Peter Paterno

The Recording Academy Entertainment Law Initiative (ELI) will honor Peter T. Paterno, partner at King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano, LLP, with the 2023 Entertainment Law Initiative Service Award. The award will be presented at the ELI’s 25th-anniversary event at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023 — two nights before the 65th Annual Grammy Awards are presented at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

“We’re thrilled to return to the Beverly Wilshire Hotel for the 25th anniversary ELI Grammy Week Event to salute the impact of entertainment law on the music industry,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement. “The creative community is grateful for Peter’s advocacy on behalf of music makers, and I look forward to celebrating ELI’s mission to inspire dialogue between industry professionals and to cultivate an inclusive future generation of entertainment law practitioners.”

Over the course of his career, Paterno has nurtured the careers of dozens of recording artists. He has extensive experience in all aspects of copyright and trademark law, tax planning relating to the entertainment industry, litigation management and live theater production.

Paterno’s clients include Dr. Dre, Metallica, Van Morrison, Blink-182, Twenty One Pilots, Skrillex, Tyler the Creator, Q Tip, Goo Goo Dolls, Rage Against the Machine, Rancid, Alice In Chains, Offspring, Linda Ronstadt, Jared Leto/Thirty Seconds to Mars, Roddy Ricch, Richard Sherman, Sia, Shirley Manson, Alanis Morissette and Tori Amos — as well as the estates of Tupac Shakur and Henry Mancini.

Peter T. Paterno

Ron Lyon

In 1990, Paterno started and became the first president of Hollywood Records, the Walt Disney Company’s popular music record label.

The Service Award winner is determined by ELI’s executive committee, which is currently chaired by Laurie Soriano. Members include Kris Ahrend, Sandy Crawshaw-Sparks, Susan Genco, Renee Karalian, Michael Kushner, Dina LaPolt, Wade Leak, Angie Martinez, Tanya Perara, Julian Petty, Leron Rogers, Henry Root, Bobby Rosenbloum, Julie Swidler, Jeff Walker, Robert Windom and Stephanie Yu.

The ELI Grammy Week event will also celebrate the winner and two runners-up of the Entertainment Law Initiative writing contest, co-sponsored by the American Bar Association. The contest challenges students in Juris Doctorate and Master of Laws programs at U.S. law schools to research a pressing legal issue facing the modern music industry and outline a proposed solution in a 3,000-word essay. Students have until Jan. 3, 2023, to enter the contest.

A $10,000 scholarship is awarded to the author of the winning paper, and $2,500 scholarships are awarded to two runners-up. The winning paper will be published in the ABA’s journal Entertainment & Sports Lawyer. The winner will also receive travel and tickets to Los Angeles to attend the 65th Grammy Awards, MusiCares Person of the Year and the ELI Grammy Week Event. See official rules, detailed prize packages and deadlines at recordingacademy.com/eli.

Individual tickets and a limited number of discounted student tickets to the ELI Grammy Week event are on sale now.