Ashlye M. Keaton

Ashlye M. Keaton, Esq. practices intellectual property and entertainment law, and she also works in cultural advocacy and policy. Ashlye is an adjunct professor at Tulane Law School and the University of New Orleans Graduate School in Arts Administration. She is Co-Founder and Supervising Attorney for The ELLA Project.

In response to Hurricane Katrina, Ashlye expanded her work to reach more cultural community members seeking relief with support from the Ford Foundation. Along with other legal successes, Ashlye helped the Mardi Gras Indians by arguing that their elaborate suits qualified for copyright protection as works of sculpture. She is also noted for her work on the City of New Orleans municipal noise ordinance, and she helped to secure a declaration by the New Orleans city attorney’s office that the 8pm city-wide curfew on musical instruments is considered unconstitutional.

Among other boards, Ashlye has served as an officer on the Board of Governors for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, (Grammy Awards), and she is currently serving as an officer on the Community Advisory Board for WWOZ 90.7 FM radio station.  

Ashlye was awarded the Monte M. Lemann Distinguished Teaching Award by Tulane Law School Class of 2015. Ashlye has consistently been voted as OffBeat Magazine’s Best Music Attorney from 2008 to 2016; Gambit Weekly’s 2009 40 Under Forty; 2008 Governor’s Art Award/ELLA Project; and New Orleans CityBusiness 2007 Leadership in Law.

Ashlye is the head choreographer and instructor in ballet and tap for the New Orleans Children’s Ballet.