Alumni Q&A with Rachel Kiwi

Catch us up! What professional and personal milestones have you achieved since your time at Loeb? 

I joined the content legal team at Audible in September 2022 for my first in-house legal job. It has been a great experience, and an easy transition since I had done work for Audible while at Loeb. At Audible, I have served as Audible’s production legal lead on dozens of Audible Originals, including the weekly news show “In The Room with Peter Bergen,” exciting new fiction originals like “The Space Within” starring Jessica Chastain, “The Boar’s Nest” starring Mandy Moore, and many more. 
 
Every day brings new and exciting challenges, including working on fiction and non-fiction audio productions cutting-edge tech projects, and much more. I work with a great team at Audible, and we also have the benefit of being part of the larger Amazon legal team, which gives me the opportunity to work with colleagues around the world at Amazon Studios and other Amazon entertainment businesses. 
 
Are there any skills or lessons you acquired at Loeb that you’ve taken on your career journey?

So many! At Loeb, I was always juggling multiple clients and multiple internal stakeholders. My work at Audible is much the same—while I am now in-house, I have dozens of clients that require work products and responses, with competing deadlines. The ability to prioritize effectively and manage multiple projects simultaneously has been crucial.  I work with my clients to ensure that realistic deadlines are established and met, while balancing internal company priorities. This skill, honed at Loeb, has been essential in managing expectations and maintaining strong relationships with internal clients at Audible.
 
At Loeb, we focused on providing legal advice as well as exploring real-world implications and consequences of business decisions. This meant that when giving options to clients about how to proceed on a certain deal or with an issue, I also provided practical recommendations for decisions that made sense under the circumstances. Working in-house requires advising internal clients on risk and best courses of action on a daily basis, and I appreciate that I was trained in that mindset at Loeb.
 
What does being a part of Loeb Reconnected mean to you?

Being part of Loeb Reconnected is invaluable for maintaining both professional and personal connections. It’s always such a pleasure to run into Loeb lawyers and alumni at events and catch up on what’s happening at the firm or their companies. The network has allowed me to maintain friendships and mentorship relationships that began during my time at the firm. These connections continue to be a source of support and guidance in my career journey.

Can you share a specific Loeb memory that you are fond of? 

There are so many, so I’ll share a few. Soon after I first started at Loeb in 2016, I was working with Stefan Schick on the production and financing of the musical Jagged Little Pill. He invited me to join him for the very first reading of the musical—I remember being in a small room with just the creative team, the producers, the band and the cast watching and listening to Alanis Morissette’s music come alive… and then going to the opening night a few years later having seen the full evolution of the musical from behind the scenes. It was thrilling!  And all along, we worked together on production and financing matters for the musical, where I was able to see the progress of a musical from deal-making, to development, to capitalization, to opening night and beyond.  
 
Another memory that sticks in my mind is the first time that I presented at Loeb’s IP/Entertainment CLE Conference in Los Angeles with Frank D’Angelo, Erin Smith Dennis and Sarah Schachter. We spent weeks prepping our presentation about the litigation surrounding the live stage adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird and practical tips for live stage producers who acquire underlying rights to existing works. It was so fun to present to hundreds of Loeb clients, and it boosted my confidence and led to great connections I have maintained to this day. 
 
Lastly, I have such fond memories of the Entertainment department events over the years, including sushi dinners at Marc Chamlin’s house, department lunches, annual Loeb IP/Entertainment CLE conferences and holiday parties. I have even attended some of these as an alum – I still feel like I am part of the Loeb Entertainment group family! 
 
What did you like most about working at Loeb? What about Loeb’s environment made your experience unique?

The people and the quality of the work. I’ve made life-long friends both within the Entertainment group and outside of it, people who I can lean on for professional advice, both formally and informally. I am grateful for the mentorship and support of so many people, including Marc Chamlin, Roger Arar, Stefan Schick, Carol Kaplan, Anne Kennedy McGuire and so many others.
 
What made Loeb’s environment unique was its combination of top-tier legal work with a collegial, supportive atmosphere. Loeb fostered a sense of community and collaboration, and I always felt valued. This culture encouraged creativity and out-of-the-box thinking, which has been incredibly valuable in my current role where I often need to find innovative solutions to legal challenges. The skills, relationships and perspectives I gained at Loeb have been instrumental in my transition to in-house counsel and continue to influence my professional growth at Audible.