By Billboard, 2018 Top Music Lawyers, Friday, October 19, 2018
SASHA FRID, 41
Attorney-at-law, Miller Barondess; University of California, Berkeley, School of Law
LOUIS “SKIP” MILLER, 71
Attorney-at-law, Miller Barondess; University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law
Following the death of Steely Dan’s Walter Becker in 2017, Miller moved on behalf of Donald Fagen to retain rights to the group’s name. The suit sought to enforce a “buy-sell agreement” signed by the bandmembers in 1972 stating that when a member quits or dies, Steely Dan, as a legal entity, purchases that member’s shares in the group. “The names of these bands are invaluable,” says Miller. For Frid, the past year brought moves for two veteran metal acts. “We got a resolution enabling Five Finger Death Punch to complete the last album on their deal, leave Prospect Park Records, record with a new label [Rise Records] and continue to tour,” he says. Frid also secured the rights to Mötley Crüe’s iconic album artwork for the band, defeating a copyright claim from two photographers.