way to learn those skills.”
Go the Distance: When Carter needed interns at Sesame Workshop, she sought help from Brooklyn Law School and found an intern recommended by Professor Jonathan Askin, Chris Williams ’19, who interned there for two semesters, a critical span. “When you’re there one semester, you're learning, and then once you get the hang of it, you’re gone. If you stay a second semester, you’re actually practicing law and realize you are able to do it day to day and can actually see what you have learned coming through in practice,” Carter said. “You’ve learned and you're getting more independence. That's where you're really perfecting your craft and your skills.”
Find Your People: A team that can work well together is crucial. Carter helped her former interns Chris Williams ’19 and her successor in the internship, Katherine Wilcox ’20, get hired at Sesame Workshop and Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard, respectively. The trio clicked so much that after Carter left for Epic Games, the two alumnae, and a third colleague from Sesame, followed, earning them the nickname the “Sesame Seeds.” For Carter, building a team means knowing where you fit into the whole. “I’m a generalist, so I collaborate with people who are subject-matter experts, and keep them close and check in,” Carter said. “It’s about constant communication, transparency, and that's really the key to working well in a team.” She likes Brooklyn Law graduates because, in Carter’s experience, the school is known for a “culture of creating community and collaboration, rather than pitting students against each other to be at the top of the class.”
Pay It Forward: In addition to being a connector, Carter has a knack for giving back through philanthropy and nonprofit work. She organized and implemented Epic’s first giving campaign, partnering with Microsoft and nonprofits, to direct some of the proceeds from Fortnite sales to provide $144 million in aid to those affected by the war in Ukraine. Carter is currently a member of the Board of Trustees for The Copyright Society, and the Brooklyn Law School Alumni Board and is an advisor for the Brooklyn Law School Sports and Entertainment Law Blog. “I feel that I’ve received the opportunities I have because I went to Brooklyn Law, and so I feel it's really important to give back and see that other students have the same opportunities and stay involved with the school and continue to keep Brooklyn on track to produce really great students and alumni.”