Joel A. Katz Will Receive City Of Hope’s Top Honor

Entertainment lawyer Joel A. Katz of Greenberg Traurig will be recognized with the City of Hope’s 2016 Spirit of Life Award.

Katz is chair of the Global Entertainment and Media Practice of Greenberg Traurig. He will be honored with the award by City of Hope’s Music, Film and Entertainment Industry group at a gala in Los Angeles on Nov. 10. The presentation follows a year-long fundraising campaign that supports City of Hope’s ability to quickly speed new therapies and scientific breakthroughs to patients who need them.

City of Hope is a world leader in cancer and diabetes research and treatment. The award is City of Hope’s highest honor, and each year recognizes a leader whose work has fundamentally impacted the music, film and entertainment industries.

“City of Hope is proud to honor Joel this year in recognition of his support of our mission,” said Robert W. Stone, president and chief executive officer of City of Hope. “We deeply appreciate Joel’s unwavering commitment to our Spirit of Life campaign which propels our innovative research and treatments that outsmart deadly diseases — one patient at a time.”

“It is my honor to receive The Spirit of Life Award from City of Hope. I congratulate this organization in launching this outstanding fundraising campaign which supports the physicians and scientists who are dedicated to developing innovative, disease-fighting strategies in the battle against cancer,” Katz said.

Katz began his career in 1971 leading his own law practice, Katz, Smith and Cohen, which became one of the nation’s largest entertainment law firms. In 1988, when Katz merged his thriving practice with Greenberg Traurig, his client list had expanded to include some of the nation’s most renowned entertainers.

His first client was music icon, James Brown, followed by B.B. King, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, who remains a client to this day.

His and Greenberg Traurig’s client roster grew rapidly to include more than 50 celebrated artists, among them Kix Brooks, Jimmy Buffett, Kenny Chesney, Ronnie Dunn, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, George Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Little Big Town, Brad Paisley, George Strait, and others.

In addition, Katz and Greenberg Traurig serve a number of corporate clients such as Big Machine Label Group, BMG Rights Management GmbH, Country Music Association, Dick Clark Productions, Jason Owen and Sandbox Management, and National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.