Orly Ravid was an experienced entertainment professional when she enrolled in Southwestern Law School. She already had expertise in digital distribution and business affairs, which she put to work founding The Film Collaborative in 2009. She graduated from Southwestern’s noted SCALE program—the nation’s oldest two-year J.D.—in 2014 and is now an associate at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp.
Lawdragon Campus: Tell us a little about what you are doing with your law degree—is this your first job out of law school? What is your current position and what do you enjoy about it?
Orly Ravid: I am an attorney at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP (MSK) and practice entertainment law (transactional) while also doing some entertainment and general civil litigation. Before MSK I worked at Early Sullivan and before that I was a judicial clerk at Stanley Mosk, the Los Angeles Civil Courthouse. With a background in independent film and entertainment, working at MSK—which is famous for its entertainment—related practices—was a perfect fit. I love doing deals with and for filmmakers, musicians, television talent, etc., and helping creative people and content find its way in the best way possible for my clients.
LDC: What did you learn at Southwestern Law School that you find most valuable in your current position?
OR: The fundamentals of contract law, the art of Win/Win negotiation, the way disciplines of law interact with each other/overlap—such that being a good transactional attorney requires knowing a bit about litigation and sometimes statutory law. I learned how to think and how to push myself to do better. I learned with good time management, almost anything is possible.
LDC: What was your favorite thing about Southwestern—the environment, campus, classmates, clinic, moot court, a professor? How did that experience enrich your life?
OR: I loved SCALE and most of my classmates and keep in touch with many still. I’m particularly grateful to Dean Harriett Rolnick for selecting me for the program. The Small Claims Court clinic was a great way to get grounded in daily client interaction as an attorney. I learned an incredible amount doing the Amicus Project (having written two appellate briefs) through that program: I was lead author on one to the U.S. Supreme Court and wrote one to the Ninth Circuit. I am extremely grateful to Professor Michael Epstein for having created the program and selecting me to write the pilot appellate brief. Professor Robert Lind was an incredible mentor—guiding me through entertainment law issues and as a thinker and appellate writer. I would have loved to do moot court—I would consider going to law school again to do it. I enjoyed Law Review a lot though am happy to say I have not had to look at the Blue Book for over a year. So many professors were so fantastic.
LDC: What do you see as your future as a lawyer? And how valuable is Southwestern’s alumni network to you?
OR: Expanding the practice I have now, still running the non-profit I founded (The Film Collaborative) and staying close to my SCALE buddies. There is no doubt in my mind were it not for my Southwestern alumni network I would not have had ANY of the jobs I have held as a lawyer since law school.
LDC: What advice would you provide today’s law students as they make their way through law school?
OR: Work hard, harder than you have ever worked. Be impeccable. Think in every direction. Stay focused. Stay balanced. Make friends. Stay honest and don’t be a jerk.
LDC: What is your favorite thing about being a lawyer?
OR: Solving problems. Having a career that involves intellectual challenges and helping people while making a good living.