Pomerantz ’23 Pursues Entertainment Law Path

Paige Pomerantz ’23 planned on a behind-the-scenes career in events and live music.

Then, COVID-19 shut down the entertainment industry as never seen before. Without a job, but unwilling to settle, she decided to build on her bachelor’s degree from SUNY Oneonta in music industry, and pair it with a law degree to work in entertainment law.  

Now she is taking advantage of Albany Law School’s industry-specific offerings. She’s worked with Professor Robert Heverly ’92 on copyright and publicity rights, and her upper level writing requirement is focused on how venues can be better prepared legally for a pandemic or other major shake-ups.

She also interned with Ilyse Wolfe Tretter '85, a music licensing lawyer.

“I worked on some Netflix productions that are coming out shortly and basically helped license all the music being used, that was amazing,” she said. “I would like to get into transactional and licensing law, especially as streaming services continue to grow.”

Even though Pomerantz applied to other law schools within an hour from her downstate home, after touring campus, she thought Albany Law’s smaller class sizes were a good fit. Plus, a decent music scene didn’t hurt.

Her campus tour guide mentioned the rugby program. Once she was enrolled, someone else mentioned she’d be a good fit for the women’s team. Pomerantz, a powerlifter, decided to give it a try. In her final year of law school, she is serving as president of the women's rugby team.

“I had just moved to Albany by myself. It was my first time living alone as an adult outside of college, no roommates, and my own apartment. And the rugby team really gave me a place here. It gave me people, I had a social life all of a sudden, I had something to look forward to,” she said. “And then we started really getting into the sport and the knowledge of the sport and I really enjoyed it, actually, which I was surprised about. I never played a team sport in my life. It's one of those things we were all beginners so no one felt embarrassed or awkward trying to figure it out. And our coach, Kevin, who's an alumnus and had been working with the school for years, made us all super comfortable with the sport and taught us everything. And then once we played our first games and it really clicked for me, ‘Yes, I love this.’ The camaraderie is amazing.”

Last fall, she was the inaugural recipient of the John DeMatteo Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship, named after the law school’s longtime maintenance supervisor, was started by Bill Pulos ’80. DeMatteo was a strong supporter of the rugby team during his 34-year career at the law school. The scholarship will be awarded to a male or female rugby player and/or a male or female United States armed forces veteran.

“I was so excited that all of my hard work paid off and I was chosen for the scholarship. And I think it's an honor [because of] the history behind it. I went to the reception and heard all the stories., I just felt really special that I was chosen for it,” she said. “And the support from all the alumni and other players has been awesome."

Related: New Scholarship to Honor John DeMatteo: Known as the Law School’s “Beating Heart”