New York City, October 28th 2015: Waleed Diab, Cardozo class of 2004, now Senior Counsel for Music across Google products and services including YouTube and Google Play, spoke at the Dean's Speaker Series to 75 Cardozo students recently. Diab, a board member of the FAME Center for fashion, arts, music and entertainment law at Cardozo Law, discussed his career which also included six years at Viacom, Inc. in the Business and Legal Affairs Department, where he worked up from a junior position to become Senior Counsel for Music Strategy and Relations at MTV Networks.
"You always have to be asking yourself, how do I stand out and make myself an asset to this company," Diab said. He encouraged students to network carefully and continuously, saying, "fortuitous job opportunities are sitting all around you. You just have to look for them."
Students had the opportunity for an extended Q & A in which the discussion ranged from evaluating the balance between a job at a law firm and a job in an industry you are passionate about, to Diab's day-to-day work at Google, which includes negotiating, drafting and advising on all of Google's complex music licensing partnerships. Diab stressed that having a law degree opens doors in all kinds of industries, and he emphasized that throughout his career he worked to pick up knowledge and learn skills that he could take with him to his next position.
Diab was introduced by Dean Melanie Leslie, and has been working closely with Professors Barbara Kolsun and Lee Sporn on the development of Cardozo's FAME Center.
"The FAME Center trains students to become business lawyers for companies driven by creatives. Our graduates begin their careers with a deep understanding of deal-making, intellectual property law, licensing, real estate law and employment law," said Dean Leslie. "Waleed is a Cardozo sucess story, and we are so fortunate to have him on our FAME board."
