Most people imagine that entertainment lawyers spend their days negotiating recording contracts or reviewing movie deals. But for Dallas-based attorney Levi McCathern, the job is much more straightforward: He solves problems. Big ones. The kind that could cost Jerry Jones the entire Dallas Cowboys franchise or that stripped a Heisman Trophy from one of college football’s greatest running backs.
From small-town preacher to big-city lawyer
McCathern’s path to becoming one of entertainment’s most trusted legal minds started far from the bright lights of Hollywood or the NFL. After growing up in Snyder, Texas, with a preacher father and a teacher mother, he knew his future would involve public speaking. “The only three occupations I could think of that did that were preaching, politics or being an attorney,” McCathern says.
After a brief stint as a teenage preacher and ruling out politics due to his distaste for politicians, McCathern found his calling in law. He completed both his undergraduate degree and law degree at Baylor University before landing at Godwin and Carlton, one of Dallas’s largest firms, in 1993.
The case that changed everything
McCathern’s entry into entertainment law came through an unexpected connection with Jerry Jones, Jr., son of the Dallas Cowboys owner. After becoming the youngest partner in his firm’s history, McCathern started his own practice and initially served as local counsel for some Cowboys cases. But everything changed when Jones Sr. faced a potential judgment ranging from $225 million to $675 million—more than the Cowboys were worth at the time.
“Jerry lost and was very angry at the big national firm,” McCathern recalls. “He called me and asked me who he should replace them with, and I said, ‘Me.’” At just 28 years old, McCathern not only reversed the judgment but also secured a $1.6 million return for Jones. He’s been the Cowboys’ go-to attorney ever since.
High-stakes problem-solver
Today, McCathern describes his practice with one simple phrase: “high-profile problem-solving.” His client roster reads like a who’s who of entertainment and sports, from singer Chris Brown to NFL star Reggie Bush. Each client comes with unique challenges that require creative solutions beyond traditional legal strategies.
Take his work with Chris Brown, for instance. When the singer faced allegations about an altercation that followed a concert, McCathern’s approach wasn’t to prepare for a lengthy court battle—it was to find a resolution that protected his client’s interests while avoiding the spotlight of a public trial. Similarly, when band members from Journey needed legal intervention, McCathern’s focus remained on solving the immediate problem rather than prolonging the conflict.
“A lot of lawyers think that the only solutions to problems are in a courtroom,” McCathern says. While he acknowledges that sometimes the threat of litigation is necessary to encourage reasonable behavior, it often results in a lose-lose for everyone involved. His primary goal is always to find solutions before stepping foot in a courtroom.
This approach is particularly effective in the entertainment industry, where time is often as valuable as money to clients. “They need immediate answers,” McCathern explains. “It needs to be dealt with right then on an expedited basis and not litigated over for three years.”
The entertainment law difference
Entertainment law isn’t just about bigger names and higher stakes. McCathern notes that entertainers face more legal touchpoints than almost any other profession. For example, every single time a singer or band appears, there are dozens of contracts to contend with between the venue, other performers and merchandise sellers, to name a few.
“One of the things that I think makes me different [from] a lot of attorneys, and what I think all entertainers look for, is kind of a point man,” McCathern explains. “I can direct them to all of the different folks if they have an intellectual property issue about their music. If you’re an athlete [and] you got a personal injury—sports-related or non-sports-related—what are we going to do about that? If you’ve got a litigation because they’re high profile, there’s a lot more fake allegations made against entertainers than against anybody else. And a lawyer can help you not only prepare to avoid those kind of situations but also resolve them when they have them.”
The celebrity legal paradox
McCathern says that one of the biggest misconceptions celebrities face is that they get preferential treatment in the legal system. “In my experience, it’s really actually the opposite,” he says. “The more successful you are, you become more of a target, and people have their eye on you.”
This heightened scrutiny manifests in various ways. “If you or I are in a car wreck, it’s never going to be in the news,” McCathern explains. “But if Jerry Jones is in a car wreck or Dak Prescott, one of my other clients, it’s going to be on every news network in Dallas that night, and maybe some national stuff.”
The exposure extends beyond media attention too. “If you’re at the movie theater and somebody falls down the stairs next to you, nobody’s going to blame you,” McCathern says. “But, in my experience, if you’re at somebody’s concert and somebody gets hurt, they always seem to find a way to blame the performer. So there’s so much more exposure to them than the average person.”
Winning the unwinnable
McCathern’s approach shone in his successful campaign to restore Reggie Bush’s Heisman Trophy. Where other attorneys had failed, McCathern succeeded by focusing on solutions outside the courtroom. The case exemplified his firm’s motto: “improving people’s lives.”
“Every time I get exactly what my client wanted—especially if other attorneys have tried to get it and were unsuccessful—it’s the most satisfying thing,” McCathern says. “There’s just nothing more rewarding than that.”
For McCathern, it all comes back to solving problems. Whether he’s representing a global superstar or a local family, his approach remains the same: Find solutions early, avoid unnecessary litigation and never forget that behind every case is a person whose life you’re trying to improve.
This article originally appeared in the May/June 2025 issue of SUCCESS® magazine. Photo by Kris Hundt.