Legal Marketing & PR

Oprah?s Lawyer - Now What Sort of Law Job Would That Be?

By lawjobspipeline

Celebrities with one name are pretty big - that’s why they have one name - but what about the lawyers who act for them or, in Oprah’s case, the Chicago attorney she found because she liked his tie.

William L Becker got the call in 1988 because Oprah had been searching for a lawyer.  They met, he liked her and she liked, well she liked his tie at that stage, and the rest is legal history for Becker.  He’s now Harpo’s general counsel, and Harpo is Oprah’s all-encompassing media collossus. 

His practice at Laner Muchin Dombrow Becker Levin and Tominberg, where he was serving as managing partner when Oprah?s agent called in the late 1980s, was focused on employment law and entertainment law. And WTTW-11, Chicago?s public broadcasting station, was among his clients, as reported by Chicago Lawyer magazine.

In 2005, Becker moved in-house full-time. Today, he heads Harpo?s law department of about 25 people, ten of whom are lawyers.

For the general counsel to the company that has Oprah as its chairwoman, no two days are alike.

?She?s always a challenge because she?s very creative; has lots of new ideas,? Becker said. ?Lawyers tend to be stodgy folks who like to see things handled in a certain rigorous, consistent way. So when you?re dealing with a creative butterfly like Oprah Winfrey, it?s always a challenge. But that?s what?s fun about the job.?

At Harpo (Oprah, spelled backward), Becker is responsible for anything legal that has to do with any of the company?s affiliated entities ? such as Harpo Productions, which produces ?The Oprah Winfrey Show? and the women?s lifestyle web site, Oprah.com.

?I can?t think of a legal issue that hasn?t come across my desk,? Becker said. ?Legal issues that occur anywhere, among any of our affiliated companies, that have impact on Harpo Inc., would come across my desk. And everything is intertwined very closely. They?re not like separate companies.?

Still, ?If I were in law school now and somebody said to me, ?After law school, you?ll become managing partner of a boutique law firm, and then you?ll become general counsel for Harpo and Oprah Winfrey,? I would?ve said, ?You?re out of your mind,?? Becker said. ?But I?m sure if someone asked me what would be my dream job, I think those would be dream jobs.

Full post as published by Lawyer Marketing Blog on May 01, 2008 (boomark / email).