John P. Strohm

John is an associate in the firm's Business and Tax Practice Group.  His primary areas of practice include transactional entertainment law, commercial real estate, and general corporate representation.  A former professional recording artist and touring musician, John advises recording artists, songwriters, independent record labels, and other entertainment industry clients on a broad range of business issues.  Additionally, John regularly assists clients in a range of business matters, including commercial leasing, the purchase and sale of commercial properties, financial transactions, and entity formation.

He is a graduate of the Cumberland School of Law of Samford University (magna cum laude, 2004), where he served as editor-in-chief of the Cumberland Law Review.

John is a native of Bloomington, Indiana.  He is married to the former Heather Anne Christensen and has three children.

• Editor-in-Chief, Cumberland Law Review
• Executive Committee, Birmingham Bar Association Young Lawyers' Section
• Voted Best of the Bar for Entertainment Law in the Birmingham Business Journal, 2005 and 2007

• American Bar Association
• Birmingham Bar Association
• Voting Member: National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
• Adjunct Professor at Cumberland teaching Entertainment Law
• Future of Music Coalition: Advisory Board
• Grammy Foundation Entertainment Law Initiative Writing Competition: Paper Grader

• "The Ethics of Contract Negotiation," Future of Music Policy Summit, Washington D.C., September 2005
• "Building Your Band as a Business," Midwest Music Summit, Indianapolis, IN, August, 2006
• Panelist, South by Southwest Media Conference, Austin, TX, March, 2006
• Panelist, Folk Alliance, February, 2007
• Panelist, South by Southwest Media Conference, "Crash Course Legal Issues in the Music Industry," March, 2007
• Provided expert commentary for NPR "Morning Edition" regarding Music Industry, June 2007
• "Fundamentals of Entertainment Law and Business" presented to University of Alabama Birmingham School of Music, April, 2007
• Panelist: Oxford Film Festival CLE, February 2008
• Panelist: SXSW 2008, "Red Flags in Recording Agreements," March 2008
• Panelist: National Conference on Media Reform, "In the Mix: Understanding New Music Services and the Bottom Line," June 2008

• An Overview of Creative Commons Licensing for Music, March 31, 2009
• Writings in the Margin of Error: the Authorship Status of Sound Recordings Under United States Copyright Law, 34 Cumb. L. Rev 127, 3 4-1, 2003
• Gender Issues in Alternative Rock. The Electric Guitar: A History of An American Icon. Ed. Andre Millard, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 2004. 181-200.

Areas of Practice:

Business and Tax
Corporate and Securities
Entertainment Law
Intellectual Property
Media Litigation
Real Estate and Land Use

Law School:

Cumberland School of Law, Samford University, J.D., magna cum laude, 2004

Education:

The University of Alabama at Birmingham, B.A., cum laude, 2001

Admitted to Practice:

• Alabama, 2004

Email: jps@johnstonbarton.com
Phone: 205-458-9440
Fax: 205-458-9500

Legal Secretary:

Emily Edmonson
ere@johnstonbarton.com
205-214-7241