Updates...

I am still in the early stages of writing the contracts for my first independent component. Unfortunately I was unable to work on them over break because my mentor was not in California
I am having trouble with the introductorty  paragraph as well as the articles but I think once my mentor and I discuss the issues, it will be clear. thats all thats really been going on this past month

Blog 10: EQ

Content

1.  I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ.
       

Essential Question 
Once a topic is chosen, the student will develop a working essential question.  The purpose of the working essential question is to help the student build a strong foundation of research which will allow him or her to create an essential question that encourages depth and rigor in the chosen topic.  An essential question must:

• Provide a framework for studies (It calls for breadth and depth of research, Is not a yes/no question)
• Take a stance (It allows you to argue some point, Cannot be a recitation of facts or a list)
•  Format (It is specific, The wording makes sense)

2.  Review the following EQs and

• Tell us if each meets the rule of three.
• Tell why they do or don't.

 a.  What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?
Yes it meets the rule of three because 

• Suggest research will be needed to decide what is the most important factor.

• It takes a stance of which factor is most important and why.
• Specifically aimed at healthy weight loss, and makes sense as it is written.

 b.  What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?
It meets the requirements, however I feel the last part, "criminal investigation" is not specific enough.

•  Does provide framework for research in order to argue what is most important in securing the conviction
• Takes a stance on which factor is most important and why
• The "Criminal investigation" aspect of the EQ I feel needs to be a little more specific

 c.  What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?
No, this EQ does not meet the rule of three.

• This does not provide a framework for research, this can simply be answered by asking the customer
• I don't feel like it takes a stance on the issue, because no research can be conducted to argue for one hairstyle or another.
• Somewhat specific, but not enough for this EQ

 d.  How can an anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?
Yes, this EQ satisfy the rule of three.

• Does call for a breath of research in order to answer the question, in terms of which treatment is best
• Does allow for an argument as to which method is best, this EQ takes the stance on what is the best way.
• I feel the "chronic pain" gave this EQ specificity, and the wording is clear,

3.  Based on your review of the rule of 3 and your experience with assessing four EQs, please write another draft EQ for your senior project.  The senior team will be meeting with students shortly for EQ revision and approval; you are expected to bring your research notebook to that meeting with your EQ draft written inside in pencil.

How can a lawyer best negotiate a transaction between two parties?

Blog 9: Lesson 1 Reflection

Content:

1. Positive Statement

I am proud of the fact that I was able to articulate some of the more complex ideas clearly in my presentation and do so slowly because I was afraid I would glaze over something without really explaining it and not make time.

2. Questions to Consider
       a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 1 Presentation (self-assessment)?                                                                        
       AE       P          AP       CR       NC       

       b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 1 component contract.
In terms of professionalism, I don't feel like I lacked in any of the aspects of that category. Although I was a little sick, I managed to speak as loudly and as audible as possible which I think engaged the audience. I also made time which means I was able to condense my content successfully while still making it clear which was also part of the rubric. As for justification of foundation, the research and articles I cited as well as my mentorship reflect the content I presented so I don't feel I was lacking on that area.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 1?
I definitely feel that the research (mostly my mentorship) I had for lesson one aided me in clearly explaining some concepts and examples as well as rehearsing and referencing my sources so I have a clear understanding for the content I explain.
4.  (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 1?
I feel like my introduction and hook activity could have been better. Initially I had trouble coming up with a hook activity or at least one that didn't seem too boring. If I could go back in time, I would have tried to come up with a more engaging and fun hook activity to make my audience more attentive to the rest of my presentation.

Whats been going on...

Since last month, I decided to focus more of my time on researching key aspects of contracts and why they're important.Unfortunately, I have exhausted my resources from the Cal Poly library so I've been looking for different databases to offer more insight on the drafting a contracts. So far, I've learned that while drafting a contract is it  important to be clear when stating a position. This is largely because if someone is unsure of terms they're agreeing to, in most cases that person or company will spend the time and money to litigate the matter in court, and the less ambiguous the contract is the less likely it is to be brought up to court.

In addition to this, my mentor has also been allowing me to read up on some of the bigger deals he is currently working on and sending my examples of those contracts. This is what I'll be using in my final presentation as examples and maybe even my Lesson Plan on Monday. I have a few different samples my mentor has sent me, one of which I will be using as a template to write my contract on for my Independent component.

Hopefully I will be able to actually use one of the deals as an example at the end of the year to relate my topic to things people have seen in the media.

Blog 8 - Research and Working EQ

1. My working EQ is- What is the best way to negotiate a transaction?
2.  Possible answers to my EQ-  What is the best way to negotiate a transaction? can include

• Using negotiation tactics such as implementation or 3-D negotiation to come to a consensus  between the all parties.
• Drafting legal documents clearly so there is no room for misinterpretation by the entities involved in the transaction.
• Know exactly where the party you represent stands and do not accept any offers that would not be in the best interest of your client.

3.  There are multiple sources that  helped me answer my working EQ, but I feel the most important source I have used has been Rabin, Susan, and Christopher Q Pham's article named "Authorship Issues in Entertainment Contracts."   because if offered insight on concise authorship of contracts and some negotiation strategies. 

4.  My mentor is the head of the legal department for a digital media company  known as The Collective , Federico Blanco and I am doing my mentorship with him at The Collective. When i attend my mentorship I usually help Mr. Blanco with drafting some legal documents, this directly relates to my essential question because it is a very common question in that field, How do I negotiate terms that everyone can agree on and still represent my interests?  In my mentorship, I get to implement the strategies of contract writing and negotiation and actually see which work better in everyday transactions, which ultimately better answer my EQ. 

Blog 7: Independent Component 1 Approval

1. For my independent component I plan on attending several meetings with a team of lawyers including my mentor, to get the perspectives of  these experts in the legal field of  entertainment. Not only will I attend these meeting, I will also relate whatever I learn in the form of drafting a contract and explaining all the process that are associated with a contract such as a negotiation and other procedural requirements. 
 

2. I will display evidence of the completion of  my 30 hours by taking photos at each of the meetings . In addition, I will have a completed several drafts of a contract that will take me hours to properly write and draft. I will bring in the very first draft  a second working draft and a final draft of the document as evidence.

 3.  Through these actions, I will be able to better understand my topic in greater depth by actually offering more information and context in terms of the work and procedures or ideas most  lawyers learn through years of experience in a few conventions. Furthermore, writing a contract will allow me to really understand the importance of contract law ,negotiating, and other aspects of entertainment law and how those aspects are interconnected by getting hands-on exposure.

Drafting, Drafting, Drafting

Its about that time of the year when most high school seniors begin applying to colleges and writing their personal statements and revise them until its perfect. Thankfully my mentor, Mr. Blanco, worked in the admissions office for Yale while he was a student there, which comes in extremely handy. I began writing some of these personal statements and asked my mentor to look them over.

Mr. Blanco experiences at Yale did wonders on my essay revisions, even though we're still in the process of drafting them. In the process he took the time to relate the revision process to contracts in law. As an example, he shared with me a contract for a new show called Epic Meal Time in which he had made several revisions and was working on the final draft. Mr. Blanco states that when looking over a contract, " You need everything to be clear, we can't leave room for misinterpretation because that's how these things end up in court. The same goes for your essay, you want to clearly express why a college should admit you, so there's no room for redundancy or incoherent statements."

Mr. Blanco went in to great detail as to how everything in a contract is taken at face value and therefore must mean what it says and make sense so other parties can interpret it the same way. For example, take something as simple as when your parent ask you to wash the car. Your parent never specifying a time would allow for misinterpretation on your part, while your parent meant wash the car now, you saw it as wash the car whenever. This is a common occurrence in law, mostly with payment methods or deposits.

I can't share a picture of the contract as it would violate a code of ethics for my mentor but I'll find an example with revision and update this post with it.

Blog 6 - Second Interview Preparation

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?

  My mentor is Federico Blanco and he works for a digital media company known as The Collective as head of the legal department.

2.  What five questions will you ask them about their background?

1.  Where did you get your qualifications? (License to practice, degree, etc)
2. How long have you worked in this field?
3. Did you participate in any internships either in college or high school?
4. What have you noticed that has changed most in this field in recent years? How does that affect what you do?
5.  Have you practiced any other kind of law? If so, which and why?

Blog 5 - Mentorship and Research Reflection

1. Describe your experience in how you found your mentorship?

     Finding my mentor was fairly quick. My cousin's husband, Federico Blanco, is the head of the legal department for a digital media company known as The Collective. Mr. Blanco took an interest in me because to him I seemed like a, "Pedantic and assiduous kid." and I aspired to go to law school as he had. Prior to Junior year ending, I was searching for a small practitioner in the law field that was willing to be my mentor. I had not considered asking Mr.Blanco because I didn't want to bother him with the idea. However, we were having lunch one day and he inquired about the Senior project and what it entailed. Immediately after the mention of a mentor, he simply said, "Well, I could be your mentor if you'd like." and I jumped at the chance to work with him, not only because of his position at his company, but also because I knew he actually cared about my growth as a student and would take the time to teach me everything he possibly could.

2. Research question: What has been your most important article you have read so far and why? 

     The most import article I have read has been pages 29-35 in Entertainment Law by Jeffrey Helewitz and Leah Edwards. Concepts of entertainment, especially when looked at from a legal perspective can be somewhat confusing. In this article and throughout the book, there are examples, definitions and exhibits (case studies) to reference in order to ensure a strong understanding of the material being presented in the book. In addition to aiding me in defining some legal terms and concepts, the article has also expanded my knowledge on the rules and regulations of entertainment law. For example, you use a copyright to claim ownership of a work of art or literature, but say that work was created for a company, now that company has exclusive rights to that work as well as whoever else helped make it. Consequently, a trademark is used more as a form of distinguishing a product from a similar one in the marketplace and can only represent one entity. Examples like these along with in depth explanations have greatly helped me understand the world of entertainment law in a better way.

Board Meeting

From time to time, my mentor holds meeting via phone as his clients are sometimes in different parts of the country or world. Fortunately, I was able to listen in on one of this calls regarding a contract with Warner Brother Pictures.
 

These phone calls can usually concern a variety of things, anywhere from contracts to the possession of intellectual property. This particular phone call was in regards to a new television show that The Collective ( the company me mentor works for ) is interested in. The phone call included the CEO of The Collective as well as third parties whose opinion would be critical in determining whether or not the show would be successful. The show, Epic Meal Time, has premiered on television and seems to be doing somewhat well. Consequently, The Collective is considerably interested and expressed such sentiments in the phone call. In addition, issues of other intellectual properties  and individual actors such as Martin Lawrence were discussed on the phone call.

These phone calls take place every so often and my mentor has assured me that he will contact me in the event another phone call is scheduled so I can listen in.   

Blog 4: Interview Preparation

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  Why?   

      I plan on interviewing Sima Ajdari (a lawyer for The Collective- LA) because she is in the position I would like to seek after finishing law school. She is a lawyer who works closely with the head of the legal department and therefore can offer useful insight that differs from my mentor's advice as he is the head of the department. In addition, Sima's insight will give me a different perspective on the field and on the work which is currently underway in the company as well as what are some important qualities in a good lawyer.

 2. Required Questions:

• I am interested in studying law. What can you tell me about it?
•  From your perspective, what could I study that would be significant?
• Who else would you recommend I talk to?
• What kinda of places or activities do you recommend I do for the mentorship component?
• What books should I read in this field?

What additional questions do you plan to ask?

• How did you get interested in the law profession? 
  
  • What do you like about this field ( Entertainment)?

•  Many people say that when in the law profession, it is vital to have good analytical and critical reading skills. Why is that?
  
  • What skills do you think are necessary to have a successful future in this field?

•  Reflecting to previous work, what project was the most difficult and why?

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Working EQ

1.  List your topic here:

          My topic is Entertainment Law. 
 

2.  Write a question that helps to focus your research this month.

        What is the best strategy to use while negotiating a transaction?

3.  Post the working bibliography (WB) on the right hand side of the blog 

     Yes, the WB is on the right hand side of the blog and can be viewed by anyone.


                                                           

Blog 2: Summer Mentorship Component

Literal:

1.  Link a log of specific hours and a description of your duties
   Summer Mentorship Log
2. What is the name & contact(s) of where you volunteered?
   

1. Kaiser Permanente
   • Contact Name: Olga Ducker
   • Contact Number: (323) 783-8831
   • Address: 4700 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles. CA. 90027
   
   

                2.  The Collective L.A.

• Contact Name: Federico Blanco
• Contact Number: (323) 370-1500
• Address: 8383 Wilshire Blvd Suite. 1050 Beverly Hills, CA 90211 
  

     3. What questions were raised because of the 10 hours of experience? List them.

• What are the opportunities for advancement in either field? 
• Are there certain regulations that must be followed when negotiating and drafting a contract, or handling other transactions?
• What are some of the strategies/steps in negotiating a transaction?
•  What are the standard requirements that a new treatment must meet in order to be considered for human clinical trials?
• How do patients benefit from a successful clinical trial?

 Interpretive:  

     4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

I found that the most important things I gained from both my mentorships was exposure to the fields and exactly what they entail. Although I already had an idea of what each career would be like, the actual experience differed from any presumption I had. In addition, seeing the benefits and end results of the work aided me in understanding the goals I was trying to reach . Whether that be analyzing new cancer treatments or reaching a consensus between two parties in a contract. Consequently, learning all the little quirks and unexpected turns each career had greatly expanded my view on the fields. Reflecting back as a whole, I was able to contrast it with my previous notions and witness the different experiences that are dealt with in each field.

Applied:

     5. What is your senior topic going to be? How did what you did help you choose a topic? Please explain.

 My senior topic is going to be about law, specifically in the entertainment industry. Initially, I was planning on pursuing a mentorship in the legal activities of corporate business transactions, however, I decided against it due to some advisement from my current mentor Federico Blanco. Mr. Blanco has had experience in such legal activity regarding larger corporations and recommended I look into entertainment. Once I began my mentorship with Mr. Blanco, I saw why he preferred entertainment to other fields due to the high energy, and what he describes as ' never a dull moment' in his office. During the mentorship, we dealt with contracts regarding several exciting new television shows and Youtube channels that the company was trying to promote or sign. This active engagement in new media quickly caught my attention because it seemed lively and new, which is one of the primary reasons I chose to pick it as my senior topic.

Blog 1: 2- Hour Presentations

1.  What presentations did you see?

            The presentations I viewed included:

·         Ski patrol- Jackie Boyd

·         Educational  Non Profit Management- Eustacio Rodriguez  

·         Coaching Softball –Darlene Good

·         Plant Science – Bryan Pinto

·         Dentistry- Nitjasin QP

·         Yearbook- Stacy Peralta

·         Woman’s Nutrition- Jackie Gaeta

·         Computer Science Bradley Schott

·         Auto Mechanic-Victor Diaz

·         Stem Involvement K-12- Brendan  Trang

·         Magic Gathering- Jamison Jackson

·         Cancer Advocacy- Brianna Sigala

·         Corporate Leadership- Juan Munoz

·         Strength Training- Adrian Olivares

·         Computer Technical Services - Lionel Arellano

·         Fire Protection- Christian Vasquez

2.  What questions do you have that haven't been answered about the senior project? This can be about the senior project in general, any components or about a presentation topic you saw or what they said.  

·         What is the time range to where we are allowed to change our topic?

·         Can we have more than one mentor?

·         How would I go about finding a mentor at Cal Poly?

·         What exactly are the independent components?

·         Are we allowed to pick who we present to for our final presentation?

3. What has the most important part of the senior project based on what you are seeing in the 2-hour presentations?

Based on what I saw in most of the senior presentations I viewed was the mentorship aspect of the entire project. Although, the presentations included large amounts of information on that specific topic that was mostly gathered through research, when the presenter spoke about their mentorship and how it related to their answer to their EQ I felt it was the most helpful part in answering the EQ. Essentially because through mentorship you can gain firsthand experience in the field you’re interested in. That firsthand experience I believe is far more useful than anything you can find online or in a book

4. What topic are you considering doing and why?

I am considering one of two topics, business law or event planning for pediatric oncology patients.

·         I have always been interested in the law field and what it entails, especially when you are faced with decisions that require strategic planning in order to result in a favorable outcome for both parties. In addition to this interest, the schooling is minimal yet rigorous which I believe will pay itself back in little time.

·         Event planning for pediatric oncology however is a topic a little more personal to me. I have had friends diagnosed with cancer at young ages and what really helped in their treatment process were the events and fundraisers planned by people like my aunt who is currently in this field with Kaiser Permeate in L.A. I would like to make that change in family’s lives and better their children’s lives for whatever time they have left

5. What are you doing for your summer mentorship?

I plan on acquiring two different mentorships this summer. One of which will be at a law firm that a family friend is employed at, and hopefully obtain an internship throughout the course of my senior year at this law firm at which I will study under the supervision of a lawyer who specializes in business contracts.

The second mentorship I would like to obtain is one with the Pediatric event planning department at Kaiser Permeate with Sandy Marman and begin to learn exactly what the position entails and the actual effect it has on the patients.