Technology helps Baltimore entertainment lawyer compete with big

Daily Record, The (Baltimore), Aug 13, 2007 by Caryn Tamber

Paul W. Gardner II wants to become a big name in the music business, a go-to guy for stars and up-and-comers.

He goes to lots of parties to get his name out there, slipping Jay-Z and Mariah Carey his business card at Kanye West's birthday party, hoping he'll be remembered.

He runs his own practice with one other lawyer, who's of counsel, but he aspires to add two more attorneys in the coming year.

And for the office that he hopes to turn into a one-stop legal shop for the rich and famous, Gardner has chosen... New York? Los Angeles? Nashville, the country music capital?

Try Baltimore.

Gardner is trying to build a top-notch entertainment law practice away from the classic entertainment hotspots, betting on technology and low rates to help him compete.

Gardner, 34, grew up in Augusta, Ga. From an early age, he knew he wanted to do something big with his life.

He narrowed it down to being a preacher, like his father, or following in the footsteps of another man in the congregation whom worshippers treated with great respect.

"I always said if God did not call me to the ministry, then I would be the next best thing, and the next best thing in our congregation was a guy by the name of Judge Brown," he said. (That was Carl C. Brown Jr., then an Augusta municipal judge and now a Georgia Superior Court judge.)

"God didn't call me to the ministry, so I went to law school," Gardner said.

Gardner graduated from the Howard University School of Law and went on to clerk for Court of Appeals Chief Judge Robert M. Bell. He then landed at Piper, Marbury, Rudnick & Wolfe -- now DLA Piper US LLP -- where he practiced in the Venture Capital and Corporate Law departments. He didn't have a thought of becoming an entertainment lawyer.

"This was the furthest thing from my mind even when I graduated law school," Gardner said. "Seriously, I didn't even take music law in law school... . I wanted to go to Piper. I wanted to go to a big law firm and be a transactional attorney."

Then, he got assigned to do some legal work for the comedian and actor Tommy Davidson. He enjoyed the job so much that he started to think about how he could work with entertainers all the time.

In early 2004, he left Piper to start his own firm.

Gardner said he doesn't worry much about being located in Baltimore, rather than in one of the big music cities. These days, it doesn't matter where you are relative to the client, because e- mail, BlackBerry, fax machines and scanners erase the distance, he said.

"You can service these clients at a high level without having to really be there," he said.

Jean S. Fugett Jr., who is of counsel in Gardner's office, pointed out that the top executives in the music industry are rarely in their offices.

"If you look at their calendars, they move around all the time," Fugett said.

Even a lawyer based in the same city as a recording mogul will have to use technology to reach clients and others, so it hardly matters that Gardner is in Baltimore, he said.

Signing them up

Being in Baltimore can actually be an advantage, Gardner said. Everything costs less than in New York and L.A., from office employees to gas, he pointed out. He said the big lawyers there charge anywhere from $400 to in the $700s per hour, while he can charge in the $200s or less.

Gardner has wooed a few well-known artists so far. He is proud of those clients -- so proud, in fact, that he lists their names on the back of his business card and anywhere he has a Web presence.

There's Michael "Blue" Williams, manager for OutKast, whom Gardner said he advised during a dispute with the late Rosa Parks over OutKast's use of her name as a song title. There's former Dru Hill member Scola.

There's also Baltimore rapper LOS, whom Gardner helped sign to P. Diddy's Bad Boy label.

LOS -- short for Carlos -- is an exception, though; Gardner rarely takes on unsigned Baltimore acts. That's not because the talent isn't there, he said.

"If I had the power to sign them, I would, oh my gosh, but unfortunately, even if I said $150 an hour, they still couldn't even afford that, unfortunately," Gardner said. "Our vision for the firm is to help local artists, but our vision for the firm is also to remain economically viable and profitable."

He has taken on "two or three" acts that have yet to sign recording contracts, with the understanding that although they can't pay now, when they make it in the business, Gardner will get his money.

Gardner markets himself mainly by word-of-mouth. He also goes to music industry parties, pushing his business card into the hands of the powerful, hoping they'll remember him next time they need a lawyer.

"I'm not the most forward person in the world, so I've got to get up and use those opportunities and say to folks, 'Hey, here I am, I'm here in Baltimore. If you ever run into any problems in Baltimore, Maryland, make sure you call on me,'" Gardner said.

'Good vibe'

There are also Gardner's efforts on the social networking site MySpace, which is how he met one of his favorite clients, Bibi McGill, lead guitarist for Beyonce Knowles' band.