People

Lita Rosario-Richardson advises artists, authors, songwriters, producers and other creatives and their businesses on protecting, monetizing and reclaiming their creative work. She leads Shulman Rogers’ Entertainment Practice and is widely regarded for her work on copyright ownership, catalog recovery and complex entertainment transactions.

Lita began her career in entertainment as a co-founder and vice president of business and legal affairs for a music production company that produced multi-platinum artists, including Dru Hill, Mýa and Sisqó. She later transitioned into private practice, representing recording artists and creators such as Missy Elliott, Crystal Waters, Pete Rock, AZ, Tank and Robin S.

A significant focus of Lita’s practice involves securing back royalties and ownership rights for artists and estates. Her work has included royalty collection and/or catalog recovery matters for Big Pun’s Estate, EPMD, Das EFX and Big Daddy Kane, as well as copyright recapture efforts on behalf of Afrika Bambaataa & Soul Sonic Force for Planet Rock and derivative works sampling that composition. She has also represented members and former members of Parliament Funkadelic, including George Clinton and Garry Shider, former members of Cameo, Mr. Cheeks, CeCe Peniston and others in collecting royalties and/or regaining ownership of iconic recordings or songs such as Atomic Dog, One Nation Under a Groove, Candy and Word Up.

Lita regularly negotiates recording, book publishing, distribution, licensing, talent and production agreements with major entertainment companies and media platforms, including Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group, as well as NBC, Disney, UPN, TV One, BET, MTV, Fuse, Discovery Channel, E! Network and Universal Pictures. Her experience includes work on reality television and competition series such as Big Brother, Housewives, Married to Medicine, The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott and American Song Contest.

In addition to transactional matters, Lita serves as a trusted advisor in complex copyright and authorship disputes involving high-profile works, including Who Let the Dogs Out, Suit & Tie, Blame It on the Alcohol and Thong Song. She has acted as an expert or consultant in litigation matters involving Lauryn Hill, Ne-Yo and the estates of Zapp, Wayne Wonder, Sean Levert and Gerald Levert.

Lita’s litigation and policy experience includes favorable decisions in the Second and Eleventh Circuits on copyright issues involving Suit & Tie and KC and the Sunshine Band, assisting with a Ninth Circuit appeal on behalf of George Clinton regarding Funkadelic master recordings, contributing to amicus briefs in federal appellate and Supreme Court matters involving copyright infringement and termination rights and authoring a petition for writ of certiorari addressing statute of limitations issues under the Copyright Act.

An advocate for artist rights, Lita has lobbied Congress on copyright issues and has held leadership roles with the Recording Academy’s Washington, D.C. Chapter and the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association. She previously served as chair of the D.C. Bar’s Arts, Entertainment, Media and Sports Law Section and taught entertainment and media law for more than 25 years at the University of the District of Columbia, as well as at American University’s Kogod School of Business.

Lita earned her J.D. from Howard University School of Law and began her legal career as a corporate and securities attorney at Gaston Snow & Ely Bartlett and Shearman & Sterling. She is admitted to practice in New York, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. She has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® for Copyright Law and was named Entertainment Lawyer of the Year by the National Bar Association.