Entrevista a Staci Riordan: abogada referente de California en Fashion Law



Los Angeles, California. La cuna de la industria del entretenimiento por excelencia, podríamos decir.

Sin perder de vista la estrecha relación que esa especialización guarda con el Derecho de la Moda, éste se impone y abre paso.

Staci Riordan, una abogada que actualmente reside allí, vio la necesidad de especializarse, motivada sin lugar a dudas por su historia familiar, ligada a la industria de la moda.

Socia del estudio Fox Rothschild y a cargo del Departamento de Derecho de la Moda de la firma, dicta un curso sobre Fashion Law en la Universidad Loyola y nos cuenta como es trabajar dedicada full time a la industria y sus planes para el futuro!


Hi Staci. First of all, thank you for this interview. You are a great reference regarding Fashion law, and is an honor for us to have you on the blog.

 You are a partner at Fox Rothschild in Los Angeles, and Co-chair of the Fashion Law practice group, tell us about your work and the experiences you had working on that field. What is fashion law for you?


Fashion Law is an interdisciplinary law practice.  As it focuses on an industry, very much like Entertainment law,  you need to know about many different areas of law, such as venture capital and banking, employment, international trade, and my favorite, intellectual property.  I love being able to work on brand building and brand extension strategy and implementation.  Being able to take creative and technical concepts and explain them to a judge or a jury is a great passion of mine.  By combining my years as a fashion industry executive with my legal experience, I speak the same language as my clients which helps me quickly understand their issues and guide them to the best possible resolution.

 What do you think about the possibility to apply copyright law to fashion garments? Do you think it is possible to protect fashion designs? Do you think it is useful? What is your opinion on the book "The Knockoff Economy" and the vision it gives? 



I am not in favor of applying existing copyright to fashion  garments.  The Fashion industry is thriving and sales are growing at all segments of the market, especially at the high ended (i.e. designer, bridge and couture).  More laws and regulations would impair commerce and cause a great deal of uncertainty in the market place.  It would increase costs, which would be passed on to the consumer and will put many companies out of business.  It would also greatly affect a fashion companies ability to get financing from banks and factors.
I loved the knock-off Economy and think Chris and Kal were spot on.  I am a big fan of their blog,  and work in general.

 What is your opinion on the US Fashion Bill?


It is wasting time and resources, which are better spent elsewhere.   It has failed to pass 6 times, and I am hoping its supporters have enough sense not to try for a seventh.  As stated above, I do not think the US needs this bill and I have been a vocal opponent, both when I spoke, in writing and on my blog.

 Tell us about your current experience as a Fashion law teacher at Loyola Law School.


I love teaching and am grateful that Loyola is giving me this opportunity and that its students were passionate and persistent enough to help convince the administration to add the class.  Dean Scott, in addition to Dean Gold, have been instrumental in establishing the Fashion Law class, and we have had such positive feedback, we are going to expand the program into a multi-semester one and are planning to add a summer program for the summer of 2014.

 What are your plans for the future?


Hopefully coming to Argentina!  I want to see Fashion Law taught in law schools across the world, following in the footsteps of Entertainment law.  I am honored to help Loyola Law School develop its program and forever indebted to Fox Rothschild for believing in my dreams and giving me a platform to create and lead a National Fashion Law Practice.  We are actively looking for lateral talent and hope to grow this practice area in all of our offices.  Lastly, and most importantly, I want to continue providing excellent service to clients, both in the litigation arena and transactional space.  To add value and watch a company grow and succeed is a great reward.

Thank you Staci!!