Entertainment Law Chair
Bernie M. Lawrence is a seasoned principal attorney at the law firm of B. Lawrence Watkins & Associates, P.C.,
concentrating in the areas of Entertainment, Technology, Licensing, Copyright, Trademark, Business Transactions,
and Corporate Formations. Her clients include Grammy® Award winning music producers, artists and songwriters,
some of who have reached diamond status in sales. She also represents major label record executives, Deejays,
independent record labels, managers, music and film/television production companies, screenplay writers, and
clothing designers. Ms. Lawrence has over twenty years of experience in drafting and negotiating complex
agreements ranging from licensing, employment, corporate transactions, to product endorsement and influencer
deals on behalf of entertainment and corporate brands. Ms. Lawrence’s sharp negotiating skills have earned her
clients over millions of dollars in revenue. She periodically appears as a guest lecturer and panelist at colleges, law
schools and conferences nationally and internationally.
Ms. Lawrence began her legal career as a paralegal in 1996 at the law firm of Kilpatrick Townsend and Stockton
LLP formerly known as Kilpatrick Stockton, LLP, and later worked as a contract attorney in the litigation
department. In 1999, she left the large firm environment to work for the City of Atlanta as the Legal Specialist in the
Office of Contract Compliance, while maintaining her legal practice on the side. In late 2002, Ms. Lawrence left the
City of Atlanta to operate her law firm full time. She served as a federal lobbyist for a period of 8 years representing
the City of Atlanta and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, as she built a niche law practice representing
platinum-selling music producers and songwriters.
Moreover, Ms. Lawrence is a community activist. In addition to being co-founder of several community based
organizations, in 2007 she co-founded Gather For Good, an annual networking and fundraising event seeking to
raise funds for local nonprofit organizations. From 2009 to 2013, she served as a volunteer lecturer for Literacy
Action, a United Way Organization, and taught grooming and interviewing techniques to adults seeking to re-enter
the workforce. In 2012, she became a STEM community partner/volunteer to TAG-Ed. In 2015, her firm partnered
with the Atlanta John Marshall Law School, and in 2019 partnered with Georgia State University College of Law
and currently provides externship opportunities to law students seeking to learn the practice of Intellectual Property
and Entertainment Law.
In 2007, Ms. Lawrence received the Metro Atlanta Community Champion Award from MADD and was honored by
Rolling Out Magazine as one of Atlanta’s 25 Most Influential Women. In 2009, the Supreme Court of Georgia
appointed her as a Mentor in the Transition into Law Practice Program to assist newly admitted lawyers to the State
Bar of Georgia, and she currently participates as a mentor. During that same year, she also received The Token of
Appreciation Award from Music in the Metro, a non-profit organization located in Des Moines, Iowa for bringing
youth and the music industry together. In 2012, she was presented the Entertainment Lawyer of the Year Award by
Women of Wealth Magazine and was honored by ASCAP as one of The Women Behind the Music. In 2014, Ms.
Lawrence received the Chairman’s Award from the Entertainment, Sports & Art Law Section of the National Bar
Association. In 2015, she was honored with an Icon Award by Writing Sessions America – Atlanta, and Rolling Out
Magazine honored her as one of the Top 25 Women of Atlanta for the second time. In 2017, she was featured in
Attorney at Law Magazine as one of the attorneys to watch. In 2018, She received the Rising In Community
Excellence (R.I.C.E.) Award. In 2019, Ms. Lawrence was honored by Women of Wealth Magazine with the Women
In Music and Entertainment Award and received the inaugural Justice for All Award in Entertainment Law by
Rolling Out Magazine. Throughout the years 2006 through 2018, Ms. Lawrence has appeared in Who’s Who in
Black Atlanta.
Ms. Lawrence’s past Board affiliations include the United Way-African American Partnership, Smyrna Basketball
Association, Inc., The Atlanta Chapter of Jack and Jill, and the Black Entertainment Sports Lawyers Association
(BESLA) (2010 through 2017). During the years 2007 to 2011, Ms. Lawrence also served as a local advisory board
member to Branch, Banking and Trust (BB&T). She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Georgia Music
Partners (GMP), the Center Helping Obesity In Children End Successfully (C.H.O.I.C.E.S.), and Sickle Cell Disease
Association of America (SCDAA). Throughout the years, she has served as a member of various organizations,
including, but not limited to Atlanta Business League, the National Association of Recording Arts & Sciences,
Women in Film and Television Atlanta (WIFTA), the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, Pi Alpha
Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., American Bar Association, National Bar Association and the
Federal Bar Association.
Ms. Lawrence received her Degree of Bachelors of Business Administration in Marketing from Howard University
and Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore School of Law. She is admitted to practice law in Georgia in all
lower courts, State and Superior Courts, the United Stated District Court of the Northern District of Georgia,
Georgia Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of Georgia. Ms. Lawrence is the mother of two sons, who are also
Howard Bison.