Gregory McFarlane: Summer Internship in Entertainment Law

"Who are you?" asked Luther Campbell of the former 2 Live Crew. "I'm your new intern from the University of Miami School of Law." Gregory McFarlane responded. "Law School? I had asked for an intern from the Engineering School to help with producing." That's how the rising third-year law student summarizes his introductory conversation with his new boss at his summer internship with Luke Records. From this less than auspicious beginning, Gregory's internship turned out to be a practical and candid introduction to entertainment law.

Gregory McFarlane (right) with Luther Campbell

At the start of the internship, Luther Campbell was on tour and Gregory was doing mostly menial work with tour support. However that all changed when Campbell returned from tour and began utilizing Gregory's legal training. "At the time of my internship, Luther had no attorney on staff, so he had me look over his contracts and sit in on negotiations. I had never even seen a work for hire agreement until Luther showed me one." By the end of the summer, Gregory had gained valuable experience with contract review, negotiation, and providing logistical support for a national tour. And let's not forget the rare chance to get to know the infamous rapper Luke Skyywalker on a personal level. "Luke was one of the nicest guys I've ever met. People have a certain image of and assumptions about Luther Campbell and he is not like that at all. Luther Campbell has been in the music industry for a long time and he is a very professional businessman who runs a tight ship."

Gregory has also had the unique opportunity to work for a new entertainment enterprise, Gavel Entertainment Inc., founded by fellow UM Law students. The nascent company has already signed two artists and in October 2001 they released their first CD, a compilation of reproduced music by various artists.

Originally from Jamaica, Gregory came to Miami as an international undergraduate student in 1996. Two events led to his decision to apply to law school. At the undergraduate level, where he majored in Business Administration, he took a business law class taught by a professor with a passion for his subject and that ignited in Gregory an interest in the law and a desire to learn more. The other event was getting pulled over by police one night on I-95. Gregory was one of four black males in the car stopped by an abrasive police officer. "This really was an introspective experience for me. It made me realize that I didn't know my rights. I felt powerless."

Going into his senior year Gregory described his GPA as "less than stellar", but he was determined to go to law school and he hit the books his last year. He was able to increase his GPA by almost an entire point by the end of the year. He also got involved in student activities and volunteer work. "At first I didn't want to do volunteer work. My main motivation for doing it was to improve my application for law school. But once I started, I found that I really enjoyed it and got a lot of satisfaction out of it." Gregory applied to three schools and was accepted to all of them with scholarships.

"My first day of law school, a rising 3L spoke to us and he said 'leave the school better than you've found it'. That quote has driven me through law school. People always complain about the cost of law school. My way of looking at it is if I'm going to pay a lot of money to go here, I'm going to get as much as I can out of the school and take advantage of every experience the school has to offer."

Gregory has certainly practiced what he's preached. He has gathered a lot of work experience during his time at UM Law. He was a research assistant for Professor Coker for a year. Spring semester of his second year he interned at a law firm where he sat in on the tobacco litigation and wrote up daily summaries for the client - an investment firm, and he also spent a summer clerking for a judge. His extracurricular activities are even more extensive. As an ABA (American Bar Association) Representative for the last two years and Lt. Governor this year, Gregory has traveled to several cities to represent the school at ABA Meetings. Last spring the school was awarded the Bronze Key Award for membership.

From performing in the Law School Theatre's production of Macbeth to playing in a band at Equity Playhouse, Gregory has well over a dozen activities under his belt at UM Law. His vast experiences have made him a well-rounded individual and he will be a better lawyer and community leader because of his experiences. Gregory McFarlane has certainly left UM Law School a better place than he found it.