PRACTICES
Business and Commercial LitigationContract Disputes
Entertainment and Sports Law
EDUCATION
University of California at Los Angeles School of Law, Los Angeles, CaliforniaJ.D., Doctor of Jurisprudence - 1985
Honors: UCLA National Moot Court Team
Honors: Elected to National Order of Barristers
Honors: Teaching Assistant, Legal Research & Writing
Honors: Melvin Belli Advocacy Scholarship Recipient
Honors: Winner, Distinguished Advocate Award
California State University, Northridge, California
B.A., Bachelor of Arts summa cum laude - 1982
Honors: Best Writer Award, Journalism Department
Honors: National and State awards for speech, debate, and dramatic arts
Honors: Kappa Tau Alpha Journalism Honor Society
Major: Journalism
Minor: Speech Communication
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Michigan
ADMISSIONS
Texas, 1985U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit
U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas
Sally C. Helppie
Of Counsel
V-Card
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WRITER-AGENT CLASH: Over Packaging & Producing Cash03/20/2020
This article was scheduled to be presented at the SXSW Film Festival on March 20, 2020.
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"Off-Screen Behavior Matters: Morals Clauses for Performers"01/30/2020
This article was presented at the SXSW Film Festival in March 2018.
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"A Producer Comes Calling: Five Essential Steps to Protect Your Writer-Client"01/30/2020
This article was originally published in the DBA Headnotes in January 2017.
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Sally C. Helppie Selected Articles and Presentations
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS and PRESENTATIONS
- Behind the Screens: Navigating Hollywood’s Labor Landscape—Guilds, Unions and Strikes, Dallas Bar Association Entertainment Law Boot Camp, December 2023.
- Lights, Camera…Oops!, Tryon International Film Festival, October 2023.
- Exploiting Government Works for Fun and Profit, Dallas Bar Association Headnotes 2021
- Writer-Agent Clash: Over Packaging and Producing Cash, scheduled article and presentation at SXSW Film Festival, March 2020.
- The Legal World of YouTube Influencers, Dallas Bar Association's Entertainment, Art & Sports Law Section CLE, January 2020.
- Deal-Making in Films, Women’s Texas Film Festival, panel member 2019
- Finding the Story and Editing Ethically, DocuFest Film Festival, panel member 2018
- Behavior Matters: Morals Clauses in the Entertainment Industry, Dallas Bar Association Headnotes 2018
- Offscreen Behavior Matters: Morals Clauses for Performers, SXSW Film Festival 2018
- Previewing the Oscars, Think with Krys Boyd, NPR Radio 2018
- Networking Skills, Production Boot Camp, Women in Film—Dallas 2017
- A Producer Comes Calling: five essential steps to protecting your writer-client, Dallas Bar Association Headnotes 2017
- Back to the Drawing Board: Legal Issues in the Animation Industry, Dallas Bar Association CLE 2016
- Ethics and TV Lawyers, Mack Taylor Inn of Court 2016
- Clearing Films for E&O Insurance and Handling the Claims That Are Sure to Follow, 26th Annual Entertainment Law Institute co-presenter 2016
- Copyright Basics: Celebrating the Creator, Dallas Bar Association Headnotes 2016
- Independent Film Financing Beyond PPMs, 25th annual Entertainment Law Institute 2015
- Why Do I Need a Lawyer? Legal Panel, Dallas International Film Festival 2015
- It’s Only a Movie, Legal Panel on ethics, State Bar of Texas Convention 2015
- The Works and Career of John Avildsen, SMU 2015
- Current Trends in Film and Television Finance, Entertainment Law Institute 2014
- Guilds and Unions in a Right to Work State, Entertainment Law Institute 2014
- Introduction to Entertainment Law: What To Know Before You Shoot, Christian Media Association National Convention 2014
- DIY Media Distribution: Eliminating the Middleman, Dallas Bar Association Headnotes 2014
- Making Money in a Digital Age, Dallas Bar Association Entertainment Law Boot Camp 2013
- Fifteen Minutes of Fame: Reality TV Shows, Dallas Bar Association Headnotes 2012
- Today’s Contract, Tomorrow’s Lawsuit: Entertainment Contracts from the Litigator’s Perspective, Entertainment Law Institute 2012
- So You Want To Be In Pictures: Does it pay to loan your property for a movie location? Dallas Bar Association Headnotes 2012
- Copyright Basics and Script Clearance, El Paso Classic Film Festival 2011
- Film Distribution for the Independent Producer: Strategies and Negotiations, Entertainment Law Institute 2010
- Coming to a Theater Near You: From Script to Screen, Dallas Bar Association Headnotes, 2010
- Add a Dash of Lawyer: A Recipe For Successful Film and Television Production, Boot Camp for Lawyers and Non-Lawyers 2010
- Overview of Entertainment Law for Paralegals in Texas, Dallas Paralegals Association 2010
- Financing Independent Film Productions, Entertainment Law Institute 2009
- Independent Film Production in Texas: Combining the Legal with the Creative, Dallas Bar Association 2008
- Litigation Ethics, Stromar Legal Education Seminar 2001
- Updates on Evidence, Stromar Legal Education Seminar, 2000
- How to Present Financial Information at Trial, South Texas College of Law 1999
- Theming a Case for Trial, DBA Bench/Bar Conference 1999
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Sally C. Helppie University Courses
·· University Courses
- Adjunct Professor, SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts, Producers' Seminar, 2011 - 2021
- Adjunct Professor, SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts, Media Career Preparation course, 2015 - 2021
- Adjunct Professor of Law, SMU Dedman School of Law, Entertainment Law I and II, 2017 - 2021
- Director and Adjunct Clinical Professor of Law, SMU Dedman School of Law, Small Business and Trademark Clinic, 2016 - 2020
- Guest Lecturer, Texas A&M Law School, University of North Texas Law School, Texas Christian University, KD College, Dallas Institute of the Arts, The University of Michigan