10
11
Law
Winter
2013
Mark
Krais
Mark Krais
(1981-1986) studied Jurisprudence at
Oxford where he also took a keen interest in theatre.
He has successfully combined his interest in law
and the performing arts and is now a partner in
Bray and Krais, a law firm specialising in the
entertainment industry
ooking back at my career so far, I
recollect that a key moment occurred at
the end of the second year of studying
Jurisprudence at university. It was
the summer of 1989 and I had just
stepped off stage for the second time
at the Tokyo Globe Theatre. We were
touring two plays in rep as part of the
Oxford University Dramatic Society
(OUDS) touring company. Due to a
combination of tiredness, jetlag and
being overexcited, I could not for the
life of me remember which of the
two plays we were performing that
night. Not ideal, given that we were
already twenty minutes intoWilliam
Wycherley’s
The Country Wif
e and I
had been unconsciously reciting lines
from
Restoration
by Edward Bond.
Fortunately, no one seemed to notice;
most of the front row of the audience
were asleep and my fellow cast
members were equally comatose.
This sinking feeling of realisation was
in stark contrast to the overwhelming rush
of joy which I had experienced five years
earlier, leaving the stage in the Great Hall
at school, when the curtain came down on
the last night of Cabaret. This had set me
on what I thought at the time was going to
be an acting career pathway. Now I had to
think again.
Reflecting on the situation twelve
months after the end of the OUDS tour
which had started in the UK and lingered
in Japan before closing in Moscow, I
questioned whether there was some way
to combine my passion for the performing
arts and travel with the law.
My lucky break came when I was
introduced to a partner of the city law
firm Theodore Goddard, who specialised
in entertainment law (primarily focused
on music). I was fortunate enough to
win a training contract at Theodore
Goddard and loved every minute of the six
months spent in the music department.
Unfortunately, there were no vacancies
within that department on qualification
and I turned down their offer to specialise
in intellectual property and defamation
litigation and instead took up the position
of a newly qualified lawyer with John
Kennedy at JP Kennedy & Co. It was
strange exchanging the marble clad halls
of Aldersgate Street for an old Indian
restaurant in the depths of Paddington.
However, it became clear to me early
on that I was drawing closer to the
commercial pulse of the music industry.
The learning curve at John’s three
lawyer firm (which included myself and
Richard Bray) was very steep. The city law
training had provided me with an excellent
grounding in basic legal skills, including
drafting and analysis; the challenge was
to be able to combine those skills with
a newly acquired business acumen. The
revenue model of the music industry is
complex and particularly challenging, not
only for newly qualified lawyers but also
for many of the clients.
John Kennedy left his own firm three
years later to become Chairman of
Polygram and at that moment the seeds of
Bray & Krais were sown.
Seventeen years later, our ten lawyer
strong firm continues to inhabit the
entertainment space and we have
expanded our horizons to advise sports
personalities, commercial brands, live
projects across the world and theatre. As
the entertainment industry continues
to fragment, creating new opportunities
for investments (particularly around
branded live projects, publishing and new
recording models) we have also expanded
our corporate department.
Highlights to date? There are many,
which include overseeing the legal
requirements for the worldwide Live 8
Concerts in 1995, working with the Rolling
Stones and their management on all of
their touring since 1996, helping to initiate
and execute the Formula 1 Rocks series
of concerts, and having the pleasure of
working with a number of bands over
the years and witnessing their journey
from pub gigs through to international
stadia. On the pro bono side, we continue
to advise the Band Aid Charitable Trust
and we recently worked with the Stephen
Lawrence Charitable Trust in relation to a
concert held on 29th September at the O2.
Do I miss the acting? Yes. Do I wish
I had chosen another career pathway?
Absolutely not.
L
