Lita Rosario-Richardson leads the Shulman Rogers Entertainment Practice and is widely regarded as one of the most experienced entertainment lawyers in the country on copyright ownership and catalog recovery.
Lita began her legal career as a corporate and securities attorney at Gaston Snow & Ely Bartlett and Shearman & Sterling, before moving on to entertainment as a co-founder and vice president of business and legal affairs for the music production company that produced multi-platinum artists including Dru Hill, Mya, and Sisqo. She later transitioned into private practice, representing recording artists and creators such as Missy Elliott, Crystal Waters, Pete Rock, AZ, Tank, and CeCe Peniston.
A significant part of Lita’s practice involves securing back royalties and recovering ownership rights for artists and estates. Her work has included catalog recovery and royalty collection for Big Pun’s Estate, EPMD, Das EFX, and Big Daddy Kane, as well as copyright recapture for Afrika Bambaataa and Soul Sonic Force. She has also represented members and former members of Parliament Funkadelic, including George Clinton and Garry Shider, former members of Cameo, Mr. Cheeks, Robin S, and others in connection with iconic recordings including Atomic Dog, One Nation Under a Groove, Candy, and Word Up.
In addition to her transactional work, Lita serves as a trusted advisor in complex copyright and authorship disputes involving high-profile works, including Who Let the Dogs Out, Suit & Tie, Blame It on the Alcohol, and Thong Song. She has acted as an expert or consultant in litigation matters involving Lauryn Hill, Ne-Yo, and the estates of Zapp, Wayne Wonder, Sean Levert, and Gerald Levert.
Lita regularly negotiates recording, publishing, distribution, licensing, talent, and production agreements with major entertainment companies including Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and Universal Music Group, as well as networks and platforms including NBC, Disney, BET, MTV, and Universal Pictures. Her experience includes reality television and competition series such as Big Brother, Married to Medicine, and American Song Contest.
Lita’s litigation and appellate work has produced favorable decisions in the Second and Eleventh Circuits, including matters involving Suit & Tie and KC and the Sunshine Band, and she assisted with a Ninth Circuit appeal on behalf of George Clinton concerning Funkadelic master recordings. She has contributed to amicus briefs in federal appellate and Supreme Court matters involving copyright infringement and termination rights, and has authored a petition for writ of certiorari on statute of limitations issues under the Copyright Act.
Lita has lobbied Congress on copyright issues, held leadership roles with the Recording Academy’s Washington, D.C. Chapter and the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association, and previously served as chair of the D.C. Bar’s Arts, Entertainment, Media and Sports Law Section. She taught entertainment law for more than 25 years at the University of the District of Columbia Music Department and for more than five years at American University’s Kogod School of Business.
She earned her J.D. from Howard University School of Law and is admitted to practice in New York, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Lita has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America for Copyright Law and was named Entertainment Lawyer of the Year by the National Bar Association.
