The world of live events is a mystery to most lawyers. If they’re lucky, they get one client or one case in this field during their entire career. But issues of crowd management, event security, patron conduct and misconduct, and emergency planning are specific to stadiums, arenas, concert venues, and other public accommodations where people are invited to play.
As with everything we do, there is significant value to understanding both the immediate issues and the context in which they occur. Particularly with live events, where much of the litigation involves alcohol, drugs, or other cultural hot button issues, and multiple well-insured defendants are often in the operational chain of command, it is important to have an experienced lawyer who is so thoroughly engaged with these issues that he is also a subject matter expert. Put another way, Steve Adelman is effective at dealing with the legal issues that arise with live events because he knows what he is talking about, says it calmly, and looks like a responsible adult when doing so.
When creating any legal document, the goal is to help the client do its business and avoid costly and time-consuming litigation. Contracts are not just a necessary evil, they clarify legal and professional relationships and align authority with responsibility.
In the contracts he creates for event industry clients, Steve Adelman applies the “legal mullet” – business up front, party in the back. This means that all of the legally significant terms get drafted once and are not intended to change from one job to the next. The part that does change is the Scope of Work, which is attached as an exhibit to a Master Services Agreement or an Independent Contractor Agreement. This approach builds trust with contract partners and reduces legal fees for the client.
When he is asked to review another party’s contract, Steve is especially attentive to risk-transfer provisions such as indemnification language and reasonable cancellation terms, which can save enormous heartache if the event does not go according to plan.
In all of his work on event industry contracts, Steve Adelman applies more than two decades of experience with the many challenges faced by event professionals, from compressed schedules to worksite safety to severe weather. Application of the fundamental question in risk management – ‘What could go wrong?’ – is an excellent foundation for a strong contract.