Marc Korman, Class of 1989

Partner and agent at William Morris Endeavor

Marc Korman is a partner and agent in WME Entertainment’s TV Literary department, where he represents top show creators, executive producers and personalities working in the television industry. While he began his career working for the Cook County Public Defender’s office and then a local law firm, he eventually moved to Los Angeles to begin a career in entertainment. Korman launched his career in LA in legal and business affairs at both the ABC Network and Fox Television Studios and then moved into representation as a manager for Michael Ovitz’s Artist Management Group. He joined the United Talent Agency in 2002 as an agent and was ultimately made partner. In 2008, he jumped to Endeavor Agency as a partner in their TV Literary Department. In 2009, Endeavor merged with William Morris Agency, the oldest talent agency in the world, to become WME Entertainment, one of the largest talent agencies in the world.

What was your favorite class?

There were a couple. I liked everything Professor Conviser taught, whether it was Corporations or Remedies. I also liked Professor Spak a lot. I think, weirdly, my favorite class was Legal Writing. It wasn't at first, but I grew in to it. I walked into law school somewhat illiterate and walked out knowing how to write.

What do you think has been the greatest challenge you've had to face?

Everybody saying no to me. I was a 37 year old guy, offering to work for free, begging people to give me a job and nobody said yes.

What has been your greatest professional achievement to date?

I don’t know that I’ve achieved that much, but I feel very lucky when I look at the clients that I represent, there are sort of household names, brands, shows and movies on my client list that the world knows. I’m proud to be part of a company that thinks the same way I do and is going to the same place that I’d like to go. There’s a lot more to do.

How would you persuade a potential student to attend Chicago-Kent?

I think that there are a lot of things. One, just the notion that if you’re trying to decide between going to a city law school or going to a  law school not in the city, going to a law school in the city is a phenomenal thing. If I had to choose between Chicago-Kent and the other Chicago law schools, or any other big city, I think, again, it still feels the same to me. It’s entrepreneurial; it’s grassroots. It’s intimate and it’s got a great education. Most of the people that I know, wherever they are, that are lawyers- most of them say that their law school experience did nothing to prepare them for either taking the bar or practicing law. Chicago-Kent did the exact opposite. It 100% prepared me to take the bar. Chicago-Kent taught the same way they taught you to prepare for the bar. Unbeknownst to me at the time, I was studying for the bar while I was in law school. It wasn't a theoretical law school in my opinion; it was pragmatic and applicable to the real world.

Who is your favorite Supreme Court Justice?

I’d probably say Earl Warren. He did a lot to change a lot of the more significant issues that still hold true in the country today. He did a lot to soften them. Race is still a huge issue, and I think he did more than anyone else in regards to that.

Do you have any advice for young attorneys just starting out today?

Don’t be discouraged by what you really want to do. If you know what it is that you really want to do, go do it. If you’re young enough and you don’t have real responsibility in your life and you have the choice, then choose something you really want to do. I find so many lawyers are miserable- they don’t like what they do and feel trapped. You don’t have to feel trapped. If you want to be a lawyer, fantastic. If you ultimately say, I love that I’m a lawyer, but I don’t want to practice law, fantastic for that, too. Just really do what you think you want to do. Weirdly, it’s not just a value of the education itself. It’s the perception of the value of the education.