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GREGORY P. EVELINE is a partner in the New Orleans law firm of Eveline, Davis & Phillips. Mr. Eveline was immersed in the music business for almost a decade before entering the field of law. Now a nationally recognized expert in entertainment industry law, he was a record retailer, distributor, and producer before becoming a successful manager and concert promoter with clients such as R.E.M., Billy Idol, Marianne Faithful, and the Dead Kennedys, to name a few. Mr. Eveline knows the fiercely competitive music marketplace from the inside. His work on gold albums includes Deadeye Dick's New Age Girl and Lil Flipp's The Way We Ball for Sony. As co-founder of the well-known Metronome Records store, Mr. Eveline successfully retailed a full range of artists; and as President of Plan B Promotions, Inc. concert promotions, and New Orleans Management, Inc., artist management and concert promotion, he created personal success for artists on a very detailed and hands-on level. Add to that Mr. Eveline's music production experience, which includes Sound of Dharma by the Drikung Kayqu Monks, the tribute to Boozoo Chavis, Uni/Fuel 2000, and John Thomas Griffith of Cowboy Mouth. Working extensively in film, he has licensed the music for a wide variety of major releases and independent films including Hurricane on the Bayou, Dumb & Dumber, Make Em Dance, Holes, Desperado, and Jackass, and served as General Counsel for Lindy Boggs: Steel & Velvet. As an adjunct professor at Loyola University in the prestigious Department of Music Industry Studies, Mr. Eveline is current on issues relevant to rapidly emerging technologies in the entertainment field as well as on issues of doing business in the global marketplace. As an authority on entertainment law, he lectures at Loyola Law School and the University of New Orleans Master's in Arts Management Program on copyright and arts issues. Mr. Eveline earned his B.A. degree from Juniata College and his J.D. degree from Loyola University Law School. He has previously lectured on entertainment law and copyright for the New Orleans Bar Association, UNO Masters in the Art Program, and Loyola Law School. Mr. Eveline is a member of the Louisiana Bar Association. EDGAR D. GANKENDORFF is an entertainment lawyer with the firm of Provosty & Gankendorff, LLC, practicing in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mr. Gankendorff earned his B.A. degree from Tulane University and his J.D. degree from Tulane University School of Law. He currently represents Galactic, Booker T, Trombone Shorty, Estate of Mahalia Jackson, Imagination Movers, Mavis Staples, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Anders Osborne, Cupid, Jon Cleary, Nathan Williams, Keith Frank, Steve Riley, Lil' Band O' Gold, Amanda Shaw, and many others. Mr. Gankendorff's practice focuses on negotiating recording contracts, publishing agreements, film licenses, and other entertainment related agreements. He also is involved in matters of litigation involving entertainment issues and copyright infringement matters. Mr. Gankendorff's practice also involves representing clients in connection with film, television, and commercial deals. ASHLYE M. KEATON is a sole practitioner who's practice focuses on entertainment and intellectual property law, concentrating on music licensing and arts advocacy. Ms. Keaton is an adjunct professor at Tulane Law School. She is Co-Founder/Supervising Attorney for the Entertainment Law Legal Assistance Project (ELLA), providing free legal services to artists and musicians, supported by Tulane Law School, Arts Council of New Orleans, and the Tipitina's Foundation. Ms. Keaton also runs another pro bono legal clinic through Sweet Home New Orleans in partnership with the Ford Foundation. Among other boards, she has served on the Board of Governors for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, better known as the Grammy's, for two years. Ms. Keaton is the head instructor and choreographer in tap and ballet for the New Orleans Children's Ballet. She was awarded OffBeat Magazine's 2011, 2010 & 2009 Best Music Attorney; Gambit Weekly's 2009 40 Under Forty; 2008 Governor's Art Award/ELLA Project; and New Orleans CityBusiness 2007 Leadership in Law award. RENEE F. SMITH is a shareholder in the law firm of Aaron, PLC in New Orleans. She is admitted to practice in Louisiana and Texas, and has more than 15 years of extensive litigation experience representing clients in various areas of the law. Ms. Smith's practice areas include alternative dispute resolution; appellate practice; class action defense; complex commercial litigation; education law; entertainment law; insurance defense and coverage; labor and employment; libel; slander and defamation; mass media law; municipal law; premises liability; telecommunications law; and toxic torts. She is an aggressive litigator who has been highly successful in defending local government agencies and national insurance companies in all aspects of litigation including class actions. Ms. Smith has significant experience in the areas of mass media and telecommunications law. She earned her undergraduate and Masters degrees from Loyola University, and her J.D. degree from Loyola University Law School. Ms. Smith's litigation experience is broad based including trials, appeals, and writs before state and federal courts. She has been recognized as a Top Local Lawyer by New Orleans Magazine (2009) and is the recipient of the New Orleans CityBusiness Newspaper's 2008 Leadership in Law Award. Ms. Smith was previously an instructor at Loyola School of Law and Baton Rouge College of Paralegal Studies. She is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association and the State Bar of Texas, the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel, and the New Orleans Association of Defense Counsel. SUZETTE TOLEDANO maintains a boutique entertainment and arts transactional law practice located Above the House of Blues in New Orleans with emphasis on copyright and trademark matters; art and music licensing; brand licensing; recording contracts; music publishing contracts; and television, film and live theatre industry matters. In 1992, she and her family developed the real estate where the prototype House of Blues is located which required the creation of a new Vieux Carre Entertainment District and positively impacted the upper Mississippi River quadrant of the French Quarter. Ms. Toledano's international client list includes artists, composers, photographers, visual artists, screenwriters, musical book (live theater) writers, producers, record labels, music publishers, event producers, webcasters, and motion picture production companies, with Billboard award winners and Grammy nominees/winners among them. She was named by New Orleans Magazine as the Top Lawyer in the entertainment law category in 2010. Ms. Toledano has been voted OffBeat Magazine's Best Music Attorney and spotlighted by New Orleans' CityBusiness newspaper in its Women of the Year series. She was the long time pro bono Executive Director for the Louisiana Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. Ms. Toledano earner her J.D. degree from Tulane University's School of Law. She regularly participates in MIDEM (International Cannes Music Conference), the Cannes Film Festival, and South by Southwest (Austin). Ms. Toledano has been a frequent moderator and guest speaker on entertainment legal matters for the Practising Law Institute (Los Angeles), Future of Music Coalition's Policy Summit (Washington, D.C.), Global Entertainment and Media Summit (New York City), RadioInk Internet Radio conference (Boston), EAT'M (Las Vegas), Future of New Orleans Music Educational Conference, New Orleans Bar Association, Cutting Edge Music Business Conference (New Orleans), National Bar Association, and Tulane Law School, Loyola University, University of New Orleans and Northern Illinois State University's Law School. She is the author of numerous published articles on subjects related to entertainment law. Ms. Toledano currently chairs the Legal Committee, and co-chairs the International Cultural Outreach and Exchange Committee, responsible for presenting the annual Sync Up Conference and Talent Exchange which assists in making the creative works of Louisiana artists available for licensing to film, television, advertising, and international touring. JUSTIN A. ZITLER is an attorney in the Law Offices of Robert G. Harvey Sr. in New Orleans, where he is currently focusing his practice in litigation. Mr. Zitler was born and raised in New Orleans and has nearly 25 years of experience practicing law. He earned his B.A. degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his J.D. degree from Loyola University - New Orleans. Mr. Zitler was formerly an adjunct professor at Tulane and Loyola Universities in the areas of music and entertainment law, where he taught for a number of years. He has represented Black Top Records, Benoit, Mardi Gras Records, and the Estate of Professor Longhair.
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