Whether it’s the stage, the pulpit or the courthouse, Barry Neil Shrum has always sought an outlet for the creative streak running through him that led him to becoming one of the country’s leading entertainment attorneys.
As a youngster that meant playing drums in his brothers’ band, “Because that’s what everybody did in the ‘70s and 80s,” says the Lafayette, Tennessee native. Later he became a seminary student where he dug deeply into his spiritual sensibilities and earned a master’s degree before pivoting to the law.
“My desire at that time was to write books and pontificate, so when I went to law school, the people at the church where I pastored and taught said, ‘You took such a left turn,’” Shrum says. “But when you think about it, it’s just a different kind of law.”
Shrum began practicing with a Center City Philadelphia law firm, but soon thereafter formed his own practice called the Arts & Entertainment Law Group, which eventually brought him back to his Tennessee roots.
Around that same time, in small towns across Kentucky and West Virginia, Dennis Disney was traveling in a similar orbit. He and his musically inclined family sang as a group in their church and by the time he was in high school, found himself performing at country churches and revivals across the region.
“The experience instilled the music bug in me,” says Disney. “In college, I thought I was going to be a civil engineer. But someone with my GPA at that time should not be designing bridges,” he says with a smirk.
With common interests, experiences–they met while both were adjunct professors at Belmont University–and easy homespun humor, Shrum and Disney realized they were ideal business partners, so they combined their resources. They formed a partnership and, since January 2024, have practiced their craft at Shrum Disney & Associates, a Music Row law firm with a formidable presence in the entertainment industry.
“We have a passion for creative people, and we help them protect and exploit their creative ideas and their name, image and likeness,” says Shrum. Clients come from all business sectors, and all are treated like VIPs. But the roster includes notable names from publishers to celebrities and every aspect of the creative arts including music, film and television.
One of Shrum’s longstanding clients is Jay Leopardi, an American entrepreneur and marketing strategist. He’s the founder of Avenuear, a digital platform that enables aspiring artists to connect directly with music industry executives. They met years ago when Shrum helped him win a trademark infringement case against a major auto manufacturer.
Leopardi was eternally grateful, and the relationship led to another prominent client. “Ten years later, Jay was doing something else and he called and said, ‘You need to meet someone I’ve been working with,’” says Shrum. That ‘someone’ was another serial entrepreneur: Daymond John of Shark Tank fame. Shrum made the call and has handled the paperwork for many of John’s Shark Tank deals ever since. On the Shrum Disney website, John is quoted as saying, “Barry defends the principles that give entrepreneurs, inventors and creators the inspiration to take action and create new businesses–and new ideas–every day. I call him ‘the Closer.’”
Shrum has been a practicing attorney for more than 30 years. After graduating from Lipscomb University, he moved to Pennsylvania where he attended Westminster Theological Seminary and Widener University’s Delaware School of Law. He spent the early part of his legal career working for various firms in nearby Philadelphia before returning to Nashville where, in 1997, he rebranded his Philadelphia firm into Shrum & Associates.
His pivot to the law was prompted largely by a favor asked of him by his two older brothers. “They were trying to establish a music publishing and entertainment company and asked me if I could help them,” says Shrum. “At the time I was still at the seminary, but I bought every book on copyright law and music contracts I could find, and I figured out how to help them set up their business and navigate the issues of operating a music publishing company.” That experience made him realize, ‘I can really do this.’ He completed his academic work at the seminary, quit his job as a teacher at a Christian college and applied to law school.
Around that same time, after graduating from Belmont in 1986, Disney embarked on a career as a music industry executive specializing in marketing, public relations, publishing and artist management. One of his first clients was a Belmont classmate and friend, multi-Grammy and Dove award-winning artist Steven Curtis Chapman. Disney managed Chapman over his first three albums.
Like Shrum, Disney found himself learning about the law during his everyday business activities. “While doing my job, I loved reviewing the legal contracts and working with our attorneys on revisions,” he says. “I always had a keen interest in the law, but I never acted on it.”
A few years ago, Disney felt that the timing might be right, so he met local music industry icon, Doug Howard–then the Dean of Belmont’s Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business–for lunch and to discuss a career change. “I was thinking about teaching full-time, but I did not have a terminal degree,” Disney recalls of the meeting. “I told him I could go to law school, but I would be 61 years old by the time I graduated. He responded with a quip: ‘And in four years, how old will you be if you don’t go to law school?’”
Shortly after that meeting, Disney registered for the LSAT. In 2018 he enrolled at Nashville School of Law and continued working full-time until graduating and passed the bar. Armed with his degree, Disney reached out to Shrum, and the timing couldn’t have been better. “Barry asked me what I wanted to do, and I said, ‘I want to put my name on the door.’ And he said, ‘Let’s do it.’”
Combine the 30 years of experience as an entertainment, litigation and corporate attorney with someone who has been working in the trenches of the music industry for 40 years, and you get an authentic, boutique Music Row law firm, Shrum Disney & Associates, that takes the time to understand and serve the unique needs of each and every client. “We love to meet new clients,” Shrum says. “It’s a new experience every day.” ShrumDisney.com