John Branca honored at the 2012 Grammy Foundation's 14th Annual Entertainment Law Initiative

Michael Jackson longtime friend, lawyer and Co-Executor of Michael Jackson's Estate, John Branca was honored at the GRAMMY Foundation's 14th Annual Entertainment Law Initiative Luncheon & Scholarship Presentation on February 10 in Beverly Hills, California. Howard Weitzman presented Branca, a partner in the law firm of Ziffren Brittenham LLP and former board chair of the MusiCares, with the 2012 Service Award.

^{(L-R) Neil Portnow, John Branca and Howard Weitzman of Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert pose with Branca's Service Award. (Photo: Michael Underwood/PictureGroup)}

Branca, speaking to a room that included his firm’s lawyers, past honorees Joel Katz and Jay Cooper, and Kobalt’s Willard Ahdritz, focused on being driven by passion for music. A fan of Elvis Presley, the Doors, the Rolling Stones, Berry Gordy and  the Beach Boys, he related two stories that greatly affected his career.

^{Special Merit Award recipient John Branca speaks onstage at the GRAMMY Foundation's 14th Annual Entertainment Law Initiative Luncheon & Scholarship Presentation on Feb. 10 in Beverly Hills, Calif}

The first came when he was a second-year lawyer and had to help the Beach Boys decide whether to retain Steve Love as their manager. Mike Love and Al Jardine were pro; Carl and Dennis Wilson were against. Brian Wilson was asked to cast the deciding vote, but was “deep in slumber with his head down on a conference table,” Branca said. He improvised, asking Brian to knock once to keep Love, two to fire him. “Lo and behold, Brian knocked three times.” It became Branca’s job to get Love to resign.

And when Branca first became Michael Jackson’s lawyer, Michael called with a request that was of utmost urgency. “I got ready had my pen out and notebook out,” Branca related. Michael’s request? He needed his pinball machine fixed.

Branca thanked family members and related musical and sports experiences of his youth before bringing it back to the music industry of today. In a world in which more companies attempt to bring every element of a career under a single umbrella, Branca reasoned, “lawyers remains an independent voice in the life of an artist.”

“While we are experiencing blatant consolidation in the channels of distribution in the music business, where an artist’s manager, promoter, ticketing agency and merchandiser can be all under one corporate umbrella,” Mr. Branca said, alluding to Live Nation Entertainment, which owns Ticketmaster and manages hundreds of artists, “we lawyers remain an independent voice in the life of the artist to protect and where necessary defend that artist.”

He got a standing ovation.

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