About
Julie N. Samuels, Attorney at Law, is an independent legal consultant focused on digital media, arts, and entertainment law. Before founding Peppercorn Partners, she served as Senior Counsel at Artsy, Senior Manager of International Rights Clearance at Condé Nast, and General Counsel at the New York Opera.
Member in good standing of the New York State Bar
Licensed Notary Public in New York and New Jersey
Member of the New York State Bar Association and of the American Bar Association
Julie Samuels began her career working for Sherwin M. Goldman, a theatrical producer who toured "Porgy and Bess" globally. In her work for Goldman, Julie took her first steps toward a lifetime of negotiating. From insurance coverage to labor unions to royalties, Julie's work covered the gamut of the performing arts.
Julie went to New York Law School at night while continuing to work for Goldman. After law school, she moved to the New York City Opera, becoming its General Counsel and the Business Manager of its touring company, a bus and truck tour with an annual operating budget of $3M. Her resume continued to grow and now included negotiations covering agreements such as (but not limited to) rentals and co-productions, marketing and special events, and licensing deals with the biggest names in musical theater.
From New York City Opera, Julie went to Condé Nast, first as an analyst in its contract group and then as the manager of its international rights group. Working in the contract group further expanded Julie's negotiating experience as she was now working with photographers, illustrators, and writers on contracts that would govern their work for the company. In her role as Senior Manager of International Rights Clearance, Julie was responsible for the annual syndication of more than 200K pieces of content globally to the Condé Nast International brands, now interpreting the agreements that she had once negotiated. Julie's work in this role was also one of liaison with the editorial and business teams of the Condé Nast US brands as well as Condé Nast International in London.
In September 2017, Julie joined Artsy as its Counsel after a brief stint with them as a contract attorney. She was delighted to be working to further expand her contract work to include auctions, consignments, and art fairs as well as employment and independent contractor agreements. Julie was a key stakeholder in the continuing roll out of Artsy’s marketplace and the impact of the Wayfair decision on it, and worked closely with Artsy’s product, platform, and marketing teams. At Artsy, Julie spearheaded the company's work toward GDPR and CCPA compliance. Julie was promoted to the position of Senior Counsel in July 2019.
In March 2020 Julie decided to focus her attention on her individual clients and continue to build Peppercorn Partners. Julie now represents creative professionals in the fields of e-commerce, photography, fine art, public art, PR, and digital technology.