Founder/Attorney
Arnold & Associates

Larkin Arnold, Jr., a member since 2011, is an icon in the recording industry with a career of over four decades. His B.S. degree is from American University and his Juris Doctorate degree is from Howard University School of Law. He has achieved many firsts including: becoming one of the first African Americans hired as an attorney by any major entertainment company or law firm (Capitol) in 1970, before being promoted to Vice President; the first of his race to establish and run a self-contained black music division within a label (Capitol Records); the first black to have autonomous artists signing authority at a major label; first black to become Senior Vice President at any major label (Arista, then CBS/Sony Records); and first non-producing executive (of any race) to receive royalty points on artists he discovered or executive produced. He has the distinction of discovering and/or signing major talents such as Luther Vandross, Frankie Beverly and Maze, Natalie Cole, Peabo Bryson, Teena Marie, New Kids on the Block, Tavares, Hiroshima, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and others. He oversaw the marketing and promotion of the Michael Jackson Thriller album, selling over 25 million units worldwide.  In 1988, he launched Arnold & Associates, one of the few wholly integrated legal and management teams in the record industry. He is a co-founder and six year Chairman of the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association; a former member of the Los Angeles Board of Governors of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; a former trustee for the United Negro College Fund Ladders of Hope Program; and a former Los Angeles City Commissioner.  He has received numerous honors including: the HU Distinguished Alumni Award in 1990; the Los Angeles NAACP Executive of the Year Award; the Outstanding Graduate Award of HU School of Law; Congressional Black Caucus Outstanding Citizen Award; Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Award for Outstanding Community Leadership; and the Langston Bar Association Lawyer of the Year, and a member of its Hall of Fame, to name a few.