We all know lawyers work in many different fields. You have the typical categories everyone knows about, such as the traffic lawyer, criminal lawyer, or even the lawyers you see on television that let you know you may be entitled to compensation. But, one of the types of lawyers not everyone knows about are the ones that work in the music industry.
Even though he is only 32 years old, Julian Cordero has become one of the most trusted music lawyers in the country. Julian started the New York City based law firm Cordero Law in 2015 and, since then, represents some of the biggest music producers in hip-hop. Specifically, these are the producers behind some of the biggest names in the music industry. Many of Julian’s clients have produced numerous songs for artists such as Drake, Lil Baby, Lil Durk, NBA Youngboy, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Polo G, and Rod Wave. And beyond the music industry, Julian has also represented clients who have produced music for the blockbuster films “In the Heights,” “Judas and the Black Messiah,” as well as countless others.
Before starting his law firm, Julian worked as a corporate lawyerfresh out of law school. However, given his love for music and experience as a former music producer himself, being a music lawyer appealed to him more. “I had no idea this is where my life would be 10 to 15 years ago,” explained Julian. “I went from thinking I was going to be a chemical engineer and trying to figure out how to make beats by watching Ryan Leslie producer videos on YouTube, to having brunch with Ryan Leslie, as my client, in downtown Manhattan talking about cryptocurrency … it’s crazy to even think of that. I’m very fortunate and grateful for how my life has turned out.”
The music industry, let alone the hip-hop genre of it, is well known as being one of the places people always get taken advantage of. Producers are notoriously taken advantage of, especially those who are relatively new to the industry. Because artists and labels know they can make or break the producer’scareer, up-and-coming producers often have to conform to unfair deals so the record they produced doesn’t get pulled. As a result, they are often exploited.
The thing about Julian that makes him superior to other lawyers in his field is, in addition to his knowledge and legal abilities, his compassion. Julian has admitted that he may sometimes be guilty of over-empathizing with his clients. But it seems to me that it is his compassion that allows his clients to not only work with him but also trust Julian with their careers.
It is hard to build a good reputation in the music industry but easy to destroy. If you look on Instagram alone, you can see the abundance of kind words and glowing reviews Julian’s clients have to say about him. And while Julian does have numerous clients in the music industry that are not producers, such as artists, labels, and publishers, he will always have a soft spot for producers, as he was once one of them and understands what they go through.
