Today we’d like to introduce you to Uwonda Carter Scott.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Uwonda. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am an Atlanta native and I graduated from Georgia State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice and obtained my Juris Doctor degree from Georgia State University College of Law. When I applied for law school, I entered thinking that I would practice criminal law. However, during my third year, I decided that I wanted to practice entertainment law and moved to New York City after taking and passing the Georgia Bar. While living in New York, I took and passed the New York Bar and worked as an attorney for the City of New York in the Contracts and Business Law Division and started to network and meet with other entertainment professionals. It was through these meetings that I was encouraged to move back to Atlanta and explore a career in entertainment law, so I did.
When I moved back to Atlanta in December 1999, I started working with Jonathan Leonard, who continued to train me as I started to build my career. Around 2002 I launched out on my own and started my own firm with a client base that consisted mostly of music producers and record executives at that time. Since then, I have been fortunate enough to build my firm, which focuses on business and entertainment law, that now consists of a paralegal, an associate and an assistant. My clients include award-winning music artists, songwriters and producers, such as Kelly Rowland, Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, Metro Boomin, Organized Noize and Avery Sunshine; record label executives; television personalities; and television and movie producers.
In 2011, I was honored by ASCAP for its Women Behind the Music series and by BESLA (Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyer Association) in 2017 as its Entertainment Lawyer of the Year.
Has it been a smooth road?
There have certainly been some challenges along the way, but I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything as it has taught me some very important lessons and most importantly, it has made me more fiscally responsible. Interestingly, most people assume that I struggled because I am a woman, but I did not find many gender-related struggles related to my career trajectory. Not that they don’t exist, and there are still too few women, especially black women, in executive positions in the entertainment space, both in music and film and television, but in that regard, I was spared. Instead, my struggles were learning to navigate a space that looks less favorably on black entertainment lawyers and considerably less favorable on entertainment lawyers in Atlanta, despite Atlanta being on the forefront on music space for at least two decades, if not longer.
The other “struggle” came because I actually never set out to be self-employed, so I was not adequately prepared to set up my own shop, especially in a space that does not provide for a regular payment schedule. I had to learn very early how to save and budget my law firm’s proceeds that would allow me to continue to thrive and move around the way that I needed to in order to support my clients and continue to brand myself and my law firm.
We’d love to hear more about your practice.
I am a transactional lawyer, which means that I do not litigate (under any circumstances). My law firm specializes in business and entertainment law that includes, for my firm, music, film, television, book publishing and branding and sponsorship arrangements. I am known for being sharp-eyed (and maybe, sharp-tongued) but also for building relationships with my clients and their teams while encouraging them to understand fully that the entertainment business is a business, first and foremost. I want my clients to learn as much about their business as well as the entertainment industry so that they can make well-informed decisions and continue to grow.
I am most proud of the fact that I was able to build a successful law practice doing what I like to do and maintain my presence in this space on my own terms and in Atlanta. For me, it was extremely important that I remained in and continued to represent Atlanta in my own way. I think what sets me apart from others is the way that I am able to connect and communicate with my clients personally and directly. I am very proud that with even my most successful clients, they will call me directly (instead of their managers or other handlers) and we can talk and walk through any matter for as long as they need.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Being an Atlanta native, I like that Atlanta is still Atlanta, for the most part. I love that people in Atlanta will always support Atlanta and people and events in the city. I have heard others in the music industry around the country remark about how Atlanta really supports their artists, unlike any other city. I also like that you can still drive through certain parts of the city that have not become so polished that it doesn’t feel like “Atlanta.” I like the “Old Atlanta” feel, old in that I am a Gen-Xer and a Grady baby. I love the fact that opportunity is not just limited to one set of people located in the northern part of the city. I appreciate that for the most part, we have had politicians that have tried to maintain those opportunities for all citizens in Atlanta.
I don’t like some of the gentrifications that has happened in Atlanta because it feels like they are trying to make Atlanta feel like another city, which has removed a lot of small/big city characteristics that made Atlanta unique. I have a friend that works in real estate and she has lamented the reach of gentrification and remarked to me “everything doesn’t have to be new and shiny,” and that is a sentiment that I completely agree with. As much as I believe that this city has afforded a lot of professional opportunities to all of its citizens, I have to take issue with the way the city has failed the residents in regard to public education and not putting equal focus and monies into the schools outside of northern part of Atlanta. Lastly, I absolutely hate how bad the infrastructure is throughout the city. No city as prosperous as the City of Atlanta should have this many potholes.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thecarterlawfirm.com
- Instagram: @uwondacarterscott
- Twitter: @UwondaCarter
Image Credit:
Shawn McKenzie (for the black and white photo)
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