Entertainment × Strategy × Culture

Where
Deals
Get Made.

The ecosystem for entertainment's next power players. Courses, live negotiations, community, and cultural fluency — for creators, executives, founders, lawyers, and industry insiders.

Join the CIRCLES Waitlist Watch a Live Negotiation
Entertainment Law Deal Psychology Negotiation USC Certified Live Experiences Community
The Ecosystem

Multiple Ways
to Enter

Whether you're discovering dealmaking for the first time or going deeper into the craft — there's a layer built for you.

01
Watch & Listen

Lawish podcast clips, deal breakdowns, and cultural commentary on YouTube. Full episodes live inside CIRCLES.

Watch on YouTube
02
Courses

USC Executive Education — "Dealmaking for Entertainment Professionals." Elite frameworks, real-world application.

View USC Course
03
Live Negotiations

Real-time contract battles streamed live in our Discord. Talent deals, packaging disputes, audience participation.

Join in Discord
04
Community

Discord for pulse. CIRCLES for permanence. A professional network for people who think in deals, leverage, and strategy.

Join the Community
05
Events

Live negotiations, streaming events, panels, and deal labs — all hosted in Discord. One feed, real-time, no FOMO.

See Events in Discord
USC Executive Education Partner

Learn the
Language
of Deals

Not bar-exam energy. Not academic-first. Practical executive intelligence for people who need to understand how entertainment actually works — before the meeting, during the negotiation, and after the ink dries.

  • I
    Deal Anatomy
    Deconstruct how entertainment contracts move from concept to greenlight
  • II
    Negotiation Psychology
    Power, pressure, and psychology behind every negotiation table
  • III
    IP & Creative Rights
    Protect, license, monetize — IP fundamentals for creative industries
  • IV
    Leverage & Relationships
    How reputation and strategic positioning create deal power
Explore USC Course
Featured Course

Entertainment Deal Lab

An immersive deep dive into how major entertainment deals actually get structured, negotiated, and closed — with real case frameworks.

USC Executive Education

The Business of Entertainment

Institutional-grade curriculum delivered with an operator's perspective. Real deals, real dynamics, real stakes.

Workshop

Negotiation Intensive

A high-intensity, hands-on negotiation simulation workshop for entertainment professionals and ambitious operators.

Live Experiences

Dealmaking as
Performance

Not lectures. Immersive negotiation simulations where real strategy meets live audience energy.

LIVE
NEGOTIATION

Mock Negotiation Sessions

Real-time contract battles played out in front of a live audience. Industry scenarios, real-stakes energy, and audience participation that blurs the line between education, entertainment, and professional training.

Join Next Session in Discord
Scenario 01

Talent Negotiations

Artist deals, representation agreements, and touring contracts

Scenario 02

Creator × Brand Deals

Sponsorship, partnership, and content licensing disputes

Scenario 03

Studio vs. Producer

Film and TV development, rights acquisition, greenlight dynamics

Scenario 04

IP Acquisition

Licensing, option agreements, and franchise deal architecture

Scenario 05

"What Would You Negotiate?"

Live audience interaction — you call the play in real time

Community Infrastructure

The Inner
Circle

Two layers. Both intentional. Built for people who want proximity to strategy, culture, and elite dealmaking.

Discord — Pulse

Real-Time
Conversation

Fast. Social. Organic. Where industry observations, hot takes, deal reactions, and cultural commentary happen in real time — no agenda, pure momentum.

  • Live deal discussions and instant reactions
  • Industry news, drops, and commentary
  • Spontaneous networking and introductions
  • Live session watch-alongs
  • Community pulse and cultural conversations
Join Discord →

Discord = Momentum

CIRCLES — Infrastructure

The Inner
CIRCLES

Premium. Curated. Paid. The structured space for organized education, member networking, archives, deal resources, and full Lawish podcast episodes. Currently invite-only — join the waitlist.

  • Organized education resources and archives
  • Member directory and curated networking
  • Event access and session recordings
  • Mentorship adjacency and deal conversations
  • Premium frameworks and deal resources
Join the CIRCLES Waitlist →

CIRCLES = Infrastructure

Kimberlina McKinney, Esq. — entertainment attorney, USC professor, strategist
Entertainment Attorney USC Professor Strategist Cultural Translator
The Mind Behind It

Kimberlina
McKinney

Esq.  ·  Entertainment Attorney  ·  USC Professor

Entertainment attorney. USC professor. Operator. Kimberlina McKinney sits at the intersection of elite dealmaking, creative industry strategy, and cultural fluency — translating how power actually moves in entertainment for the people who need to know.

Not academic-first. Not bar-exam energy. Professor meets operator — grounded in real transactions, real relationships, and real industry dynamics built over years inside the rooms where deals actually happen.

"I'm not teaching law school. I'm teaching you how to think like the person in the room who closes."
USC
Executive Education Partner
5+
Ecosystem Layers
∞
Industry Access
CIRCLES Waitlist · Invite-Only

Join the
Inner
CIRCLES.

CIRCLES is the premium paid community — full Lawish podcast episodes, deal archives, member directory, mentorship adjacency, and the room where real conversations happen. Currently invite-only. Drop your details and we'll reach out as spots open.

Invite-only. No spam. Your details are private and used only to evaluate fit for CIRCLES.

Join Free Discord → Watch on YouTube → USC Course → Explore Ecosystem →