Cheryl L. Davis is the General Counsel of the Authors Guild. She is a former partner at the firm of Menaker & Herrmann LLP, a general commercial practice firm in New York City. She is a litigator who concentrates in intellectual property matters (particularly copyright and trademark cases), employment, and real estate/construction related matters. She has counseled architects and design professionals on how to protect their intellectual property, and has made multiple industry presentations on the topic. She is also a co-author of Law for Architects: What You Need to Know.

Professional & Community Involvement:

• Diversity Co-Liaison of the ABA Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries and Vice Chair of the Arts and Museums Committee of that Forum
• Co-Chair of the Diversity Committee for the Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section for the New York State Bar Association
• General Counsel for the League of Professional Theatre Women
• Vice President of Theater Resources Unlimited, and a former member of the Theater Panel of the New York State Council on the Arts
• New York City Committee of the Law Firm Access to Justice Campaign Committee of Legal Services of the Hudson Valley, Inc.
• Participated in a NEA panel on Musical Theater

Representative Speaking Engagements:

• Panel Member in a program entitled “Architecture Law: Contract Negotiation, Intellectual Property and Claims” presented by Hudson Valley Bank
• Presentation on “Copyright and Intellectual Property Law” to National Academy of Neuropsychology
• Presentation on “Intellectual Property and Architects” (both live and webinar)
• Presentations on “Contracts, Options and Underlying Rights” and “Differences between Commercial and Not-for-Profit Theater” to theatrical producers, for which she was interviewed by NY1 (Theater Producers Strategize To Ensure Their Shows Go On)
• Presentations on employment issues, such as Social Media Concerns in 2015, Sexual Harassment and the “Employee Who Complains”

Publications:

• “Intellectual Property: A Two-Edged Sword,” Inside, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Fall 2012).
• “Building Your Business: Protecting Your Intellectual Property,” Form: Pioneering Design, August 2014.
• “Disputes in China,” Inside, Vol. 30, No. 3 (Winter 2012), co-written with Yao Fu Bailey.
• Contributed to Law for Architects: What You Need to Know.