Paul Bezilla Joins Lommen Abdo

12/1/2006

Media Notice

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Martin Keller, Media Savant Communications Co.
612-729-8585, mkeller@mediasavantcom.com

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN., – December 1, 2006 – With a resume minted in Los Angeles, veteran entertainment lawyer, Paul Bezilla, has joined the Twin Cities-based law firm of Lommen, Abdo, Cole, King & Stageberg, P.A. Bezilla's 25-plus years in the entertainment industry includes legal services for an array of high profile individuals and companies, including Frank Sinatra, Cher, Quincy Jones, Warner Bros. Records, The Walt Disney Company, PolyGram Music Publishing and K-tel Records. Bezilla's new position increases Lommen Abdo's representation in the entertainment field to seven attorneys, further establishing it as the largest entertainment law practice based in the Midwest.

Bezilla joins Lommen Abdo to work on its music, film, television, technology and other entertainment law matters. He was born in Chicago, raised in Iowa and attended the University of Iowa College of Law, after touring with a rock band throughout much of the country following college.

"I've known the firm and its practice area for more than eight years and it's very exciting to join Ken Abdo, Dan Satorius and the other lawyers as it becomes one of the leading entertainment law practices in the country, and certainly the dominant practice in the region," says Bezilla. "The challenges that creators and owners of intellectual property face in the digital era throughout the entertainment industry require skilled and experienced lawyers. It's a pleasure to join a firm whose reputation is well known in the business and highly regarded on both sides of the desk, not only in the Midwest but throughout the U.S. and other countries."

"Paul's golden resume speaks for itself," notes Ken Abdo, who, with Dan Satorius, chairs Lommen Abdo's growing entertainment department. Abdo was the former (and only Midwest) attorney to Chair the American Bar Association's Forum on Entertainment and Sports Law. He currently is the Chair of the Recording Academy's (Grammy®) Entertainment Law Initiative. "Paul is highly skilled in all areas of music transactions and hits the ground running. As Lommen Abdo's entertainment division continues to serve clients all over the world, and in new media, Paul's experiences are a great asset, not only to the firm but to its varied client list. We're elated he's joined us to help enhance our practice."

About Paul Bezilla

Besides being a seasoned entertainment attorney, Paul Bezilla is a life-long musician whose high school/college rock n' roll band, "The Pages," was inducted into the Iowa Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. He continues to pursue his love of music performance by playing bass guitar in various rock and jazz groups in his rare spare time. His first job as a lawyer was as at K-tel International where he was the first in-house counsel for the well known television marketer of compilation record albums and consumer "gizmos," and was located in its Winnipeg headquarters for three years before being transferred to the LA office. He next joined the law firm of Rudin, Richman & Appel in Beverly Hills, where he practiced entertainment law, doing work for clients such as Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Cher, Quincy Jones and Warner Bros. Records. He left private practice to work in the corporate legal department of The Walt Disney Company, where Bezilla handled all legal affairs for music used in Disney's television programs, videos, records, cable channels and theme parks. He also did legal work for Disney's consumer products division, including computer software, artwork and books (today his daughter is employed there as a full time video game tester).

After almost ten years, Bezilla departed Disney to work as legal counsel for PolyGram Music Publishing and a year later was again recruited by K-tel to be their General Counsel. After K-tel imploded following the dot com boom, he worked for the entertainment law firm of Loeb & Loeb in its Los Angeles and Nashville offices before moving to Minneapolis. He has been a featured speaker at numerous entertainment industry seminars presented by the American Bar Association, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the California Copyright Conference and the Minnesota State Bar Association. Bezilla has frequently lectured on entertainment law topics in the Music Department of the University of Southern California and taught courses in music business law for the Graduate Film Composing Program at USC.