Dustin Walsh

Attorney Lisa Pick originally wanted a film career, but chose law when she wasn't accepted into a graduate film program. View larger photo

After Michigan's film credit tax incentive passed in April 2008, Lisa Pick — a corporate attorney and senior principal at Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone P.L.C. in Troy — approached management with an idea to start an entertainment law division. Though they had attorneys doing work in that field, Pick thought they could do more.

Today, the firm's Entertainment, Sports and Multimedia Group, launched in April 2009, has about 15 attorneys, most in Michigan but also in Canada and Chicago.

That the division is growing is not only a source of pride for Pick, one of Crain's 2009 Women to Watch, but also kind of a dream come true. After all, she's practicing in the field she originally wanted to be in.

“I was writing books and scripts and producing shows at the age of 6,” said Pick, 43. “It's right up my alley.”

After earning her bachelor of arts degree in film, video and communications at the University of Michigan, she applied to graduate programs in film at the University of Southern California and University of California Los Angeles.

When Pick, who was born in Detroit and raised in Southfield and West Bloomfield, didn't get into either school, she chose law, something she felt was more practical for a committed Midwesterner.

After graduating with honors from the University of Wisconsin Law School, she began her career at Miller Canfield in 1991.

These days, Pick, who declines to share any names of clients, says about half of her practice is in entertainment law, including all aspects of the production process, such as financing and production agreements, intellectual property and commercial contracts.

“I took something I love from the past into the future while diversifying the firm and also helping the state of Michigan,” says Pick, who lives in Bloomfield Township with her rescue pets: three cats and a kitten. “You're not going to find many lawyers who have a film degree.”

What have you learned about getting into this new area of practice?

This is not an area where people are walking up to you in Michigan wanting to hire you. It's about developing your practice, knowledge and expertise within this particular field, on which I've spent about a year focusing, including a lot of free time, whether meeting with entertainment professionals, reading, studying or gaining experience just doing it. It's an easy decision to stay focused on the same area of law and that would have been fine, but with this opportunity and my background, that was not for me. You don't know what will happen, but I'm willing to take that risk.

What advice do you have for someone who thinks they'd like your job?

Perfect your skills as a lawyer in the field you practice, and then learn the entertainment business. A lot of people wonder: Why bother developing a whole new practice area and maybe never being rewarded for it? Whenever you want to do something new — especially something that will require tremendous dedication and support and yet is so uncertain — you will get some naysayers. You can't listen to them.

What's best thing about your job?

I continue to be challenged, and I'm never bored.

What's one thing you wish you could change about your job?

Perhaps the bad name lawyers are given.

What don't people “get” about your job?

Many think that lawyers are like what they see on television: litigators in court working on cases. I often have to explain that I am the lawyer who negotiates the contracts and does the deals.

Who would be a dream client?

I'd love to work on a Steven Spielberg production.

What's your favorite film?

I have two. “Steel Magnolias” is such an amazing story and cast. I can't count how many times I have seen it. And “When Harry Met Sally.” Comedy is the hardest thing to write.

How has doing entertainment law affected your attitude about the field?

When it becomes part of your job, it is not about the stars and the glamour. It is hard work.

What's the best advice you've ever received?

My dad told me (and still does) to not listen to the “naysayers” — those people who say you can't accomplish your dreams and goals.