Miller, the managing partner of his firm's Los Angeles office, was named Entertainment Lawyer of the Year by the Beverly Hills Bar Association. At the ceremony in May, he wanted to avoid starting with a boring lawyer joke, so he reached into the repertoire he'd developed before law school when he trained in musical theater and classical voice. "I gave them about five minutes of my big Italian aria," he said, naming the tune as one Luciano Pavarotti made famous, "Nessun Dorma" from the opera "Turandot." "Then I gave my acceptance speech."
He'd performed the same number at his wedding in Hawaii in 2008, he said, noting that lawyers — especially litigators and negotiators — are always on stage. "No, I haven't put performing entirely behind me. I always laughed at a course the L.A. County Bar Association offered, 'Acting for Lawyers.' And I always laugh about lawyers who can't say their own name while standing up. Of course, a play or a movie or a script is like a trial with no consequences."
Miller needs all his talents, legal and theatrical, when dealing with a client list that includes actress Angela Bassett, actor Courtney B. Vance and screenwriter Cheo Hodari Coker. "You have to be witty and creative to hang with people like that," he said. Singer Brandy, hip-hop artist Ludacris and gospel music artist Donald Lawrence, all clients, performed at the BHBA ceremony.
Representing Coker, Miller forged a deal in which his client will be the first African-American writer-producer in the history of the Marvel Comics properties to serve as showrunner for a Marvel high-budget live action series, "Luke Cage," for Netflix. Another client, Charles Murray, will serve as Coker's number two and executive producer on the show.
And for client T.D. Jakes, the megachurch pastor, author and filmmaker, Miller has negotiated a new self-titled talk show to be produced by 44 Blue Productions and syndicated by Tegna Media. Miller pointed out that the deal was groundbreaking even before it aired because it is the first time a syndicator has ever funded and syndicated its own show.
"Time Magazine put T.D. Jakes on the cover and called him the next Billy Graham," Miller said. Others he represents include NeNe Leakes, a "Real Housewives" personality for whom Miller landed a co-hosting role on the E! Entertainment show "Fashion Police." "These clients are on fire," Miller said. He noted that his clients may help with Hollywood's troubling diversity problem. "I'm a black attorney, and I'm chair of a department that has clients of all races," he said. "And I'm particularly proud that in a landscape that has not served people of color well I've found a way to promote these clients and monetize their talents."
— John Roemer
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