For lawyers, personal managers, talent act woe
While California’s Talent Agencies Act has been the law of the Golden State for more than a half century, it poses challenges still to lawyers working in Entertainment and is under recent and persistent fire from personal managers. §1700.5 of the state Labor Code says: “No person shall engage in or carry on the occupation of a talent agency without first procuring a license therefore from the Labor Commissioner.” And the act specifies that a talent agent is “a person or corporation who engages in the occupation of procuring, offering, promising, or attempting to procure employment or engagements for an artist or artists.” Crystal clear? It wasn’t so for James Blancarte, a lawyer who found himself on the wrong side of a recent ruling by the California Labor Commission for negotiating for sports broadcaster Mario Solis (right) over an anchor position with the NBC affiliate in Los Angeles. Blancarte had a contract with Solis stipulating a five percent commission of earnings. But the Labor Commission found the contract invalid under the Talent Agencies Act. While Blancarte is a licensed attorney, the Labor Commission found in this instance he acted as a talent agent, procuring employment for client: “By negotiating the KNBC agreements on petitioner’s behalf, respondent attempted to procure and procured employment for petitioner. As a consequence, respondent engaged in and carried out the occupation of a talent agency.”...
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