Programs

The VGBA offers a robust lineup of programming designed to inform, connect, and support professionals across the video game and interactive entertainment legal space.

VGBA SUMMITS

Each year, we host multiple VGBA Summits in different regions, bringing together attorneys, business leaders, and industry experts for panels, CLE sessions, workshops, and focused discussions on emerging legal and business issues in gaming.

ONLINE EVENTS

Starting in 2026, the VGBA plans to add a steady calendar of online events to ensure that members stay engaged beyond our summits.

VGBA AMAs

The VGBA organizes panels for game conference attendees to help educate our creator and business communities.

DSR WRITING SCHOLARSHIP

We award annual scholarships to law students through a writing competition in honor of one of the founders of the VGBA.

VGBA ANNUAL SUMMITS

Our summits are the primary source of our operating budget. With your support, we can continue to serve our members and the wider video game industry. All of our 2025 summits sold out, and we expect the same for 2026. Sponsors are highlighted during our receptions and meals.

See below to read more about our annual summits.

GDC Breakfast event: Tuesday Morning of GDC

Every year at GDC, we host a CLE-credited panel and mixer + breakfast buffet at Fenwick’s downtown office in San Francisco. We are confirmed for Tuesday, March 10th, 2026.

Northwest Summit: Late May

The Northwest Summit, historically held in the fall, has swapped to summer. With such a game industry-rich city, this event became so popular that we’ve expanded the summit from one to two days of CLE content and networking.

Shanghai Summit: Adjacent to China Joy, late July

Organized in tandem with MIA, this conference will bring leading online game attorneys from America, Europe and Asia to Shanghai, providing a platform for China’s legal and business professionals to engage in engaging discussions and build a global network for legal support and exchange. CLEs are not offered for this event.

LA Summit: Early November

This is the VGBA’s Premier Event. Our LA Summit is the definitive conference for international practitioners of interactive entertainment law. Swapping to the fall for 2026, this event draws the largest audience of in-house counsel from game publishers and developers. Attendees can earn tailored CLE credits specific to the video game industry.

Attendees include

In-house counsel from the leading companies in the interactive entertainment industry. Past examples include: Activision Blizzard, Crytek, Disney Interactive, Gaikai, Kabam, K-ID, Konami, Digital Entertainment, Metaverse Mod Squad, Microsoft Corporation, Nexon, Riot Games, Rovio Entertainment, Sega of America, Sony Computer Entertainment America, Sony Online, Entertainment, Square Enix, Tencent, Trion Worlds, Unity Technologies, Valve Corp., Virtual, Piggy, Warner Bros., and Zynga.
Outside counsel from firms that serve the industry.
Like-minded organizations and partners like the Entertainment Software Association, PEGI, GAME, ESRB, SAG/AFTRA, etc.

VGBA ONLINE EVENTS (coming soon)

In 2026, the VGBA plans to add a steady calendar of online events to ensure that members stay engaged beyond our summits. Our first program will be VGBA SIDEQUESTS, an interactive series for members to connect, play and learn.

VGBA SideQuests

VGBA AMAs

Starting in 2025, the VGBA began submitting “Ask a Game Lawyer Anything” conference panels at gaming events. This was inspired by our board member, Ryan Black, who has offered these sessions at GDC for many years. Once our proposal is accepted, we build a panel of VGBA members to answer the yearning questions* of game makers and game industry professionals.

The audience gets an engaging and entertaining look inside the discussions video game lawyers have with clients, as well as an appreciation of the issues that arise in games. Above all, we know talking to lawyers can be scary and we want to demystify that! * The speakers can’t give specific legal advice. We insist the audience use hypotheticals.

VGBA's DSR SCHOLARSHIP

The goal of the Video Game Bar Association David S. Rosenbaum Writing Competition is to encourage and reward law students interested in the field of interactive entertainment law. The Scholarship is named iin honor of David S. Rosenbaum, a co-founder of the VGBA and respected pillar in the field of video game law who passed away in 2018.

Who was David S. Rosenbaum?

David Rosenbaum was a pioneering figure in video game law who helped shape the legal framework of the modern gaming industry. After establishing himself as Vice President of Legal Affairs at Paramount Pictures, he brought his Hollywood legal expertise to the emerging video game space, where he built an influential international practice representing leading publishers and developers across the globe. As co-founder and first President of the Video Game Bar Association, David recognized the need for specialized legal expertise in interactive entertainment and worked tirelessly to build a community of gaming industry lawyers.

His passion for games and generosity in sharing knowledge became hallmarks of his career. Through teaching at Southwestern Law School, speaking at international conferences, and mentoring countless colleagues, David helped the industry mature into the global entertainment powerhouse it is today. His legacy lives on through the professionals he influenced and the institutional frameworks he created for video game law.