Meet Sharon Toerek: Legal Paths to AI Compliance Profit

In this episode of the LERMA/ podcast Loud and Clear (Season 8), host Francisco Cardenas speaks with Sharon Toerek, a legal expert in advertising, marketing, and technology, about how AI is reshaping the creative supply chain faster than policy and contracts can keep up. They discuss how generative AI changes agency risk—especially around intellectual property ownership, disclosure, liability for inadvertent infringement, and evolving NIL (name, image, likeness) concerns highlighted by recent talent union negotiations and emerging regulations in New York and California. Toerek explains why agencies must lead client education, align with brand risk profiles, and update MSAs and internal/external AI policies, noting that purely AI-generated deliverables can’t be copyrighted. They also explore AI’s potential to level the playing field for independent agencies, the pressure to move away from hourly billing toward outcome- and usage-based models, and the growing complexity of business affairs negotiations around AI manipulation rights.Relevant links: https://legalandcreative.com/email: [email protected]:Sharon Toerek, Owner and Founder -Legal+Creative | Toerek LawProducers:⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Victor Cornejo Tell Me More Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pranav Kumar at LERMA/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Executive Producer:⁠Barbara Dauajare, Agency Growth Manager, LERMA/⁠Hosts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Francisco Cardenas, Executive Director, Brand Integration at LERMA/⁠⁠⁠⁠