Students Meet Legal Team in "Day in the Life of Paramount” at NYC Headquarters

A group of 20 Brooklyn Law students visited the corporate headquarters of media giant Paramount in Times Square on Wednesday for a “Day in the Life of Paramount" experience that included a chance to learn from members of Paramount’s legal team, including two of our alumni, and the company’s top lawyer, Acting General Counsel Caryn Groce.

 The nearly full-day event provided an extraordinary opportunity for students to network and learn about the substantive work that is involved in practicing law in an in-house context at a media and entertainment company. The partnership with Paramount on this event comes at a time of exciting expansion for Brooklyn's nationally recognized media, sports, and entertainment program, including the establishment of the Allen Grubman Chair in Media and Entertainment Law.

“Paramount panelists came in from Washington, D.C., and other locations just to share their experiences with our students,” said Associate Dean of Career & Professional Development Heather Spielmaker, who helped arrange the event. “It was so inspiring for the students to meet BLS alum and other lawyers who have achieved the entertainment and sports law careers they were dreaming of when they decided to come to Brooklyn Law School.”

President and Joseph Crea Dean David D. Meyer and members of our Career Development Center also visited the offices, where company attorneys described their professional pathways to Paramount and the nature of the work they perform. At Paramount, a typical day for an in-house attorney includes a range of intriguing work, from handling intellectual property rights to Paramount’s creative products, including television, films, podcasts, and streaming, to managing all of the legal issues related to CBS Sports’ broadcast of the NCAA's March Madness Tournament, to serving as legal counsel to “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” a role that includes attending daily rehearsals.

The event was jointly sponsored by Paramount and the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC)-NYC Chapter, which last fall cosponsored a Brooklyn Law School event designed to advise students and alumni on how to break into in-house legal work.

“We’re grateful to Paramount for this exceptional collaboration, which is especially well timed as Brooklyn Law strategically expands its national leadership in media, sports, and entertainment law,” Meyer said.

In addition to Groce, the Acting General Counsel, two Brooklyn Law alumni attended: Oliver Bystricky ’15, Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs, U.S. Distribution; and Melissa Erwin ’07, Senior Counsel, Employment Law. Other participants included: Zach Abella, Vice President and Senior Counsel of CBS Studios/News and Stations and production attorney for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”; Jemar Daniel, Vice President and Senior Counsel, Content Legal; Aryn Emert, Vice President and Senior Counsel, Intellectual Property; Andie Schwartz, Vice President and Associate General Counsel, CBS Sports; and Adrian Stubbs, Vice President and Associate General Counsel, CBS Sports.