Christiane Kinney

Christiane Cargill Kinney is a partner at LeClairRyan, and Chair of the firm’s Entertainment Industry Team. Kinney’s entertainment practice is focused on the representation of talent primarily in the areas of music, film, and television. She also specializes in branding and cross-promotional opportunities for corporations and artists. Kinney is a musician herself, and a voting member of the Recording Academy. As such, her personal experience as both a recording artist and an entertainment attorney provide a unique perspective to the deal-making process.

Kinney also has significant litigation experience in federal and state court, and has handled a wide array of business litigation and intellectual property cases, including claims of copyright infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of contract, rights of publicity, and unfair competition.

Since 2011, Christiane has worked with LexisNexis® as an Author for Lexis® Practice Advisor on Music Law Transactions. Kinney also frequently speaks on entertainment law panels and radio talk shows. As a strong supporter of education for independent artists, Kinney also writes a monthly legal column for CD Baby’s DIY Musician blog. CD Baby, the largest online distributor of independent music, recently recognized Kinney as #1 out of their list of the Top 10 Music Law Resources to follow on Twitter, noting that “her in-the-thick-of-it perspectives carry a lot of weight.” Kinney has also been recognized by Super Lawyers magazine, and has been featured in Glamour Magazine’s Woman of the Year issue for her charity work in bringing music and art programs to at-risk youth.