Key Takeaways
- • Akin Gump has appointed Rory Wellever as head of its music practice in the Chicago office, elevating the firm's media, entertainment & sports division and signaling strategic expansion into music industry transactions.
- • Wellever joins from Kirkland & Ellis as a partner with expertise spanning music rights and royalties, M&A, licensing, intellectual property, and technology transactions across the music sector.
- • The hire represents part of a broader Chicago office expansion that includes recent additions of investment management partners, infrastructure M&A specialists, and tax professionals, demonstrating Akin's commitment to scaling its transactional capabilities.
- • Akin's music practice will now serve a broader client ecosystem including sponsors, publishers, record labels, songwriters, and performing artists, while leveraging the firm's 1,000+ attorney global platform and established media, entertainment & sports practice.
- • The appointment strengthens Akin's positioning in music industry M&A and corporate finance, a sector experiencing significant activity in rights acquisitions, catalog transactions, and technology-enabled licensing arrangements.
Summary
Akin Gump announced the appointment of Rory Wellever as head of its music practice, effective immediately in the firm's Chicago office. Wellever, a former Kirkland & Ellis partner, brings established expertise in music industry transactions and intellectual property matters, positioned to expand Akin's existing media, entertainment & sports practice into deeper music sector coverage.
Wellever's practice focuses on the intersection of intellectual property, media and entertainment, technology, and commercial transactions. His advisory work encompasses music rights and royalties management, M&A transactions, outsourcing agreements, business-to-business and business-to-consumer licensing, joint development arrangements, and data privacy matters. His client portfolio spans sponsor clients, publishers, record labels, songwriters, and performing artists—representing a comprehensive stakeholder base across the music industry value chain. According to Chris Spicer, head of Akin's media, entertainment & sports practice, Wellever has "advised on top-tier matters related to the music and entertainment sector," positioning him as a recognized practitioner in the space.
The hire reflects Akin's strategic expansion in the entertainment sector and follows a series of recent Chicago office additions, including investment management partner Wendy Dodson Gallegos (partner-in-charge of Chicago), infrastructure M&A partners Jason Wagenmaker and Joshua La Vigne, investment management partner Jessica Pan, and tax partner Chris Odell. This talent accumulation indicates coordinated growth across multiple practice areas within the office.
Akin co-chair Abid Qureshi framed the appointment as "a significant step in the continued evolution of our market-leading media, entertainment & sports practice," emphasizing that Wellever's music industry knowledge expands the firm's capabilities across multiple media asset classes. The firm currently operates more than 1,000 lawyers across offices in the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, with an established 300+ lawyer corporate and finance team serving alternative capital providers, public and private companies, and institutional clients in M&A, debt financing, and capital markets transactions globally.
Wellever's entry into Akin positions the firm to capture increased institutional demand for sophisticated music industry counsel, particularly as music catalog acquisitions, streaming licensing arrangements, and technology-enabled music rights management continue to drive transactional activity across the sector.
Wellever's practice focuses on the intersection of intellectual property, media and entertainment, technology, and commercial transactions. His advisory work encompasses music rights and royalties management, M&A transactions, outsourcing agreements, business-to-business and business-to-consumer licensing, joint development arrangements, and data privacy matters. His client portfolio spans sponsor clients, publishers, record labels, songwriters, and performing artists—representing a comprehensive stakeholder base across the music industry value chain. According to Chris Spicer, head of Akin's media, entertainment & sports practice, Wellever has "advised on top-tier matters related to the music and entertainment sector," positioning him as a recognized practitioner in the space.
The hire reflects Akin's strategic expansion in the entertainment sector and follows a series of recent Chicago office additions, including investment management partner Wendy Dodson Gallegos (partner-in-charge of Chicago), infrastructure M&A partners Jason Wagenmaker and Joshua La Vigne, investment management partner Jessica Pan, and tax partner Chris Odell. This talent accumulation indicates coordinated growth across multiple practice areas within the office.
Akin co-chair Abid Qureshi framed the appointment as "a significant step in the continued evolution of our market-leading media, entertainment & sports practice," emphasizing that Wellever's music industry knowledge expands the firm's capabilities across multiple media asset classes. The firm currently operates more than 1,000 lawyers across offices in the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, with an established 300+ lawyer corporate and finance team serving alternative capital providers, public and private companies, and institutional clients in M&A, debt financing, and capital markets transactions globally.
Wellever's entry into Akin positions the firm to capture increased institutional demand for sophisticated music industry counsel, particularly as music catalog acquisitions, streaming licensing arrangements, and technology-enabled music rights management continue to drive transactional activity across the sector.
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