
Deborah earned her Juris Doctorate of Law from Stanford Law School in Palo Alto, California, where she studied in a joint degree program for the Law and Communications Schools. Deborah was a summa cum laude graduate of Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Georgia, earning her Bachelor of Science degree in the Management School. Prior to joining John Mason Partners in Nashville, she was General Counsel of Landmark Entertainment Group in Hollywood, California -- a 400-employee company with worldwide projects in music, theater, themeparks, film, and television. Deborah was initially in charge of music business affairs for Landmark, and subsequently took over all legal and business affairs for the company, including international projects completed in Japan, Spain and Korea.
She served two terms in Los Angeles as liaison for the Tennessee Film, Music and Entertainment Commission Advisory Committee, as well as over seven years as a full-time and adjunct Professor at both Middle Tennessee State University's College of Mass Communications/Department of Recording Industry, and Georgia State University's School of Music. Her specialization in international issues has taken her on a regular basis to the United Kingdom, including London professional externships with Virgin Records UK and EMI Records UK, as well as with Russell's Solicitors -- a leading entertainment law firm in England. Deborah forged the way for the American Airlines International Recording Industry Fellowship, which provided a summer college student internship in London or Dublin, with entertainment entities including Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) - U.K. and CMT-Europe. The Grammy organization (NARAS) appointed Deborah to assemble and moderate its semi-annual conference entitled "International Record Markets" with leading worldwide record label executives which was held on July 11, 1996. Deborah has been appointed to several prominent entertainment industry Boards of Directors, including the Tennessee Repertory Theater, Nashville Entertainment Association and the Nashville Screenwriters Conference. A seasoned speaker, Deborah was invited to speak on royalty issues at both the Legal Strategies Institutes in Los Angeles in 1999, and in New York City in 2000. Deborah attended the London Millennium meeting of the American Bar Association in July 2000,and was subsequently invited to address the joint Intellectual Property and Science & Technology Committees event at the ABA's Annual Meeting in Chicago, August 5, 2001, serving on the panel with counsel for each of Napster and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Deborah is a member of Paris-based International Association of Entertainment Lawyers (IAEL), and a published author for the IAEL Quarterly. She most recently spoke for the documentary panel of the Hollywood Film Festival on August 3, 2001 in Los Angeles.