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He became known as "the contract-buster," and it was said that "record companies often chose to settle rather than litigate when they were informed that he was hired.
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Don Engel
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He also represented corporations and people in the publishing industry. Engel was an attorney in New York City, specializing in publishing law, but he moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s. Among the popular stars who sought him out to help in revising or canceling their recording contracts were Don Henley, Donna Summer and the band Boston.
Entertainment attorney Chris Castle said that "In many important ways, what we have come to call the artists rights movement in the United States. started with Don Engel"s representation of artists against record companies who overreached."
Engel argued successfully in court that California law stated that some contracts could not be extended past seven years.
In 1944, that argument allowed actress Olivia de Havilland to end her contract with the Warner Brothers studio. Another notable client was Olivia Newton-John, who was sued by Master of Computer Applications in 1975 when she wanted to end her contract.
"In a victory for Newton-John, courts decided that Master of Computer Applications couldn’t extend her contract past seven years even if she failed to perform under lieutenant" But that led the California legislature to change the law so that artists who didn’t fulfill their commitment during the term of a deal could be sued for “lost profits” on uncompleted albums. Other artists then began working to renegotiate or end their contracts as well.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Engel "was able to pave the way for Donna Summer to go from Casablanca Records to Geffen Records, Sammy Hagar from Capitol Records to Geffen, Teena Marie from Motown Records to Columbia Broadcasting System and Boston from Columbia Broadcasting System to Master of Computer Applications." Other clients were Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones, the Jacksons, Don Henley, Stevie Nicks, Cher, Clint Black, the Dixie Chicks, Janis Ian, Joan Jett, Meat Loaf, Rod Stewart, Van Halen, Leiber & Stoller, Doc McGhee, Farah Fawcett, Jay Bernstein, Kasseem Dean, Don Cornelius, Robert Wagner, Stephanie Powers, Sydney Sheldon, the West.C. Fields estate and the Hopalong Cassidy character.
In publishing, he represented Simon & Schuster, Grosset & Dunlap and Golden Books. Corporate clients included Harcourt Brace and Sea World, Interscope, Motown, Master of Computer Applications, Walt Disney Company, Lorimar and Paramount.
