Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Kilgore
Hi Lauren, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama in a home filled with music. My father, both a cancer surgeon and world-class fingerstyle guitarist, introduced me at a young age to guitar legends like Chet Atkins, Merle Travis, Django Reinhardt, and Jerry Reed. My parents also exposed me to a wide range of musical genres, and I grew up listening to everything from Billie Holiday and Fleetwood Mac to Muddy Waters, Dolly Parton, and Rage Against the Machine. Our home was a hub for jam sessions with many talented musicians, and I spent countless late nights listening to those stellar performances. I also attended many live shows, deepening my love for live music.
Performing was a family tradition. My grandfather played old-time fiddle, and my grandmother performed on a resonator guitar in their local band in and around the small town of Whitwell, Tennessee. My family continued that legacy with our own band. As a teenager, I released two albums and performed extensively with my father and two brothers.
After high school, I left Alabama and moved to New York City to study music production and engineering. I loved the time I spent learning about the production side of music making and that creative process. However, after the events of 9/11, I returned to Birmingham and completed a degree in political science at Birmingham-Southern College. After graduation, I decided to move to Nashville—a city I had grown to love from many summers spent there for the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society Convention—to pursue a career as a songwriter and artist.
In Nashville, I had the privilege of working alongside talented artists and songwriters, some of whom I am now honored to represent as an attorney. I realized that my talents and skills aligned more closely with supporting creatives as an attorney. I was committed to staying in Nashville and, thus, I attended Vanderbilt Law School where I focused on entertainment and intellectual property law. I worked during my law school career to establish connections in the local entertainment bar, and I am grateful for those relationships.
After law school, I joined a mid-sized firm, practicing commercial litigation and learning the basics of being a lawyer, while also working to build an entertainment practice. A few years later, I transitioned to a boutique firm on Music Row, where I focused exclusively on entertainment and music law. For the past 12 years, I’ve worked with the same phenomenal team, and we recently joined the LA-based firm Buchalter to further expand our entertainment practice.
People and relationships have always been at the core of my life and career. The connections I’ve cultivated with colleagues, clients, and collaborators are the most important aspect of my work and are critical to who I am professionally and personally. Both Nashville and the music industry are powered by relationships, and they are the most enriching part of what I do.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Struggle and discomfort are where growth happens, and my path has had its share of challenges. Both the legal and music industries are heavily male-dominated, particularly in executive roles. There have been many times when I was the only woman in the room or at the table—a reality that remains true. Often, I have had to fight to make myself heard, assert my value, and prove I belonged. Asserting myself in those moments has deepened my commitment to amplifying diverse voices and creating opportunities for those who face similar obstacles.
In addition, navigating the challenges of motherhood while growing my practice has presented different challenges. I rely unapologetically on my village of colleagues, friends, neighbors, and family to help me nourish my professional life while also raising my three daughters. There are always going to be trade offs and it is a pendulum that swings between various demands, not a “balance.” “Having it all” is, in my view, trite, amorphous, and overrated. Meeting the demands of both career and family involves not only support from others but also finding the ability to be present and focusing on quality of time, not quantity.
These experiences have shaped my commitment to making the path for woman smoother. Women should be empowered to pursue both their professional ambitions and personal lives with support and without limitation.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I am a Shareholder in the Nashville office of Buchalter and a member of the Intellectual Property practice group. I have over a decade of experience as an entertainment attorney in both transactional and dispute resolution and general business litigation matters. I represents Grammy-award winning clients, and handles a wide variety of transactional entertainment matters on behalf of artists, songwriters, managers, content creators, entertainment companies, and corporate entities. I routinely draft, review, and negotiate entertainment-related agreements and also handles matters related to the protection of intellectual property and online media issues and crisis management for both individuals and entertainment companies. I have also served as an expert witness on matters related to the music business.
Buchalter is a full-service business law firm that has been teaming with clients for nine decades, providing legal counsel at all stages of their growth and evolution, and helping them meet the many legal challenges and decisions they face. Our clients are engaged in a diverse global economy governed by complex laws and regulations, and they trust us as advisers and business partners because we are involved in their world. They rely on our forward-thinking to help them resolve problems before they arise.
I am proud to have been named by Billboard as one of the country’s “Top Music Lawyers” for the last five years, and recognized numerous times as “In Charge” in the entertainment business by MusicRow Magazine. I am a member of the Recording Academy, the Academy of Country Music, The Country Music Association, NSAI, AIMP, SOURCE, and the Copyright Society of the South.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I play the fiddle and just recently took up the banjo.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.buchalter.com/attorneys/2338606/#overview
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mystfan1/
- Twitter: @LaurenKilgore
