Serling Rooks Hunter McKoy & Worob LLP Reopens Nashville Office

Pictured (clockwise, from upper left): Craig Averill, J. Reid Hunter, Patrick Sabitini, Jeff Koenig

Entertainment law firm Serling Rooks Hunter McKoy & Worob has appointed Craig Averill as a name partner and will change its name to Serling Rooks Hunter McKoy Worob  & Averill LLP. The firm is also reestablishing a Nashville office, with three attorneys initially, to be co-headed by Sabatini and partner J. Reid Hunter.

Averill, based in New York, represents entertainment marketing companies such as Cornerstone, Red Bull Media House, and others. Producer and artist clients for Averill range from John Hill – producer and co-writer for such hits as “Feel it Still” by Portugal the Man – LCD Soundsystem, Phoenix and Interpol to RL Grime, Hudson Mohawke and Baauer, and most recently Joji and Niki, both ascendant stars newly signed to the Asian hip-hop label 88Rising.

The firm has also promoted attorneys Patrick Sabatini and Jeffrey Koenig to partners.

Sabatini, based in Nashville, focuses his practice on the representation of recording artists and performers, songwriters, entrepreneurs and innovators in the music space, branding agencies, independent music publishers, record labels and executives in the entertainment industry. His expertise includes recording and music publishing matters, strategic partnerships, merchandise and touring agreements, private aircraft agreements, branding agreements and copyright issues.

Koenig, based in New York, represents Grammy-nominated recording artists, up-and-coming musicians and bands, Fortune 500 companies, independent record labels, industry executives, publishers, managers, songwriters, DJ’s, producers, vinyl record companies, and music PR and branding companies. Prior to joining the firm in 2010, Jeffrey worked for five years as an in-house attorney for Universal Motown Republic Group.

“Over the years, our firm has observed the incredible growth of the music business in all genres in Nashville and it’s been our goal to return to ‘Music City’ so that we might interface more regularly with our existing clients there, as well as expand our client base,” said SRHMWA Partner, J. Reid Hunter. We are elated to once again have an office in Nashville. We already represent a significant number of the industry’s Nashville-based booking agents, artists, and music companies. Our new Nashville office will enable us to better serve those existing clients and to work more closely with the growing number of artists, writers, producers, executives and music and branding companies based in Nashville while drawing upon the exceptional pool of legal and business talent graduating from the local universities.”

SRHMWA’s current Nashville-based clients include Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Studios, Jamey Johnson, River House Artists (home to CMA-nominated Luke Combs), Jason Isbell, White’s Mercantile (owned by musician Holly Williams), Curb Records (intellectual property matters), Word Records (intellectual property matters), the Kinkead Entertainment Agency and Judah & the Lion. The firm also represents a significant number of Nashville-based agents, having recently negotiated Nashville power agent Scott Clayton’s recent move to William Morris Endeavor. In addition, the firm represents the estates of Country Music Hall of Fame Artists Jerry Reed, Mel Tillis, Don Williams and Dottie West, as well as several legacy country artists such as John Anderson.