For L.A. native Corey Field, working in music as a composer and then an executive only proved to be a tune-up for a legal career and an interest in copyright law.

In the mid-1970s, Field was studying music at University of California, Santa Barbara when he came to believe that it was his calling.

“I got interested in the classical side of music, and I wanted to be a composer,” said Field, who graduated in 1977 then pursued a doctorate in composition in England at the University of York.

But after getting his doctorate and more awards, Corey said he came to grips with reality.

“After five years in England, my wife and I had a baby, so it was time for a reckoning,” he said. “I was in a fairly standard situation – 27 with a wife and child, a Ph.D. and zero prospects of a job in that area.”

They moved back to Los Angeles in 1983, then settled in New York where Field obtained an entry-level job at music publisher European American Music Distributors Corp. As he worked his way up to vice president, he came across a field that would trigger another career shift – copyright law.

“The company had international business involvement, and a lot of it was based in copyright law,” he said.

At the suggestion of his boss, Field in 1998 enrolled at the Widener School of Law in Philadelphia, where he was based at the time.

“I ended the first term at the top of my class,” he said. “It was shocking, I thought my brain was different from a lawyer’s.”

After graduating in 2001, Field joined law firm Ballard Spahr where he now works as an associate in its Century City office. In order to stay on top of what’s happening in copyright law, Field joined the Copyright Society of the U.S.A. The New York-based non-profit recently named him president, allowing him to share his knowledge in the field with others.

Field, 54, is divorced and lives in Studio City with his partner, Heather Schmidt. In his spare time, he plays the piano and runs.