ABOUT US

Alexa Whiteside is the founder, CEO & Managing Partner of WAM Entertainment Law. With almost two decades of experience across the entertainment industry, Ms. Whiteside provides tailored transactional legal services to filmmakers, producers, content creators, distributors, and media companies in film, television, literary publishing, and digital media, with a particular passion for supporting creatives in bringing their unique and diverse stories to the public. Her practice spans the full content and intellectual property lifecycle, with concentrations in development and production financing, corporate formation and equity structuring, clearance and rights opinions, fair use analysis, talent and production agreements, distribution and licensing, catalogue management, and copyright and trademark prosecution and maintenance. She is licensed to practice in North Carolina, New York, and California.

With credits that include titles such as Sony’s A Man Called Otto, Netflix’s Voir and Race: Bubba Wallace, Amazon’s Something From Tiffany’s, Hartbeat’s Die Hart, Hart to Heart, and Headliners Only, Harlem Globetrotters: Play It Forward, and Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom: Protecting the Wild, Ms. Whiteside’s approach to entertainment law is shaped by years working both behind the camera and across the negotiating table. Her career began in New York City, where she worked as an independent producer, unit production manager, and casting associate during and after her undergraduate years at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, giving her firsthand insight into the on-set and pre-production realities of film and television. After earning her Juris Doctorate magna cum laude from Southwestern Law School, she joined a boutique entertainment firm in Beverly Hills, where she spent over seven years advising producers, distributors, and content creators across film, television, new media, live events, literary publishing, radio, and podcast content.

Before launching WAM, Ms. Whiteside served as Vice President of Business Affairs at the broadcast television producer and distributor Hearst Media Production Group, where she oversaw the company’s Standards & Practices, Programming, and Rights & Clearances teams across a content library of more than 4,500 episodes of children’s programming airing 52 weeks a year, including the Emmy Award-winning weekend educational/informational programming blocks airing on ABC, CBS, NBC, The CW, and Telemundo. She also led the company’s initial transition to industry-standard rights management software and the standardization of its copyright and clearance processes.

Ms. Whiteside’s work has been recognized by Super Lawyers Rising Stars, Chambers Spotlight North Carolina, and Variety’s Legal Impact Report. She is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Television Executives Peer Group, and a frequent industry speaker with appearances at the Sundance Film Festival, RiverRun International Film Festival, NewFilmmakers LA, the Alliance of Women Directors, and her alma mater NYU Tisch.

Beyond her legal practice, Ms. Whiteside has held continuous leadership roles within the North Carolina Bar Association and North Carolina Bar Foundation since relocating to North Carolina in 2019, including Co-Chair of the NCBF Pro Bono Committee (2024-26) and Section Chair of the NCBA Sports & Entertainment Law Section (2023-24). She also volunteers regularly as a pro bono attorney for programs such as NCBA’s Wills for Heroes, NC Lawyers on Call (4ALL), California Lawyers for the Arts, and New York Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.

Through her diverse experiences and unwavering dedication, Ms. Whiteside continues to make a significant impact in the entertainment industry. She is a passionate advocate for creatives, ensuring their legal interests are protected while preserving the integrity of their work.