Today we’d like to introduce you to Keith Cooper
Hi Keith, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
The story of my life and how I got to where I am today started just after high school, when I started promoting bands and venues in Los Angeles. This led to some interesting opportunities, namely working at The David Geffen Company (mainly Geffen Records) and after that Atlantic Records. It is also how I met my wife Allison.
Still, although I wanted to be involved in music and entertainment, I did not want to live my life as a promoter. Thus, I went to law school to learn more about the legal issues involved in entertainment, business law and intellectual property (copyrights and trademarks).
After law school, and because of my background as a promoter with a legal education, I was hired by The Recording Academy (The GRAMMY Awards) to implement their “Entertainment Law Initiative”, which is still going over 25 years later. After that, I was recruited to start a video streaming company.
Then, after a couple of years, I went back to focusing on the practice of law. I opened the Los Angeles office of a San Francisco based law firm, and through that, I met some attorneys working in the videogame space. As a lifelong videogame nerd I partnered with them to get more involved in that business. Although I have moved on, I am so fortunate that, no only do I continue to work with gaming clients, but I also continue to work with business, IP and traditional entertainment clients as well, many of whom I met back when I was a promoter.
Thus, where I am today is that feel I’ve accomplished most of my dreams: I am happily married, have my own law firm with an amazing new partner (Kat Iravani), and I am practicing law in the areas I am most passionate about. I consider myself extremely fortunate.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Often I feel like Forrest Gump, stumbling my way through life into one fortunate situation after another. But I also appreciate the saying: “luck = preparation + opportunity”. When looking at it from that perspective, I do feel like I’ve prepared my whole life to get where I am. Learning what I need to know and meeting the right people along the way.
But the road is never completely smooth. Often you’ll encounter speedbumps and roadblocks. I have been a part of businesses and law firms that have collapsed, and failed partnerships, all of which required a course correction. In each case, however, I continued to focus on learning as much as I could, meeting new people, and looking for new opportunities. Basically preparing for whatever opportunity may arise. And sometimes you need to take risks.
The primary skillset required for this is patience. And maintaining a belief in myself that, with persistence, I’ll get to where I want to go. On more than one occasion I felt like I was starting over, and that I wasted time doing something or working somewhere unproductive. But the reality is that experience is cumulative and the road is long. So if you have a map you can always get to where you want to go no matter how many struggles or roadblocks you encounter along the way.
As you know, we’re big fans of Cooper & Iravani, LLP. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I specialize in traditional and digital entertainment law, business law and intellectual property. Where entertainment is concerned, I represent songwriters, recording artists, online content creators, small music labels and publishing companies. I also represent small independent film producers, writers, voice actors and traditional actors, among others. In the gaming sphere I represent both game developers and publishers. For business, I represent a number of businesses handling everything from formation, to investments, licensing, employment, and more. Lastly, for IP, I help clients acquire and protect trademarks and copyrights, which also includes licensing and sometimes enforcement.
My partner Kat also specializes in business law. But she also focuses on general commercial transactions (lease agreements, franchise agreements, etc.), real estate, landlord/tenant issues, employment law and other general practice areas.
One thing that I feel sets us apart is that neither Kat nor I are doing this for our own personal wealth. Both of us like helping people and helping them navigate complex issues. We like to be generous with our time. So we’ve made a conscious decision to charge less than we feel we could, e.g., based on my 30 years of experience. And we are proud of that. We take pride in striking a balance between our need to pay bills and the needs of our clients. We want our clients to feel that, not only did they receive quality legal services, but also that they did not overpay for them. That is what I hope to establish as our brand.
What are your plans for the future?
The biggest change is the formation of our new law firm. We opened on October 1, 2024. So, professionally speaking, my plan is to build this new business into something that we and our clients all feel good about. We are looking forward to building a new new team. One that will be proud to call Cooper & Iravani their home too.
Pricing:
- $400 per hour
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ci-lawgroup.com
