William Morris CEO Walter Zifkin encourages law students to pursue jobs in the entertainment industry
William Morris CEO Walter Zifkin speaks with first-year student Douglas Strasnick after a talk at USC Law.
Although breaking into it may be difficult, the entertainment industry is a “wonderful, fascinating and magical” place to work, said Walter Zifkin, a 1961 USC law graduate who is now the chief executive officer of the famed William Morris Agency.
Speaking at the invitation of the Sports, Media and Entertainment Law Society, Zifkin said working at a talent agency is nothing like working in a traditional law firm. The hours are spent on schmoozing clients and closing deals rather than in the law library researching contracts or in the courtroom.
But Zifkin, who joined the business affairs department of CBS in Los Angeles immediately after law school, said anyone who wants to become an agent must be prepared to start low on the company ladder -- usually in the firm’s famous mailroom. Zifkin himself, however, never worked as an agent for William Morris. He has been on the management side ever since joining the firm in 1966.
“Our mailroom has spawned many of the executives working at William Morris,” Zifkin said. “Our view is you need to sell yourself. You sort the mail and work on someone’s desk. Then you sell yourself. Volunteer to break down scripts at night.”
He gave law students some other bits of advice: Look to the business affairs department of a movie studio or television network for the best opportunities to break into the industry as a lawyer. Understand the difference between an agent and a manager. (By law, managers cannot procure business for their clients, but agents can. Managers can produce movies, agents cannot.) Be prepared to knock on as many doors as possible and be persistent.
And then get a thick skin.
“You have to be able to take a punch,” Zifkin said. “It’s a tough business; there’s a lot of money at stake…(but) it will give you an opportunity to go wherever your talent will take you.”
