Jerry Juste (’94) joins Taylor English Duma LLP
NEW YORK, June 8, 2020 – Taylor English Duma LLP is pleased to announce the addition of Jerry Juste (’94) to the firm’s Entertainment, Sports and Media practice. Juste, a partner based in New York, brings more than 25 years of experience practicing law at the highest levels of the entertainment industry while representing some of the world’s most iconic record labels, including Mercury, Island, Def Jam, Motown, and Republic Records.
“We are excited to welcome Jerry to the firm and expand our entertainment practice to New York,” said Joe English, a founding partner of Taylor English. “Jerry is an extremely talented attorney with a profound understanding of the music industry. His leadership skills, diplomatic sensitivities, and ability to communicate effectively with everyone from the most inexperienced creatives to the most seasoned executives allow him to guide clients through the most complex legal matters.”
After beginning his career as a litigation associate at a large corporate firm, Juste moved to a boutique entertainment law firm where he cut his teeth on A-list clients such as LL Cool J, Notorious B.I.G., and Lil Kim. He went on to join PolyGram Records and then Universal Music Group, as in-house counsel, and spent nearly 18 years drafting and negotiating hundreds of record deals and overseeing clearances and compliance on scores of multi-platinum and Grammy-award winning projects, including from Taylor Swift, Lil Wayne, Drake, Amy Winehouse, and Stevie Wonder, just to name a few.
Juste rose through the ranks of Universal’s legal departments, first to Vice President and then to Senior Vice President, and became one of the go-to lawyers at the company for superstar artist signings and multi-million dollar distribution and joint venture deals. He served as the legal point person on several of Universal Music Group’s most important partnerships, such as those with Bad Boy Records, Cash Money Records, Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records, and Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music. Over his career, he has served as day-to-day advisor to some of the most successful executives in the record business, like Sylvia Rhone, Monte and Avery Lipman, and the late Andre Harrell.
“I’m excited to be joining Taylor English, a firm known as much for the accolades that its accomplished attorneys earn regularly across various practice areas, as it is for its forward thinking philosophies and cutting edge approaches to delivering top-notch legal service,” said Juste. “I look forward to helping the firm establish itself as one of the premier entertainment law firms in the country.”
For the past several years, Juste has been in private practice applying his skills and knowledge to an even wider array of areas, including film and television, music publishing, merchandising, branding and licensing, digital streaming, and rights acquisitions. He brings his expertise and a wealth of industry relationships to a client base of creative individuals, entrepreneurs, and small to midsize entertainment and tech companies for which he serves in an outside General Counsel capacity.
Juste earned his bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University and his law degree from Boston University School of Law.
Taylor English Duma LLP is a full-service law firm headquartered in Atlanta, GA. Built from the ground up to provide highest-quality legal services for optimal value, the firm combines the best aspects of a traditional law firm with seasoned attorneys managing their practices remotely throughout the United States. Together, our attorneys work each day to provide timely, creative, and cost-effective counsel to help clients solve problems and achieve goals. Taylor English represents all types of clients – from Fortune 500 companies to start ups to individuals. The firm is the Georgia law firm member of Geneva Group International (GGI), the leading worldwide alliance of accounting and law firms. More information is available on the firm’s website at www.taylorenglish.com.