Jerry Juste is a highly experienced attorney in the Entertainment & Sports practice group at Greenspoon Marder LLP. With nearly 30 years of experience practicing law, most of which was spent in senior business affairs positions at several of the world’s most iconic record labels, including Republic Records, Island Records, Def Jam, and Motown Records, Mr. Juste brings with him a wealth of knowledge in entertainment, corporate, and intellectual property law.
Mr. Juste began his practice as an associate in the litigation department of a large AmLaw 100 corporate law firm. Thereafter, he moved to a boutique entertainment law firm where he began to develop a profound understanding of the entertainment industry’s core disciplines, contract and intellectual property law, while working on matters for some of the firm’s A-list clients such as LL Cool J, Notorious B.I.G., and Lil Kim, among others. Several years later, he joined the Business & Legal Affairs department of the world’s largest record label, Universal Music Group, where he spent the next two decades negotiating hundreds of deals and serving as legal guardian for scores of multi-platinum and Grammy-award winning projects, including Taylor Swift, Drake, Amy Winehouse, Prince, the Bee Gees, and Stevie Wonder, to name just a few. Mr. Juste rose through the ranks of Universal Music Group’s Business Affairs department, first to Vice President and then to Senior Vice President, where he continued to negotiate and oversee its relationships with its superstar artists and some of its most important distribution and joint venture partnerships, including Rick Rubin’s American Records, Bad Boy Records, Cash Money Records, Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records and Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music. He regularly advised some of the most legendary company executives of the past few decades, oversaw complex financial audits, directed outside litigation counsel, and helped to develop much of Universal Music Group’s business policies and contract templates, many of which were adopted by other major record companies and are now standard throughout the music industry.
In 2013, Mr. Juste entered private practice and began counseling within an even wider array of areas, including film and television, music publishing, merchandising, branding and licensing, executive employment, intellectual property disputes, and rights acquisitions. His client base has been a mix of creative individuals, entrepreneurs, and small to midsize companies, where he serves in an outside General Counsel capacity.
For several years, Mr. Juste has taken an active role in shaping the entertainment law community in New York. Currently, he serves as a member of the Black Entertainment & Sports Lawyer’s Association, the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, and the New York State Bar Association. Additionally, for his commitment and dedication to serving the community, he received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Communications & Media by the YMCA of Greater New York.
Bar Admissions
- Massachusetts
- New York
Education
- J.D., Boston University College of Law, 1994
- B.S., Wesleyan University, 1991
Other Languages
- French
Professional and Community Involvement
- Black Entertainment & Sports Lawyer’s Association, Member
- National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Member
- New York State Bar Association, Member
- YMCA of Greater New York, Member
Recognitions
- Billboard, “Top Music Lawyers Awards,” 2023-2024
- U.S. News & World Report, “Best Lawyers in America,” Entertainment Law, 2023
- YMCA of Greater New York, Presidential Award for Excellence in Communications & Media