3L Nora Fitton is interning with the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Legal and Regulatory Affairs Department in Las Vegas this fall.
While searching on the internet for entertainment law internships last summer, Fitton came upon the UFC opportunity. At the time, she wasn’t familiar with mixed martial arts (MMA), but at first blush, the internship seemed to offer the in-house entertainment law experience she was looking for. After a bit of research, it was clear the internship offered more than she had originally thought. While most other internships were more narrowly focused on specific aspects of entertainment law, the UFC internship offered significant exposure to intellectual property, entertainment law, and international law, as well as contract and employment law.
The application was fairly straight forward, which involved submitting a resume and answering a few contextual questions, and after a follow-up video interview, Fitton was offered the internship in late July. But she wasn’t out of the woods yet—accepting the internship required shuffling her academic plan. Luckily, Associate Dean Peg Frossard and Associate Director Jorden Levy of Career Services were there to help her reschedule courses and fit the internship into her long-term career goals.
“For any students out there thinking you’ve found the perfect opportunity, but you can’t make it work with your schedule, it is absolutely worth the extra effort to make it work.”
So far the internship is going great. Fitton has assisted with significant contractual and negotiation responsibilities, such as drafting and reviewing venue agreements, sponsorship contracts, merchandise agreements, fighter contracts, television agreements, and other entertainment-related agreements. She’s also gained experience working on various intellectual property issues, including anti-piracy and other unauthorized uses of content and UFC property.
We can only imagine what comes next for Ms. Fitton. Whatever it is, we can’t wait to read the headlines.
For other students interested in this internship, visit http://www.ufc.com/careers or feel free to contact Ms. Fitton at her John Marshall email address for more information.
