This past semester, Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. student Linda Luaces embarked on what she described as her "dream opportunity" – completing a practicum for Lotus Producciones in Santiago, Chile, a company that manages all legal negotiations for Lollapalooza Chile.
This practicum opportunity was made available to Miami Law students by Catalina Apey, LL.M. '21, the current general counsel and head of business affairs at Lotus Producciones. Apey, who also had the opportunity to complete a practicum abroad while at Miami Law, knew how enriching the experience could be and wanted to give back to her alma mater.
Chile was the first country to export Lollapalooza from the United States. With more than 130 artists spread across seven stages over three days, Lollapalooza Chile attracts more than 210,000 attendees annually. Lotus Producciones manages all legal negotiations for the event and ensures the company is adequately protected by applicable law.
Luaces, who graduated from the University of Miami in 2020 with a degree in public relations and Spanish, was always interested in Miami's events, hospitality, and music cultures. After completing her J.D. degree at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, she returned to the U because the EASL Program appealed to her desire to combine her law degree with her other interests.
Seeing the practicum posting in November, Luaces jumped at the opportunity, and after several interviews, she secured her position with Apey at Lotus Producciones. In February, Luaces moved to Chile for over a month to complete her practicum. Initially, Luaces worked at Lotus's main office, reviewing festival agreements, translating them, and communicating with artists and their management teams.
"Linda was such an incredible student and showed so much interest in the work that it was easy for us to give her important responsibilities," said Apey, and soon, Luaces became responsible for handling streaming and broadcast rights clearance for the festival, which required drafting agreements and negotiating directly with artists, agencies, and record labels. During its peak, the live-streaming project had over 50,000 people tuned in live.
Luaces said about her time in Chile, "I learned so much about the industry. I strengthened my legal skills in both English and Spanish and had the experience of my life. I also made a lifelong friendship with my boss and mentor Catalina."
"The impact of this experience will stay with me forever and encourages me to find ways to maintain an enriching relationship with Miami Law despite the geographical distance," said Apey. "I congratulate the program for having such well-prepared students, and thank UM, the program and especially Greg Levy for trusting in me and Lotus to host this student."
Read more about Miami Law’s Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. Program.
