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About USC Gould
USC Gould is a top-ranked law school with a 120-year history and reputation for academic excellence. We are located on the beautiful 228-acre USC University Park Campus, just south of downtown Los Angeles.
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Academics
Learn about our interdisciplinary curriculum, experiential learning opportunities and specialized areas.
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Admissions
USC Gould helps prepare you for a stellar legal career. You can pursue a JD degree, one of our numerous graduate and international offerings, or an online degree or certificate.
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Students
Participate in an unparalleled learning experience with diversity of people and thought. Get involved in the law school community and participate in activities that enhance your studies.
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Careers
We work closely with students, graduates and employers to support successful career goals and outcomes. Our overall placement rate is consistently strong, with 94 percent of our JD class employed within 10 months after graduation.
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Faculty
Our faculty is distinguished for its scholarship, as well as for its commitment to teaching. Our 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio creates an intimate and collegial learning environment.
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David Lessoff
USC Gould School of Law
- FACULTY DIRECTORY
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- FACULTY IN THE NEWS
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- + CENTERS AND INITIATIVES
- CENTER FOR DISPUTE RESOLUTION
- CENTER FOR LAW AND PHILOSOPHY (CLP)
- CENTER FOR LAW AND SOCIAL SCIENCE (CLASS)
- CENTER FOR LAW, HISTORY AND CULTURE (CLHC)
- CENTER FOR TRANSNATIONAL LAW AND BUSINESS (CTLB)
- INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM INSTITUTE (IRI)
- PACIFIC CENTER FOR HEALTH POLICY AND ETHICS
- SAKS INSTITUTE FOR MENTAL HEALTH LAW, POLICY, AND ETHICS
- + WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES

Lecturer in Law
699 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90089-0074 USA
Last Updated: January 22, 2022
David Lessoff is currently senior vice president of business and legal affairs at Ingrooves Music Group, a division of Universal Music Group, where he serves as the head lawyer responsible for all legal issues in connection with Ingrooves’s businesses including the global music distribution of over 3,000 labels and artists. In his role at Ingrooves, he is also responsible for all commercial agreements entered into on behalf of Ingrooves, as well as all legal matters pertaining to intellectual property and regulatory compliance, including recommending legal strategies and initiatives to senior management to minimize legal risks with respect to existing business operations and proposed business actions.
Prior to joining the Ingrooves/Universal Music Group, he served as senior in-house counsel at Capitol Records, New West Records and Rhino Entertainment, a division of Warner Music Group, and he spent four years as an attorney at the law firm of Manatt Phelps & Phillips, where he represented recording artists, record companies, publishing companies, film companies, producers, composers/songwriters as well as technology companies.
In addition to his legal work and teaching Music Law in Practice at USC’s Gould School of Law, he has also been, for the past 16 years, an adjunct professor of law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, where he teaches a Music Law survey course. He is a member of several industry trade associations and is a frequent guest speaker and lecturer at SXSW and at many other universities, law schools, seminars and conferences.
He received his BA and MA in English with honors from the University of Missouri, Columbia, and he received his law degree with honors from Gonzaga University. He is a member of the bar in Washington, Oregon and California, and an honorably discharged veteran of the United States Army.
FACULTY IN THE NEWS
LLM Guide
June 5, 2023
Re: USC Gould School of Law
Law schools have been adapting to the increase in technological advancements, especially with the increased need for attorneys with the creation of AI. “Attorneys work on the front end, conducting threat assessments to ensure that their clients’ systems and data are protected, and on the back end, to navigate any legal issues that may arise as a result of the attacks," Gruzas said.
RECENT SCHOLARSHIP
Robin Craig
May, 2023
"Did Sackett Bring Clarity to 'Waters of the United States'?," 54:6 Trends (forthcoming July/August 2023) (accepted May 31, 2023).
Robin Craig
May, 2023
"Tribal Water Rights and Tribal Health: the Klamath Tribes and the Navajo Nation During the Covid-19 Pandemic," 16 Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy 35 (published 2023), was summarized and promoted on the Race, Racism, and the Law website run by Professor Vernellia Randall, University of Dayton School of Law.
Robin Craig
May, 2023
"Governing Shifting Species and Changing Ecosystems: What role Might Ecological Grief Play?," keynote address at the Species on the Move 2023 International Conference, Bonito Springs, Florida, on May 19, 2023.