LAWYERS ON AMERICAN IDOL?

Monica Phillips Jalil (director of mktg) and the gang at Washington, D.C.'s Ross, Dixon & Bell are pulling out the stops for their former partner Will Hopkins, who is one of 20 finalists in American Idol's Songwriter Contest. Let me turn over the mic:

If selected, his song, “When You Come From Nothing,” will be recorded and released as the first single by the winner of American Idol. The song is also performed on American Idol by the two finalists on the next-to-the-last show and then is performed by the winner immediately after claiming the crown. And the song goes on the American Idol's first album, which can sell millions of copies.

Cast your vote now! Go to the website,  listen to the finalists, and rank the songs. The name of the song will pop up as you listen to each song, but the songwriters are not identified. The voting runs through April 23. (Wednesday)

How did Will Hopkins go from lawyer to songwriter? In 2000, with no musical training whatsoever, [he] decided to start composing songs. He had always written them in his head and he finally decided to do something about it.

He woke up one morning and realized that “at my core, I’m a songwriter and when I die I want my tombstone to say ‘songwriter,’ ” Will said.

Just five months after writing his first song, he announced that he was leaving the practice of law to focus full-time on his songwriting career. In 2001, he did just that and for the last six years he has split his time between Washington, D.C. and Nashville. In the last two years, eight of Will’s songs have been recorded by independent artists, and he has won numerous honors and awards.

Will Hopkins is a songwriter on the verge of a really big breakthrough. As a finalist for the American Idol Songwriter Contest, this could be his big break. American Idol is truly a cultural phenomenon, with something like 30 million people watching each show. His song, “When You Come From Nothing,” was one of literally “tens of thousands” of entries to make it to the final twenty.

Law firm partner turned American Idol songwriter? It could just happen for Will Hopkins and his song, “When You Come From Nothing.”