March 13, 2026

Southwestern Law School Announces New Biederman Scholars, Top Honor in Entertainment, Media & Sports Law

Pictured left to right above: Oksana Aldendeshe, Jodi Schoenbrun Carter, Zara Davis, Gabrielle R. Dayton, Henry Hand, Connor Haviland, Dana Jacinto, Kobe R. Moreno, Marrisa Pomerance, Naomi L. Sirota, Alex Villa Torres, and Nolan Watt.

The 2025–26 cohort is recognized for academic excellence, writing, and industry engagement; scholars receive mentorship, externship priority, and entertainment-law leadership opportunities.

Southwestern Law School has selected 12 students as the 2025–26 Biederman Scholars, the institution’s highest honor for achievement in entertainment, media, and sports law. These scholars are selected through the Donald E. Biederman Entertainment, Media, and Sports Law Institute, a nationally recognized center of excellence that serves as the hub for Southwestern’s media-focused legal education. Chosen for their academic excellence, writing, and demonstrated industry engagement, the new scholars join a program built around mentorship, applied legal training, and a direct pathway into entertainment-industry externships and entertainment-law leadership opportunities.

“Entertainment law rewards attorneys who can think like lawyers and operate like deal partners—people who understand the business, the creative process, and the pressure points in a contract,” said Professor Orly Ravid, Associate Dean of Southwestern’s Donald E. Biederman Entertainment, Media, and Sports Law Institute. “The Scholars program is designed to identify and mentor excellent law students who exemplify that readiness —so students leave Southwestern well-educated and trained in how the industry actually works.” 

The 2025–26 Biederman Scholars

• Oksana Aldendeshe (3L Day) — A teaching assistant for Contracts and Civil Procedure, Law Review staff writer, and secretary of the Women’s Law Association, Aldendeshe is committed to advancing the legal rights of creative communities. She hopes to practice intellectual property law within the entertainment industry, representing visual artists or serving as in-house counsel to museums and cultural institutions.
• Jodi Schoenbrun Carter (2L Part-Time; Online J.D.) — A talent manager and founder of 1022m Management and Productions, Carter works with acting and writing clients in New York, Los Angeles, and London and has produced nine feature films and more than forty short films. A Dean’s Merit Scholar, Dean’s Fellow, peer mentor, and admissions ambassador, she also serves as a teaching assistant in multiple first-year subjects and holds leadership and committee roles supporting Southwestern’s Online J.D. cohort.
• Zara Davis (SCALE II) — A research assistant for Professor Michael Epstein, Dean’s Fellow, and teaching assistant for multiple classes, Davis is also a member of the Negotiation Honors Program, co-vice president of Mass Media Law Club, and a memo proof editor for the Journal of International Media & Entertainment Law. With a background as a production manager for music venues, she plans to pursue entertainment and music law, including copyright and trademark.
• Gabrielle R. Dayton (2L Day) — Dayton is interested in employment and entertainment law, focusing on how workplace rights, labor relations, and contracts shape creative careers. Through the Biederman Scholars Program, she looks forward to mentorship and exposure to the field’s distinct legal challenges and opportunities.
• Henry Hand (3L Day) — Hand’s work centers on sports law at the intersection of labor and employment. In his law review note, he examined the current Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) landscape for collegiate athletes and argued for federal legislation to support a more sustainable model. During his 2L summer at Seyfarth Shaw, he assisted in representing professional football teams across multiple matters.
• Connor Haviland (3L Day) — Haviland has built entertainment-industry experience through internships in talent management, production, and entertainment-focused litigation. He also spent two years working closely with mediators and arbitrators, including several focused on entertainment disputes. After graduation, he hopes to build a transactional practice advising clients on media deals and intellectual property strategy.
• Dana Jacinto (3L Evening) — A staff editor for the Southwestern Law Review and vice president of the Evening Program for the Student Bar Association, Jacinto is a multi-term Dean’s List honoree and a former Dean’s Fellow. She received Southwestern’s 2024 Best Brief Award and currently works as a Contract Analyst in the legal affairs department of a major film studio, with a goal of building a career in entertainment law.
• Kobe R. Moreno (2L Day) — A Dean’s Merit Scholar and member of Southwestern Law Review, Moreno is also a student editor for the Journal of International Media & Entertainment Law, an oralist in the Moot Court Honors Program, a teaching assistant, and a Dean’s Fellow. He completed a judicial externship and currently serves as a legal extern at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. He aims to pursue copyright and trademark litigation while expanding his transactional fluency.
• Marrisa Pomerance (2L Day) — Pomerance is exploring mass media and First Amendment law and hopes to build a civil litigation practice engaging issues where public discourse and emerging technologies intersect. She is active on campus as a law review staff editor, peer mentor, Dean’s Fellow, and Civil Procedure teaching assistant. Before law school, she spent nearly ten years working in digital media, publishing, and marketing.
• Naomi L. Sirota (3L Day) — Originally from Toronto, Sirota earned a degree in Business Management and worked in Technology & Innovation at a large Canadian bank before moving to Los Angeles for law school. She has gained experience primarily in copyright-focused work, including internships in transactional music and entertainment litigation settings. She hopes to advise clients on trademark, copyright, and complex licensing and deal structures.
• Alex Villa Torres (2L Day) — A first-generation law student, Villa Torres developed an interest in entertainment law through Copyright coursework and has pursued that focus in a Law Review note advocating stronger protections for tattoo artists whose work is replicated in digital mediums, including video games and generative AI. He hopes to support independent filmmakers, small content creators, and artists through pro bono work.
• Nolan Watt (2L Day) — Watt studied psychology and screenwriting at Chapman University and is one half of a screenwriting and directing partnership. His focus is entertainment financing, distribution, and dealmaking.

About the Biederman Institute

Southwestern’s Donald E. Biederman Entertainment, Media, and Sports Law Institute prepares students for entertainment-facing practice through a curriculum spanning entertainment, media, and sports law; applied learning opportunities; and close connections to Los Angeles’ creative industries. Students can also develop hands-on experience through Southwestern’s externship program, which offers placements across Southern California and beyond, including entertainment and in-house opportunities. 

Southwestern also supports creators and artists through the Entertainment & the Arts Legal Clinic, which is supported by the Golden Globe Foundation for the 2025–26 academic year.