Both enjoy the creativity that comes with practising in this space
Between them, Rob Glass and Julian Hewitt have amassed over a decade of experience in entertainment law. But to the founders of Hewitt Glass, this field of the law always brings exciting possibilities.
“Being able to work alongside creative people for a long period of time and being part of that journey is what keeps me inspired”, Glass told Australasian Lawyer. “They're building careers, and in a small way we can assist with that build. Part of our job is not just negotiating the deal in front of us but procuring the opportunity itself. In some of those long-standing, trusted relationships, you're given the opportunity to go and procure deals, and those deals can turn into relationships that are turning points in an artist's career and help shape their trajectory”.
Meanwhile, Hewitt enjoys the way entertainment law allows lawyers to get creative too.
“In this space, lawyers occupy a slightly different role. They are given more leeway and space to be creative, to problem-solve, to introduce opportunities”, Hewitt told Australasian Lawyer. “Some of my very smart and successful contemporaries from law school work in mining and energy, and the deals they work on aren't really ‘their’ deals in the sense of shaping and procuring them. Our work entails complex legal work too, but the most exciting part is the problem-solving, and feeling like you're working hand in glove with a client you're invested in helping succeed”.
He explained that while Hewitt Glass generally collaborates with clients with Australian connections, it’s “a global business with global relationships”.
“For a lot of our clients, we end up being their general counsel in deal-making, but also as their first port of call for a lot of the problems they're trying to solve”, Hewitt told Australasian Lawyer. “We're often tasked with building teams and bringing in the right practitioners for a litigation in the US or UK, or a festival property being launched in a particular market”.
For Hewitt, culture is a core aspect of the work as well.
“I'd say this area of practice is inherently legal and commercial, but also cultural — understanding what our clients are looking to achieve culturally, and where they sit in the culture, is part of what makes a client successful,” he told Australasian Lawyer. “By virtue of the talent we represent and all the time we spend in the broader industry — in the US, overseas, here — you learn a lot. That curiosity gives clients an advantage because you're in conversations at a very high level about changes in how business is done, how rights are handled, how culture is moving — all of which influence the advice our clients are looking for”.
The co-managing partners are keeping Hewitt Glass small in terms of headcount, but big in terms of reach.
“The business is becoming more sophisticated because the scale of these clients' businesses has increased dramatically — more moving parts, more stakeholders, more relationships to navigate. A lot of our clients look to us to be the steady hand through the choppy waters — being able to adjust the lens of focus from the minutiae of an agreement to zooming right out to the big picture of what the client's trying to achieve and their trajectory”, Glass told Australasian Lawyer. “Every commercial relationship is unique, and the real work sits above the basic commercial terms: does this actually make sense for where the client's heading? That's the advice clients are looking for, and it's what shapes this firm”.
The work he does carries a big responsibility, he said, but one that he finds “exciting and rewarding”.
“It means every day is exciting and different — the industry never sits still, the deals are always changing”, Glass told Australasian Lawyer.
