Dina LaPolt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dina LaPolt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Education | John F. Kennedy University |
| Occupation | Entertainment Attorney |
| Organization | LaPolt Law |
| Known for | Entertainment Law |
Board member of | Songwriters of North America, City of Hope's Music, Film & Entertainment Industry Group, Neil Lasher Foundation, Friendly House LA, We Are R.I.S.E. |
| Website | lapoltlaw |
| Signature | |
 | |
Dina LaPolt is an American entertainment lawyer and artist rights advocate based in Los Angeles, California.[1] After an early career in the music industry, she became an entertainment lawyer in 1997. She is the founder and owner of LaPolt Law.[2]
LaPolt became an attorney in 1997[3] after being in the music industry from age 13. Formerly a musician, LaPolt performed in multiple rock bands on the East Coast (1980-1990s). LaPolt later became a club promoter and artist manager working for Streetgang Productions.[4] She received her bachelor's degree in music from the State University of New York at New Paltz.
In 1991 LaPolt relocated from New York City to the San Francisco Bay Area, where she taught guitar lessons and played lead guitar in the all-female band Irresistible Impulse, named after the criminal law defense. The band became influential in the gay and lesbian club scene. LaPolt often used the stage to advocate for gay rights. In 1993, she enrolled in law school at John F. Kennedy University in Walnut Creek. Shortly after passing the California bar exam, LaPolt moved to Los Angeles in June 1997.[5]
Career
LaPolt's early entertainment law clients were Playboy Playmates including Carrie Stevens and Victoria Silvstedt. In 2001 she founded LaPolt Law, a Los Angeles-based law firm representing entertainers and entrepreneurs.
Among LaPolt's earliest clients was the activist Afeni Shakur, mother of late rapper Tupac Shakur. From 1998 to 2010, LaPolt was the entertainment attorney for the Tupac Shakur estate, and served on the board of the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation and the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts.[6] Alongside Afeni Shakur, LaPolt oversaw the release of ten posthumous Tupac albums and several books, including The Rose That Grew from Concrete, 2Pac's Greatest Hits, Better Dayz, and Until the End of Time.[7][8]
In 2013, LaPolt assisted Deadmau5 in settling his trademark dispute with The Walt Disney Company.[9] Disney argued that Zimmerman's signature mau5head headgear and logo resembled their Mickey Mouse cartoon character, thus attempting to block his trademark registration.[10]
In October 2016, LaPolt gave a TED Talk on the importance of standing up for songwriters.[11]
After the 2017 departure of Camila Cabello, LaPolt renegotiated Fifth Harmony's contract with Epic Records, and helped the group regain control of their brand.[12][13]
In 2018 LaPolt took on The White House and for the second time shut down President Donald Trump for unlicensed use of her client, Steven Tyler's, music during Trump's rallies.[14]
In February 2019, LaPolt helped secure the release of her client, rapper 21 Savage (She'yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph) from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention after he was unfairly targeted by the Trump Administration due to his race and immigration status. On February 12, 2019, 21 Savage was released on bond.[15]
In 2019 LaPolt became the youngest person and the second woman to receive The Recording Academy's Service Award at its annual Entertainment Law Initiative event. That same year she was inducted into Billboard's Women in Music Hall of Fame.[16]
From 2002 to 2019, LaPolt taught "Legal and Practical Aspects of the Music Business” in the Entertainment Studies Department at UCLA Extension,[17] and has taught and lectured throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. She is the editor of the book, Building Your Artist's Brand as a Business, published in 2012 by the International Association of Entertainment Lawyers in Cannes, France.[18]
In October 2025, LaPolt released her first book titled Street Smart: Succeeding in a Man's World.[19]