Southern California is a geographically and demographically diverse region that covers roughly the southern third of the state. It could fairly be said to include every county to the south of and including San Louis Obispo, Kern, and San Bernardino counties, which includes Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, and Imperial counties. If you look at a map, you will see that the northern borders of those counties form a straight line that crosses the entire state, from the Pacific Ocean to the border with Nevada, creating a vary convenient line of demarcation. Others feel that the Tehachapi Mountains form the natural boundary.

Of course, exactly where “Southern California” ends and the rest of the state begins will always be the subject of some debate. There is no question, however, that Los Angeles and San Diego (the 2 largest cities in California) are major hubs in the region. Due in large part to the populations of these cities, Southern California contains more than half of California’s population.

Because Southern California (particularly Los Angeles) is a major hub of the global entertainment industry, it’s not surprising that there are a large number of entertainment and intellectual property lawyers in the area.

Currently, many entertainment lawyers in Southern California are focusing their efforts in fighting online piracy, and defending those who are accused of media piracy. In 2009, album sales declined for the eighth time in nine years. Part of this decline is attributed to the ease with which music can be downloaded illegally. Of course, another factor is the rapid proliferation of legitimate download services.

These facts show that there is a high demand for entertainment and intellectual property lawyers in Southern California. Of course, being a major population center, there are Southern California lawyers who practice virtually every area of law, and the right lawyer in Southern California is out there for you.

LegalMatch can help you find that lawyer, and more. Besides matching you with the right attorney for your case, it also features a free Law Library, which can help answer some of your legal questions.