Ashley Brooks and Kirk Schroder outside their Fan office. (Jonathan Spiers)
With a new partner and a new name, a local law firm that’s developed a niche in the entertainment industry is expanding its focus to include services specific to advertising and marketing firms.
Schroder Davis Law Firm changed its name over the summer to Schroder Brooks with the addition of Ashley Brooks, who has been named a partner.
She joins Kirk Schroder, an entertainment law veteran who founded the firm in 2015 with fellow attorney Joan Davis. Davis stepped down as a partner but remains on staff as general counsel focusing on intellectual property law.
Schroder Brooks also has added paralegal Anna Nelson, who worked at entertainment law firms in Hollywood before moving to Richmond.
Ashley Brooks leading a workshop. (Courtesy of the Advertising Club of Richmond)
Brooks, a Freeman High School and Washington and Lee University grad with a law degree from UR, brings a focus on advertising law after a decade as in-house general counsel at Southern States Cooperative and four years before that as in-house counsel for PowerPact, a local marketing and promotions agency.
Brooks said she tried going out on her own after downsizing cut her job at Southern States, but she eventually sought out and offered to team up with Schroder, whose experience in entertainment law dates to 1990, when he started his first firm.
After stints at LeClairRyan and several other firms, Schroder and Davis opened their firm in 2015, continuing their focus on clients in entertainment, media, arts and fashion industries.
Current clients include “Hidden Figures” author Margot Lee Shetterly and local author Dean King. The firm also has done work for author David Baldacci, Universal Pictures, and film and media companies.
Schroder, a Richmond native, attended Saint Bridget Catholic School and Benedictine before enrolling at UR, where he went to law school. He also has a doctorate in education from UVA and has served on the boards of the Virginia Film Office, Virginia Tourism Office and Virginia Board of Education.
Schroder, who said he practiced advertising law when he was at LeClairRyan for clients such as The Martin Agency, said the addition of Brooks was a natural fit for the firm.
“As ad agencies are trying to monetize their creations and have made attempts into the entertainment field, there is that overlap,” Schroder said. “My focus has been so exclusively on the entertainment field, I had always hoped to find someone who could complement on the advertising side.”
As partner, Brooks shares ownership of the firm 50-50 with Schroder. Their office is at 2310 W. Main St. in the Fan.
Since joining the firm, Brooks said her work has included assisting local animation studio Hue & Cry spin off from The Martin Agency this year.
She also reached out to the Advertising Club of Richmond, which took her up on her offer of ad law workshops with club members and nonmembers. The workshops, which wrap up in September, have focused on such topics as FTC regulations, contracts, and employment issues that can arise when working with freelancers and contractors.
Ashley Brooks and Kirk Schroder outside their Fan office. (Jonathan Spiers)
With a new partner and a new name, a local law firm that’s developed a niche in the entertainment industry is expanding its focus to include services specific to advertising and marketing firms.
Schroder Davis Law Firm changed its name over the summer to Schroder Brooks with the addition of Ashley Brooks, who has been named a partner.
She joins Kirk Schroder, an entertainment law veteran who founded the firm in 2015 with fellow attorney Joan Davis. Davis stepped down as a partner but remains on staff as general counsel focusing on intellectual property law.
Schroder Brooks also has added paralegal Anna Nelson, who worked at entertainment law firms in Hollywood before moving to Richmond.
Ashley Brooks leading a workshop. (Courtesy of the Advertising Club of Richmond)
Brooks, a Freeman High School and Washington and Lee University grad with a law degree from UR, brings a focus on advertising law after a decade as in-house general counsel at Southern States Cooperative and four years before that as in-house counsel for PowerPact, a local marketing and promotions agency.
Brooks said she tried going out on her own after downsizing cut her job at Southern States, but she eventually sought out and offered to team up with Schroder, whose experience in entertainment law dates to 1990, when he started his first firm.
After stints at LeClairRyan and several other firms, Schroder and Davis opened their firm in 2015, continuing their focus on clients in entertainment, media, arts and fashion industries.
Current clients include “Hidden Figures” author Margot Lee Shetterly and local author Dean King. The firm also has done work for author David Baldacci, Universal Pictures, and film and media companies.
Schroder, a Richmond native, attended Saint Bridget Catholic School and Benedictine before enrolling at UR, where he went to law school. He also has a doctorate in education from UVA and has served on the boards of the Virginia Film Office, Virginia Tourism Office and Virginia Board of Education.
Schroder, who said he practiced advertising law when he was at LeClairRyan for clients such as The Martin Agency, said the addition of Brooks was a natural fit for the firm.
“As ad agencies are trying to monetize their creations and have made attempts into the entertainment field, there is that overlap,” Schroder said. “My focus has been so exclusively on the entertainment field, I had always hoped to find someone who could complement on the advertising side.”
As partner, Brooks shares ownership of the firm 50-50 with Schroder. Their office is at 2310 W. Main St. in the Fan.
Since joining the firm, Brooks said her work has included assisting local animation studio Hue & Cry spin off from The Martin Agency this year.
She also reached out to the Advertising Club of Richmond, which took her up on her offer of ad law workshops with club members and nonmembers. The workshops, which wrap up in September, have focused on such topics as FTC regulations, contracts, and employment issues that can arise when working with freelancers and contractors.