Today we’d like to introduce you to Jodie Shihadeh.
Hi Jodie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
As a teen, I worked in a record shop in the suburbs of Philadelphia and played the drums. I knew I wanted to work in music eventually but I wasn’t sure what path to follow. The only music industry job that I knew existed was in A&R and so I managed to get an A&R internship at Universal Motown during college. While at college, I took a number of business law classes, thinking they could be beneficial for an eventual career in the music industry. During this time, I also discovered that you could be an entertainment lawyer and represent artists. A few of the artists I loved had decided to stop creating music because their record deals were so onerous that they couldn’t make a living. Representing artists sounded like the perfect blend of my interests – music and advocacy. And so, I decided to go to law school to become an entertainment lawyer.
While at law school, I got my foot in the door by having more internships – I interned at RCA Records and also a boutique entertainment law firm. Upon graduating law school, the firm I had interned at had just started representing a major NBA player that was building an entertainment business and so I was hired to work on his matters. Nine years later, I was a partner at the firm and running the Los Angeles office, going back and forth between LA and NY.
Over the years, I had developed a strong book of business representing talent. When the pandemic hit, it became clear to me that it was time to start the next chapter of my career and so I decided in September 2020 to start my own law firm. A lot of law firms were getting rid of their office spaces, no one was traveling, and I knew exactly how much business my clients were bringing in, so the start-up risk was negligible. 2.5 years later, I’ve relocated the firm to be primarily based in Los Angeles, have grown the team to include attorneys and staff, and the client roster includes A-list creators, record labels, publishing companies, entertainment executives and entrepreneurs, and media and entertainment companies all at the forefront of the newest and most cutting edge music.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t believe the paths of a legal profession nor entrepreneurship ever-present smooth roads. The legal profession is one of the most demanding, stressful careers one can pursue. Starting a business is also fraught with challenges and risks. Add a global pandemic into the mix, and the uncertainties and obstacles increase exponentially. Personally, I also birthed my first child in 2021, an experience which is physically and emotionally never a smooth road. Navigating pregnancy, new motherhood, and postpartum recovery while running a quickly growing business during a pandemic is demanding, to say the least. But choosing this path was the best decision I ever made. Practicing law for me is extremely rewarding because I am passionate about my practice and the work of my clients. Running a business is not for everyone, but I personally thrive on it as I come from a long-familial lineage of entrepreneurs and being one of the younger lawyers at my level to have started a firm, I am striving to build a firm that approaches representation and law firm dynamics differently. And as for doing all of this while also being pregnant and raising a toddler, I am so proud to be able to share with her one day that she was along with me from the start of this wild ride!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Shihadeh Law P.C.?
Shihadeh Law P.C. is a woman-owned and managed, full-service boutique music and entertainment transactional law firm that represents renowned talent, executives, and companies in the entertainment and media industries worldwide. The firm specializes not only in highly sophisticated and cutting-edge deal-making but also in advising and strategizing the long-term growth of its clients’ careers in all aspects of the entertainment business. As a lawyer, I strive to develop deep and lasting relationships with my clients so that I am intricately involved with them and their teams in the strategizing and decision-making that is required in order to grow long-term successful careers. I’m most proud of the fact that I’m one of the younger lawyers at my level, in a field that is male-dominated, to start and run a fast-growing law firm with a young team that is also passionate about talent representation.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I’ve had a long love affair with LA since college! I first came to California when I was 20 to visit my surfer boyfriend at the time, who was from Redondo Beach. I immediately fell in love with the SoCal vibe, outdoor lifestyle, sunshine, and way of life. The idea that you can have Avocado trees, citrus trees, and Olive trees all in your backyard and be 20 minutes away from an eye-dazzling hike is still mind-blowing to me as a lifelong East Coaster. The abundance and proximity to nature, combined with the fact that it is the Mecca for my business, was a huge draw for me to end up in LA. After having lived in Brooklyn, NY for the last 16 years though, I do miss the walkability of Brooklyn and the local Mom-and-Pop bookshops that were everywhere. Give me a coffee and a bookshop and I could easily while away 2-3 hours on a weekend afternoon.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.shihadehlaw.com
- Instagram: @shihadehlaw
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shihadeh-law-p-c/
