Significant Australian Entertainment Law Firm Sees Leading Lawyers Split
One of Australia’s leading entertainment law firms has broken up as two of of the former principals have set up Hewitt Glass, a specialist Sydney firm representing major music artists, festivals, media personalities and entertainment businesses.
The two formerly worked in the leading entertainment and media boutique Media Arts Lawyers, which this month announced the change in direction for the five princpals in the firm, which has been a prominent part of the entertainment law scene in Australia for 25 years.
Hewitt Glass managing partner Rob Glass, formerly a Christchurch NZ solicitor, (pictured) and Julian Hewitt bring more than 40 years’ combined experience advising artists, executives, producers and entertainment companies on complex commercial deals, intellectual property and career-defining transactions.
The two previously worked as partners in Media Arts Lawyers who said in its announcement that the former princpals would be pursuing their work through their own business entities, of which Hewitt Glass is the one that the two HG principals have chosen. (David Vodicka has gone to his eponymous firm David Vodicka Music & Entertainment Lawyers, Stephen King to King Media, Marcus Walkom is going to his own firm).
Collectively, they have worked on more than A$300 million worth of entertainment and media deals in the past three years alone.
The firm’s client roster reads more like a festival line-up than a law firm website.
Among those represented are international electronic act RÜFÜS DU SOL, DJ Dom Dolla, singer-songwriters Matt Corby and Tones And I, pop duo The Veronicas, television personalities Abbie Chatfield and Dylan Alcott, Bluey composer Joff Bush, together with major music festival Beyond the Valley.
The launch reflects the growing sophistication of Australia’s entertainment sector, where artists increasingly operate as global businesses with revenue streams extending far beyond album sales or touring. Intellectual property, brand licensing, streaming rights, sponsorship agreements and international tax structures have become just as important as recording contracts.
For lawyers, it is another example of a broader trend towards highly specialised boutique practices that focus on building reputations around narrow industry sectors where specialist knowledge and long-term relationships carry greater weight than sheer size.
Entertainment law has evolved from a niche practice into one of the more dynamic corners of commercial law. As Australian artists continue to build global audiences through streaming platforms and social media, demand for advisers who understand both the creative industries and complex cross-border transactions is only likely to grow.
For Hewitt Glass, representing some of Australia’s biggest entertainment names provides an immediate platform in a market where reputation often travels faster than advertising.
