Bio
Adjunct Professor Michael Kernan is an entertainment / digital media attorney, and the head of NuMedia Studios, a digital media studio. The law firm he founded, Kernan Law, is a four attorney boutique entertainment law firm. Professor Kernan has a rare experience for an entertainment lawyer. He has worked over 15 years in entertainment transactional law and has worked over 20 years at entertainment litigation. That combination gives him a competitive advantage over other attorneys because he understands both side of entertainment law.
Professor Kernan first gained notoriety in the entertainment law field as a litigator at Lavely & Singer in Los Angeles, one of the most well-known entertainment firms in the country. During this time, he and his mentor, Marty Singer, successfully represented actor Jean Claude Van Damme in a jury trial televised on Court TV. The jury returned a unanimous verdict for Van Damme. Also during this time he, and Mr. Singer successfully represented Arnold Schwarzenegger in a lawsuit against The Globe tabloid. He concluded his practice at Lavely & Singer after winning a large arbitration award on behalf of actor Dana Carvey. Professor Kernan has tried scores of cases, which is rare for entertainment litigators.
He moved into the transactional practice of entertainment and digital media law in 2000, when he became Vice-President, Business Affairs, at the international talent agency International Creative Management (“ICM”). He was ultimately named Co-Head of the ICM Digital Media Department in which his duties included licensing and deal-making in technology, internet, and mobile areas. Professor Kernan oversaw digital media for ICM’s New York, London and Los Angeles offices.
Professor Kernan has taught Entertainment Law & Business at Hastings since the 2007. He also teaches a class on digital media called Social Media Law & Business, and that class, first taught in 2011, was the first social media law class in the United States.
Professor Kernan regularly speaks at the top entertainment law and business conferences such as The Harvard Law School Symposium on Entertainment Law, the Computer Electronics Show (CES), Digital Hollywood, and The Sundance Film Festival, and his work has earned Michael several top industry awards, such as being named as a member of the prestigious “Digital Power 50” by The Hollywood Reporter.
At NuMedia Studios, he and a former client of ICM, Huntley Ritter, represent technology and digital media companies, and package digital media content. NuMedia has recently launched Silicon River, a digital media company that is covering the massive growth in start-ups in St. Louis. Originally from St. Louis, Professor Kernan is a member of the California Bar, having attended The University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and Saint Louis University Law School. He received undergraduate degrees in economics and finance from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and is a graduate of Harvard Business School.