First Friday Ethics: February 2026

Need ethics credit? We’ve got you covered! UT Law CLE’s First Friday Ethics features some of our best ethics speakers and presentations for a total of 3.00 hrs ethics credit. Fulfill your entire annual ethics requirement in Texas in one day! (1.00 hr ethics)Avoiding Ethical and Sanctions Risks using AI-Based Legal Research (Replay) Hundreds of lawyers and law firms around the country face sanctions or grievance problems resulting from the use of AI-based legal research. Learn how you can avoid the traps that snared your unfortunate colleagues.Scott Rothenberg, Law Offices of Scott Rothenberg - Bellaire, TX (0.50 hr ethics)Fifth Amendment: The Right Way and The Wrong Way (Replay) This presentation focuses on the application of the Fifth Amendment in a discovery context.Anjali Nigam [Accepted] The Nigam Law Firm, PLLC - Houston, TX (0.50 hr ethics)Don’t Forget to Check Your Boxes Before You Close (Replay)This presentation covers a few commonly overlooked items in the lender’s closing checklists that can have a detrimental impact on closing and closing timelines.Clinton J. Kuykendall [Accepted] Jackson Walker LLP - Houston, TX (1.00 hr ethics)Closing the Case and the File: How to Ethically Terminate a Representation When Completed (Replay) Explore the recommended procedures you should have in place to ethically handle both the intake side of client matters, but also what is involved in “closing” files.Claude E. Ducloux [Accepted] Attorney at Law - Austin, TX

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 3.00 hrs | 3.00 Ethics
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA, PA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 1/31/2027
  • First Friday Ethics: February 2026
    4.75 out of 5 stars
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    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
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$165   Add to Cart

Athletes and Entertainers Setting Up a Business Entity

Hear about issues to consider in structuring entities for professional athletes and entertainers.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 0.75 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 12/31/2026
  • Athletes and Entertainers Setting Up a Business Entity
    3.25 out of 5 stars
    What was the overall quality of the course (presentation, materials, and technical delivery)?
    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
    How would you rate the value of the materials provided as part of the course?

    Dane appeared to be unprepared.

$70   Add to Cart

Hooked on CLE: January 2026

THIS MONTH: Lyrics and Litigation: A Case Study on Drake's Legal Claims • Combining Storytelling and Themes for Successful Outcome • Mortgage Lending and the Economy • Protecting the Client and Their Plans from Interlopers and Do-Gooders • Indemnification Provisions in Private Company M&A • Readable Legal Writing

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 4.00 hrs | 1.00 Ethics
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA, PA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 12/31/2026
  • Hooked on CLE: January 2026
    4.23 out of 5 stars
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    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
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$99   Add to Cart

A Practical Guide to Trademark Registration

Learn the basics of trademark clearance searching, preparation of trademark applications, and common mistakes that may impede the path to trademark registration. 

Includes: Video Audio Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 1.00 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA, PA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 11/30/2026
  • A Practical Guide to Trademark Registration
    3 out of 5 stars
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    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
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$75   Add to Cart

Annual Entertainment Case Law "Roundup" (2025)

An annual roundup of notable court rulings, including Texas judicial decisions, that impact the practice of entertainment law.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 1.00 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA, PA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 11/30/2026
  • Annual Entertainment Case Law "Roundup" (2025)
    5 out of 5 stars
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    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
    How would you rate the value of the materials provided as part of the course?
$75   Add to Cart

Creative Billing for Creative Clientele

Explore some unique challenges to representing clients in the entertainment industry, including fees paid by third parties, flat fees, hybrid billing, and more.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 0.75 hr | 0.25 Ethics
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 11/30/2026
  • Creative Billing for Creative Clientele
    Not yet rated
$70   Add to Cart

Hooked on CLE: December 2025

THIS MONTH: The Rise of Immersive Sports and Entertainment Experiences • Outsmarting the Smartphone: Crucial Evidence Could be in Your Back Pocket • Risk Allocation in Technology Transactions • When and How to Enroll in Medicare Parts A, B, C, D • Secrets to a Successful Reply Brief • What is a Lawyer's Duty in a Democracy Under Duress

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 4.00 hrs | 1.00 Ethics
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA, PA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 11/30/2026
  • Hooked on CLE: December 2025
    4.22 out of 5 stars
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    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
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    Excellent course. Best one I've done with UT LAW CLE.

$99   Add to Cart

Incentives and Rebates: Saving Your Clients Money through the Texas Film Commission

Learn how to maximize your clients’ budgets by leveraging the Texas Film Commission’s incentive and rebate programs. Receive tips on the application process, eligibility requirements, and ways to unlock the highest possible savings for film and TV productions. 

Includes: Video Audio Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 0.50 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 11/30/2026
  • Incentives and Rebates: Saving Your Clients Money through the Texas Film Commission
    Not yet rated
$65   Add to Cart

Independent Finance Options for the Novice Filmmaker

Discuss the various means available to the novice filmmaker for raising the budget for a film including private equity and associated Securities Law issues, pre-sales, incentives, loans how they can be combined to raise the total amount needed. Explore the need for early involvement of production counsel so as to legally attach actors to make the financing easier to obtain.

Includes: Video Audio Paper

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 0.75 hr | 0.25 Ethics
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 11/30/2026
  • Independent Finance Options for the Novice Filmmaker
    Not yet rated
$70   Add to Cart

Is That Fair Use? Trademarks, Creativity, and the Law Post Rogers v Grimaldi

A case law review and practical application of balancing trademark rights and artistic expression in today’s media landscape.

Includes: Video Audio Paper

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 0.75 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 11/30/2026
  • Is That Fair Use? Trademarks, Creativity, and the Law Post Rogers v Grimaldi
    4 out of 5 stars
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    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
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$70   Add to Cart

Legal Issues for Content Creators and Influencers

Through this panel discussion, aspiring and experienced creator and influencer attorneys will have to opportunity to hear about the current trends and obstacles present when making deals on behalf of creator and influencer clients. Protecting your client’s IP is a must, but doing so while making the partners with whom your client is working happy can be an art. 

Includes: Video Audio Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 0.75 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 11/30/2026
  • Legal Issues for Content Creators and Influencers
    5 out of 5 stars
    What was the overall quality of the course (presentation, materials, and technical delivery)?
    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
    How would you rate the value of the materials provided as part of the course?
$70   Add to Cart

Lyrics and Litigation: A Case Study on Drake's Legal Claims Against UMG Recordings, Inc.

From the recording studio to the courtroom, discuss the legal claims arising from feuds between well-known recording artists. 

Includes: Video Audio Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 0.75 hr | 0.25 Ethics
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 11/30/2026
  • Lyrics and Litigation: A Case Study on Drake's Legal Claims Against UMG Recordings, Inc.
    Not yet rated
$70   Add to Cart

Minimizing Litigation Pitfalls When Negotiating Entertainment Contracts

Tips for lessening dispute risks in drafting and interpreting entertainment industry clauses.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 1.00 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA, PA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 11/30/2026
  • Minimizing Litigation Pitfalls When Negotiating Entertainment Contracts
    Not yet rated
$75   Add to Cart

Navigating NIL Deals and the Revenue-Sharing Era

Break down key terms in NIL agreements between athletes and agents, schools, collectives, and brands, offering practical guidance for compliance in a rapidly evolving regulatory environment. Address how schools are approaching revenue-sharing models amid ongoing Title IX, employment classification, and state law challenges. 

Includes: Video Audio Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 1.00 hr | 0.25 Ethics
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA, PA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 11/30/2026
  • Navigating NIL Deals and the Revenue-Sharing Era
    4.75 out of 5 stars
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    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
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    Very interesting. Informative. Brought up several issues that were new to me.

$75   Add to Cart

Public Art in Transition

Using a case study approach, explore the legal and contractual issues that arise when public art is deaccessioned – removed, relocated, or destroyed. Through real-world examples, this session examines what rights artists have in these situations, what responsibilities commissioners hold, and how to protect artistic intent through contract terms. And examine reversion clauses, ownership considerations, and key provisions in public art agreements, along with federal protections under the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA).

Includes: Video Audio Paper

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 0.75 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 11/30/2026
  • Public Art in Transition
    5 out of 5 stars
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    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
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$70   Add to Cart

Recording Agreements 101

Whether an artist enters into a recording agreement with an indie or major label, there are certain key deal points to negotiate. This presentation examines those with special attention given to emerging trends in these agreements.

Includes: Video Audio Paper

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 0.75 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 11/30/2026
  • Recording Agreements 101
    Not yet rated
$70   Add to Cart

The Path to Publication

An overview on the legal pathways to publication focusing on the contractual differences between traditional publishing, self-publishing, and hybrid publishing.

Includes: Video Audio Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 0.75 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 11/30/2026
  • The Path to Publication
    5 out of 5 stars
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$70   Add to Cart

The Reality of Reality TV Contracts: Can They Really Draft That?

Dive into the unconscionable--and likely tortious--contracts that producers send to reality television talent. Walk through various examples of actual, unbelievable, language you'll find in on-screen talent agreements and provide strategies for when and how you can push back against major producers and Networks in order to get the best deal for your client.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 0.75 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 11/30/2026
  • The Reality of Reality TV Contracts: Can They Really Draft That?
    Not yet rated
$70   Add to Cart

The Trouble with Tickets

The social contract between artists and fans on ticket availability and ticket prices has been under assault by resellers intent on commoditizing concert tickets using bots and other fraudster tools powered by the equivalent of payday lenders. Ticket scalpers have been targeted by state legislatures to shut down these practices along with resale of “speculative tickets” and other harmful practices. Discuss model legislation proposed by the Artist Rights Institute to help solve these harms.

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 1.00 hr
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA, PA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 11/30/2026
  • The Trouble with Tickets
    5 out of 5 stars
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    Interesting and informative

$75   Add to Cart

Hooked on CLE: July 2025

THIS MONTH: Is the Clock Ticking? A Discussion of TikTok's Legal Issues and the Platform's Future  • ​Interacting and Dealing with Difficult People: Ethically Working with All Kinds of Others • Demographic Trends and Characteristics in Texas • The Human’s Guide to Acquiring/Selling AI Companies: So What’s So Different? • Updated Texas Disciplinary Rules: What You Should Know

Includes: Video Audio Paper Slides

  • Total Credit Hours:
  • 4.00 hrs | 1.00 Ethics
  • Credit Info
  • TX, CA, PA
  • TX MCLE credit expires: 6/30/2026
  • Hooked on CLE: July 2025
    4.11 out of 5 stars
    What was the overall quality of the course (presentation, materials, and technical delivery)?
    Rate the overall teaching effectiveness and presentation skills of faculty for the course.
    How would you rate the value of the materials provided as part of the course?

    Good variety in topics - something for everyone Especially enjoyed Dee Dee Church and Monica Cruz and their topics.

    Great course! Thank you for putting together these topics.

$99   Add to Cart