Attorneys At Law
Since his undergraduate days at New York University in the early 1980’s, Nicholas Ferrara has been actively involved in the music industry. Nick cites fellow NYU classmate Jason Flom (founder of Lava Records and former CEO of Atlantic Records) as being instrumental in Nick’s initial entrée into the business.
After earning his Juris Doctor from Fordham Law School in 1986, Nick practiced entertainment law and corporate litigation for three years. On the strength of relationships dating back to his college days, in 1989, Nick joined Atlantic Record’s A&R staff. In 1992, Nick partnered with Joseph Lloyd Serling and Wayne Rooks in the new firm of Serling Rooks & Ferrara LLP. Over the next two decades, the firm grew in both size and stature becoming one of the industry’s most prominent full service music business law firms.
In 2014, Nick relocated his practice to Nashville, Tennessee. Eager to embrace new challenges, in 2015 Nick and Robert “Riff” Pisarek founded Nicholas C. Ferrara & Associates PLLC.
A founding member of heavy metal icons “Overkill,” lead guitarist “Riff Thunder” dramatically altered his career path by trading in his Marshall stacks for stacks of case books and legal documents.
Recipient of a Paul W. Wildman Academic Scholarship, Robert attended Los Angeles’ Southwestern University School of Law, where his academic accomplishments earned him a seat on Law Review and a Dean’s Academic Scholarship, as well as two American Jurisprudence Awards.
Following his admittance to the California State Bar in 1992, Robert established his own entertainment law practice in Los Angeles. In 1997, he joined the Business & Legal Affairs Department of Relativity Records and its then-sister company RED Distribution. Subsequently, Robert was lured away by the offer to head up the Legal Department of Rawkus Records. Following the absorption of Rawkus into the Universal Music Group, Robert re-joined RED’s legal division. In early 2006, Robert accepted an offer to join the highly respected entertainment law firm Serling Rooks Ferrara McKoy & Worob, LLP.
In 2015, Robert became a founding partner in Nicholas C. Ferrara & Associates PLLC. For over two decades, Robert has been drawing upon his diverse legal background in his representation of recording artists, producers, record companies, music publishers, songwriters, personal managers, production companies and other entities and individuals in the entertainment industry.
Michael Ransom is a veteran of the entertainment industry whose career as a touring and recording artist has allowed him to build a broad legal practice that includes transactional negotiation and drafting, intellectual property protection, and high profile litigation. After graduating from the University of Tennessee College of Law with numerous awards and recognitions, Michael joined the firm of King & Ballow where he handled complex litigation matters ranging from copyright infringement to breach of recording agreements on behalf of artists, public figures, software companies, and many others. Taking the invaluable experience gained from litigating, Michael transitioned to a highly regarded transactional law firm where he honed his negotiation and drafting skills representing a wide range of entertainment industry clients. Michael joined Nicholas C. Ferrara & Associates, PLLC in 2021 and has continued growing a personal practice that includes international touring and recording artists, up and coming producers, major entertainment and software companies, and everything in between.
Ryan P. Noormohamed is an associate attorney at Nicholas Ferrara & Associates, PLLC who focuses his practice on transactional entertainment matters and intellectual property law. A native of Midland, Texas, Ryan received his B.S. in Political Science from Texas A&M University and his J.D. from Tulane University Law School in New Orleans, LA. Whilst at Tulane, Ryan was a member of the Tulane Journal of Intellectual Property and Technology and the vice president of the Tulane Entertainment and Art Law Society.
Prior to joining Nicholas Ferrara & Associates, PLLC, Ryan worked at Warner Music Group before opening his own solo practice in which he counseled clients on entertainment and intellectual property law. Since 2021, Ryan has been a co-chair of the Nashville Bar Association’s Entertainment, Sports, & Media Law Division. Ryan is also on the board of the Middle Tennessee Texas A&M Club and the Official Liverpool Supporters Club of Nashville and is a former member of SOLID and the Young Entertainment Professionals.
Outside of his legal work, Ryan enjoys playing soccer, smoking Texas style BBQ, and occasionally performing as a guitarist with various bands in the Nashville area.