Variety’s Legal Impact Report 2021

John Berlinski

LITIGATORS
Partner, Chair Entertainment Practice Group
Kasowitz Benson Torres

Berlinski built Kasowitz’s entertainment litigation practice, and the firm is known for representing talent in disputes with studios. His clients include creative exec Katie O’Connell Marsh, CEO of Platform One Media, in pursuing back-end profit participations for her TV series “Narcos,” “Hannibal” and “Hemlock Grove.” Berlinski was one of the attorneys in the “Bones” lawsuit, securing the largest arbitration award ever issued in a profit participation dispute: $179 million for “Bones” stars Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz, and producer Kathleen Reichs. He also advises casino-giant Genting Malaysia Berhad. With Hollywood launching in-house video streamers, the Century City-based attorney finds disputes mushrooming over profit participations and residuals. It’s a sign of the times, he says, that top talent negotiates imputed license fees in employment contracts to trigger bonus pay, though lesser talent struggles.

What’s Their Fair Share? Berlinski says industry outfits are “producing for them- selves and, unlike in the past, not licensing content to third parties, so there’s not a lot of data out there for determining fair market value.”

Paul Bernstein, Lee Brenner, Michele Mulrooney, Alex Weingarten

LITIGATORS

Bernstein: Partner, Vice Chair, Entertainment & Media Group

Brenner: Partner, Chair, Entertainment & Media Litigation Group

Mulrooney: Partner, Co-Chair, West Coast Estate Planning Group

Weingarten: Partner, Entertainment & Media Litigation Group

Venable

Brenner and Weingarten handle litigation. Brenner won dismissal of a copyright infringement claim for client ViacomCBS related to “The Guest Book” TV series. Weingarten defended music group 5 Sec- onds of Summer, Amazon, Spotify, Universal Music Group and Vevo for a copyright infringement case over the song “Young- blood.” Mulrooney advises top-level talent and executives on personal estates, trusts, wealth transfers, philanthropy and pre-nuptial agreements. Her clients are confidential. In transactions, Bernstein serves as outside corporate counsel for Joe and Anthony Russo’s AGBO Film, “Vampire Diaries’” actor Paul Wesley in another business transaction, and a TV and digital production house in a joint venture with NBCU’s Peacock. He also recently closed one of the first celebrity deals in the fast-moving NFT space.

Development Heck: Brenner finds an uptick in copyright infringement claims because of growing informality amid Hollywood’s streaming-fueled content boom. “You want to have a controlled atmosphere where you can determine where the idea for a program came from and how it was developed,” he says.

Scott Edelman, Orin Snyder, Brian Ascher, Ilissa Samplin

LITIGATORS

Edelman, Snyder: Co-Chairs, Media, Entertainment & Technology Practice Group

Ascher, Samplin: Partners

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

The litigation quartet won a California trial victory for AMC Networks in “The Walking Dead” profit participation litigation, which has industry-wide ramifications for backend talent deals. Other clients include Facebook; Fox Entertainment; Lady Gaga; MGM; Jerry Seinfeld; Sony Music Entertainment; Sony Pictures; SoundCloud; Bob Dylan and Universal Music Group; Verizon; ViacomCBS; Warner Bros.; and Rachel Maddow, MSNBC, NBCUniversal and Comcast in defending a defamation case. Edelman and Samplin work in Los Angeles; Snyder and Ascher in New York. Edelman notes that the California “Walking Dead” trial concluded just as the pandemic shutdown occurred a year ago and a separate New York case tops a trial docket at reopening. The bookending provides “a certain irony with the whole concept of the ‘Walking Dead,’” Edelman says.

The Other Side: The pandemic upheaval “accelerated migration of media consumption to digital, social media and gaming at an incredible rate,” Snyder says. “So, the industry’s ‘new normal’ will look a lot different on the other side of the pandemic.”

Bryan J. Freedman

LITIGATORS

Founding Partner, Chief Crisis Litigator

Freedman + Taitelman

Freedman has been at the center some of Hollywood’s highest profile employment matters, repping Gabrielle Union in her suit against NBCU, Simon Cowell and Fremantle for racial discrimination on “America’s Got Talent”; and Chris Harrison in his dispute with WarnerMedia and ABC over his departure from “The Bachelor.” He’s also handling Thalia Barnett’s (aka, FKA Twigs) suit against Shia LaBeouf alleging domestic violence and Nicole Young’s suit against her estranged husband, Dr. Dre, over the transfer of trademarks she claims are community property.

Super-Villains or Scapegoats? “Studios are blaming certain individuals for a systemic problem, thinking they can cut out that individual and that’s going to solve it,” Freedman says.

Sasha Frid

LITIGATORS

Partner

Miller Barondess

Frid is known for repping many of the biggest names in music, including Neal Schon in a lawsuit over the rights to the “Journey” band name; Universal Music Group in a case against ROK Mobile over licensing fees; William “Smokey” Robinson regarding commission claims; and Korean hip-hop duo Tiger JK and Yoon Mirae over promised shares in a VPN company.

The Roaring 2020s: “People have missed live performances, and it’s just such a big part of many people’s lives that once it actually opens up it’s going to be unprecedented,” says Frid of a return to live events once the pandemic subsides.

Patricia Glaser, Jill Basinger

LITIGATORS

Glaser: Partner, Chair of the Litigation Department

Basinger: Partner

Glaser Weil

Glaser and Basinger won a commissions dispute for clients ICM Partners and agent Rob Prinz vs. Celine Dion. The duo also rep Sony Pictures, Berry Gordy, Level 7 music management, New Regency and multiple production companies and agencies. Boutique transactional law firms refer cases to litigators. “It makes the practice of law, which I personally love, much more professionally satisfying, because you’re working arm-in-arm with people who really know their business,” Glaser says.

#MeToo Revolution: “What 20 years ago was considered a ‘tough place to work’ that people simply ‘had to put up with’ is no longer acceptable,” Basinger says.

Keisha-Ann Gray

LITIGATORS

Partner

Proskauer

Gray served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York before entering the world of entertainment law. Today, she handles cases at the heart of social change movements (Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, LGBTQ Pride). Recent matters include conducting internal investigations for ViacomCBS and Essence Communications regarding workplace misconduct and sexual harassment, respectively, and negotiating a resolution with the New York City Commission on Human Rights on behalf of Prada North America.

Understanding Both Sides: “It’s one thing to feel you’ve been treated unfairly because you’re in a protected category,” says Gray, but “it’s another thing to feel you’ve been wrongfully accused of treating someone unfairly.”

Dale Kinsella

LITIGATORS

Of Counsel

Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump

Over the years, Kinsella has litigated everything from copyright infringement to antitrust matters for studios, actors, athletes and large corporations. Recently, he’s been in the headlines for repping “The Walking Dead” creator Frank Darabont and his agency CAA in a suit against AMC Networks, claiming they are owed in excess of $200 million for the show, and “Fast and Furious” franchise producer Neal Moritz in a suit against Universal for being wrongfully terminated from “Hobbs & Shaw.”

Old Dogs, Same Tricks: “In recent months, big media conglomerates have only accelerated the disturbing trend of underpaying — or cutting out entirely — the talent and other creators who literally make the products that fill their coffers,” Kinsella says.

Michael Kump

LITIGATORS

Name Partner

Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump

When the likenesses of clients including Sandra Bullock and the Kardashian-Jenner clan are exploited without permission, Kump gets involved. He even made headlines when representing Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. “That was a case that was important to me, because it wasn’t about dollars, it was about protecting the rights of their family to try to lead a normal life when they’re at home,” he says.

Bigger Picture: “What I do is help my clients, whether they’re individuals or corporations, protect their rights and protect their own interests,” declares Kump. “That’s not only important for them, but it’s also important for consumers and members of the public, because it’s so easy for people to be misled, misguided, and ripped off.”

Christine Lepera

LITIGATORS

Partner

Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp

The N.Y.-based Lepera litigates copyright and trademark cases, serving as the defense counsel in copyright infringement cases against the creators of Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse,” Jay-Z’s “Paper Chase,” Juice WRLD’s “Lucid Dreams,” Post Malone’s “Circles,” and Drake’s “Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2.” She’s also repping producer Dr. Luke in his ongoing defamation action against Kesha, and the owner of the Skee-Ball trademark in a dispute with its licensee.

Look Out for Waves in DMCA Safe Harbor: “These behemoth ISPs that allow massive amount user-generated content to infringe without taking the appropriate steps, whether it be filters and/or licensing mechanisms, may find a little more heat on their backs,” Lepera says.

Adam Levin

LITIGATORS

Partner

Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp

“The intersection between civil rights and civil liberties continues to be one of the focuses of my practice,” Levin says. Currently before the court of appeal on behalf of Fox and Disney over composer Alf Clausen’s discrimination suit, Levin also represents CNN against discrimination claims from a journalist terminated for plagiarism. A newer case involves a studio’s desire to make casting decisions reflecting “the diversity we all see when walking down the street.”

COVID-era Court: Levin says attorneys have adapted to taking depositions, conducting mediations, and cross-examining witnesses over the internet. He quips, “I suppose, like cockroaches, we’ve all managed to survive and to thrive in these difficult times.”

Steven Marenberg, James “Bo” Pearl, Tamerlin Godley

LITIGATORS

Marenberg: Partner, Chair, Entertainment Litigation Group

Pearl, Godley: Partners, Entertainment Litigation Group

Paul Hastings

Based in Century City, the trio of litigators joined the law firm over the past year. Marenberg handles Warner Bros., UTA, Walt Disney Co., NBCUniversal Media, Legendary Entertainment, Ubisoft, interactive games, music and talent. Pearl reps pop star Kesha in her dispute with a producer, and has a growing defamation practice. Godley works with WarnerMedia (Warner Bros., Turner and HBO), NBCUniversal and Warner Music Group; and handles copyright, trademark and independent investigations.

Migration Migraines: Talent-compensation friction arises when existing series move from legacy TV channels to streamers. “How do you measure the value of the franchise, both new episodes and past episodes, when the underlying contract was negotiated in an era of broadcast and cable TV, and not streaming services?,” asks Marenberg. He adds that solutions vary and that contracts today address this circumstance.

Daniel Petrocelli, Molly Lens, Drew Breuder, Leah Godesky, Matt Kline, Amy Lucas, David Marroso, Cassandra Seto, Anton Metlitsky

LITIGATORS

Petrocelli: Partner; Trial Practice Chair

Lens: Partner, Co-Chair, Entertainment, Sports & Media Group

Breuder, Godesky, Kline, Lucas, Marroso, Seto: Partners, Entertainment, Sports & Media Group

Metlitsky: Partner, Supreme Court & Appellate Practice

O’Melveny & Myers

The O’Melveny litigation team won Fox a permanent injunction over employee poaching — it faces a Netflix appeal — and reps vid-gamer Activision in a separate poaching dispute, also against Netflix. Another client is Irving Azoff-led Global Music Rights in an anti-trust battle with a terrestrial radio-industry coalition. The Petrocelli-led team is mostly based in Century City, with Lens, Breuder, Godesky, Kline, Lucas, Marroso and Seto there and Metlitsky in New York. Other clients include Disney, NBCUniversal and WarnerMedia; music’s Ariana Grande and Kesha; sports’ Top Rank boxing and Madison Square Garden/the Forum; and digital media’s Sirius XM Radio. With video streamers often adopting a vertically integrated structure, Lens finds that talent takes a keen interest where their content lands because “in many instances, the content provider and the streamer are affiliated companies.”

Express Lane: “Of all things, the pandemic has helped to facilitate and accelerate important industry changes we are witnessing,” says Petrocelli. Content distribution models and talent compensation arrangements are evolving, he says, “all of which will work themselves out over the ensuing years.”

Robyn Polashuk, Matt DelNero, Mitch Kamin, Neema Sahni

LITIGATORS

Polashuk: Co-Chair, Communications & Media Industry Group; Managing Partner, Los Angeles Office

DelNero: Co-Chair, Communications & Media Industry Group; Co-Chair, Diversity & Inclusion initiative

Kamin: Co-Chair, Communications & Media Industry Group; Co-Chair, Commercial Litigation Practice Group

Sahni: Co-Chair, Music Industry Group; Vice Chair, Sports Industry Group

Covington & Burling

This team is classified in the litigation portion, but it also represents its clients in transactional and regulatory matters. Litigators Kamin and Sahni are based in Century City, as is transactional attorney Polashuk. Regulatory-focused DelNero is in Washington, D.C. Firm clients include Discovery, Disney, Fox Corp., NFL Network, Pac-12 Networks, TV One, Universal Music Group and ViacomCBS. Content distribution is a major part of their practice. Other clients include Byte Dance/TikTok winning an injunction challenging government action and Spanish-language broadcaster Univision in the $800 million sale of a majority stake. Kamin notes that nine municipalities pursue litigation to compel streamers to pay 5% cable tax fees and expects to see more such cases, given local-government budget squeezes. “The municipalities are partnering with plaintiff class-action firms arguing that video streamers are covered by local franchise laws,” he says.

Bundling Binge: Polashuk expects more aggregation. “In the digital space, you could envision any number of bundles of content, along with other products and services, being offered together in various ways,” she says.

Marvin Putnam, Laura Washington, Robert Ellison, Jessica Stebbins Bina

LITIGATORS

Putnam: Partner; Chair, Litigation & Trial Practice, Los Angeles; Vice Chair, Entertainment, Sports & Media Industry Group

Washington, Ellison, Bina: Partners

Latham & Watkins

Putnam advises the Intl. Olympic Committee in the enforcement of its IP rights. He’s also lead/co-counsel with colleagues in Century City on the following matters: with Washington for Beyoncé and movie producer Madison Wells Media defending
a set-injury claim; with Ellison for the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. and defending an arena noise complaint involving MSG Forum; and with Bina for client the Assn. of Talent Agents (ATA) in the battle over packaging fees between Hollywood agents and the Writers Guild of America, and separately for ICM in matters with the WGA. Washington defended digital-media’s SteelHouse in a breach-of-contract dispute. Ellison also works the sports world, including the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team and the National Hockey League. Bina represented Pandora Media over a pre-1972 recorded music dispute.

Backlog: Putnam sees the biggest pileup of pending litigation in his three-plus decades career due to the pandemic and it remains to be seen “how courts are going to deal with an enormous backlog of cases from their year-plus shutdowns.”

Leron Rogers, John Rose

LITIGATORS

Rogers: Partner

Rose: Associate

Fox Rothschild

Atlanta-based litigators and dealmakers Rogers and Rose joined Fox Rothschild in September 2020, on the heels of winning an appellate decision for rapper Rick Ross upholding the dismissal of a suit by 50 Cent for Ross using his song “In Da Club” on a promotional mixtape. The duo has also litigated cases for actors, musicians and media figures such as Steve Harvey, Mo’Nique, K. Michelle, Lil Duval and Mizay Entertainment. They also secured major deals for their clients with such companies as Nike, Revolt and Savage X Fenty.

Pandemic Pause: “It just slowed everyone down and allowed us to kind of strategize and sit back and really come up with a 10,000-foot plan,” says Rogers.

Mathew Rosengart

LITIGATORS

Shareholder, Los Angeles Media & Entertainment Litigation Practice

Greenberg Traurig

Pivoting from defense to offense for a basketball client, Rosengart froze a talent agent’s claim against Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler, who now seeks disgorgement of commission payments. The Los Angeles-based attorney also reps showbiz heavyweights such as Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment; Julia Louis-Dreyfus; DJ MK/Marc Kinchen; Michael Mann; Sean Penn and his relief org CORE; Keanu Reeves; Eddie Vedder, and CAA.

Fast Lane: “The pandemic has not slowed down my practice at all,” says Rosengart, a former Justice Department trial attorney and federal prosecutor. “In fact, for whatever reason, things are busier than ever with two trials coming up in the next six months.”

James Sammataro, Frank Scibilia, Ilene Farkas, Benjamin Semel

LITIGATORS

Sammataro: Co-Chair, Media & Entertainment Group

Scibilia: Co-Chair, Music & Copyright Groups

Farkas, Semel: Co-Chairs, Music & Music Litigation Groups

Pryor Cashman

The litigators achieved dismissal for Luis Fonsi and Universal Music, beating a copyright claim for hit song “Despacito.” Sammataro works from Miami and Los Angeles; Scibilia, Farkas and Semel are in New York. Other clients are the nonprofit music Mechanical Licensing Collective, Sony Music, Universal Music, Warner Music, Warner Chappell Music, Concord Music Publishing, National Music Publishers’ Assn., Netflix, the estate of Christopher Cornell (Soundgarden), Ariana Grande, Ricky Martin, Ed Sheeran and Howard Stern. Though the law hasn’t changed, Farkas notes that courts have become more skeptical in songwriter infringement cases. Courts are ruling “not all similarities are actionable similarities,” she says.

The Future Is Now: The pandemic accelerated transformational activations that remake the media landscape, Sammataro says. For instance, he finds that the music industry asks, “Can we use live streams to augment and accentuate the in-person concert experience in a post-pandemic world?”

Michael Weinsten

LITIGATORS

Partner

Lavely & Singer

Weinsten, an entertainment litigator, can’t discuss 80% of his work. Not the details of the Charlotte Kirk case, which set off explosions over Hollywood; nor the case in which Ellen DeGeneres’ likeness was used to pro- mote products she didn’t endorse. Of the latter he can say that peeling back layers eventually unearthed the perpetrators. “We successfully cleaned up the internet of these fictitious sites and were able to resolve the case — again, it’s confidential.”

Court-Zoom: Weinsten thinks Zoom mediations spur faster settlements. “The atmosphere is different, People are more willing to settle, maybe because people put things into perspective when there’s 500,000 people dying. Litigants may realize life is short, so let’s just try to find common ground.”

Lisa Alter, C. Katherine Baron

TRANSACTIONAL

Partners

Alter, Kendrick & Baron

Alter and Baron have been at the center the recent frenzy of megamillion-dollar music rights deals, handling more than $1 billion in transactions over the past 18 months. They repped Primary Wave Music in its acquisition of various interests in the publishing and master recording catalogs of Stevie Nicks, Olivia Newton-John, the Four Seasons, Whitney Houston, Burt Bacharach, Bob Marley, Culture Club, Air Supply and Sublime. Other clients include Reservoir Media Management, which purchased 16,000 copyrights from music publisher Shapiro Bernstein; Steve Miller; Foreigner; David Gilmour; Ray Davies; and the estates of Ben E. King, Ira Gershwin and Syd Barrett.

Music Catalogs — To Sell or Not to Sell: “We always advise seller clients to carefully consider whether the purchase price they’re getting today, which seems amazing, is going to seem amazing five, 10 years down the line,” says Alter

Jonathan Altschul

TRANSACTIONAL

Founder

The Altschul Firm

Altschul has repped SM Entertainment, described by Forbes as “the company that created K-pop,” for the past 12 years and negotiated licensing and distribution agreements with the label’s U.S. partners. SM Entertainment has produced dozens of K-pop artists over several decades, including current supergroup Shinee. He’s also worked on Beyond Live, the label’s live-streaming concert platform, during the past year. Altschul reps XIX, Simon Fuller’s management company, and negotiated agreements concerning Now United and advised on other upcoming projects.

Better Than the Real Thing: SM Entertainment “has had some very successful concerts with their biggest groups on [Beyond Live],” says Altschul. “I don’t think that’s going away once the pandemic is over.”

Tom Ara, Afshin Beyzaee, Scott Bradford, Katherine Imp, David Markman, Robert Sherman

TRANSACTIONAL

Ara: Partner; Co-Chair, Entertainment Transactions Practice; Co-Chair, Entertainment Finance Practice

Beyzaee: Partner

Bradford: Of Counsel

Imp: Associate

Markman: Partner; Co-Chair, Entertainment Transactions Practice

Sherman: Partner; Co-Chair, Entertainment Finance Practice

DLA Piper

The DLA Piper entertainment team has been making big deals across film, television, music, digital and video game verticals. Ara, Markham and Imp take the lead on transactional entertainment matters, while Sherman and Ara advise on entertainment financing and corporate transactions, and Bradford and Beyzaee specialize in music and tax issues, respectively. Their clients include independent music company Concord, for which they recently secured more than $1 billion in debt financing. They also repped talent agency APA in its major non-equity financial investment from the Yucaipa Cos., relaunched Open Road Films as a domestic theatrical distributor with funding from Raven Capital Management, and handled CJ Entertainment’s deal with Fox Television for the U.S. version its Korean music competition show “I Can See Your Voice.” Other clients include actress Michelle Rodriguez (co-starring role in Paramount’s “Dungeons & Dragons”); Panic at the Disco’s Brendan Urie (performance rights agreement with Global Music Rights); TikTok star Cookiee Kawaii (seven-figure recording agreement with Empire Distribution); and Black Hill Records (recording agreements with Blues Traveler, Black Pistol Fire, the Cult and Buckcherry — as well as acquisition of Triple Crown Records).

It’s Not a Comeback, It’s a Return: “We’re all resolved that we can’t sit and wait for answers,” says Ara. “We know consumers want the product we make in this town and we’ve got to get back in a safe, sound and smart way.”

Dan Black

TRANSACTIONAL

Vice Chairman, Global Entertainment & Media Practice

Greenberg Traurig

Working $2 billion in transactions over the past year, Black reps gamer Bungie (“Halo”), Pokémon, TV channel AXS TV, toy company Spin Master, publisher Springer Nature and Bill Gates/Gates Ventures for content matters. The Century City-based attorney also handled $120 million in employment contracts, with 60% of his cli- ents being gender and ethnic diverse. He also advised senior talent agency executives on equity and separation agreements.

The New Deal: Profit participations involving video streamers need innovative structures, such as talent bonuses pegged to the number of views, replacing a box office performance standard. “I don’t think a day has gone by where this issue has not presented itself,” Black says.

Joseph Calabrese, Nancy Bruington, Ken Deutsch, Justin Hamill, Robert Haymer, Rick Offsay, Libby Savill, Jonathan West

Chris Chatham

TRANSACTIONAL

Founder

Chatham Law Group

Over the past year his diverse entertainment practice has seen him close deals for multi-year renewals of the talkers “Dr. Phil” and “The Doctors,” a fifth season of “Bull,” and a TV adaptation of the movie “Waitress.” He has also served as general counsel for a pair of celebrity brands, Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell’s baby products company Hello Bello, and healthy frozen meal maker Tiller & Hatch, backed by Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams Paisley. On behalf of T&H, Chatham led negotiations to partner with Feeding America and donate 1 million meals across the country.

Pandemic Pivots: “Those [clients] that pivoted really capitalized on establishing themselves on [different] platforms, whether it’s a podcast or social media or partnering with retailers or consumer brands,” says Chatham.

David Chidekel

TRANSACTIONAL

Partner

Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae

New York-based Chidekel works on the cutting edge of entertainment and technology, crafting deals for clients such as SKUxchange, which creates new revenue sources for producers, promoters, and performers of live and virtual events via embedded advertising in AR and VR experiences. Other clients include documentary filmmaker Tommy Oliver (“40 Years a Prisoner”), producer and American Black Film Festival founder Jeff Friday, production and management companies Artistry Collective and Imprint Entertainment and author and doc filmmaker Chris Whipple.

Work-From-Home Acceptance: “Everybody did it for a year and most people saw no negative effects in terms of productivity,” Chidekel says.

Marcie Cleary

TRANSACTIONAL

Partner, Entertainment Group

Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz

Based in New York, Cleary represents creators in film, TV and digital. She was promoted to partner in January. In podcasting, she worked for client Forever Dog Prods. producing-distributing “Godcast”; clients Kid Fury and Crissle (“The Read”) for a Stitcher deal; and basketball player J.J. Redick and Tommy Alter establishing ThreeFourTwo Prods. In comedy, Cleary worked the showrunner deal for Jamie Granet-Bederman for “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

Realization: Amid the pandemic downtime, many athletes embraced the business of entertainment. “They collectively realized the importance and impact of their voices” including for the social justice movement, says Cleary.

Jeff Cohen

TRANSACTIONAL

Co-Founder

Cohen Gardner

Cohen Gardner is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Continuing his dealmaking trajectory, Cohen, co-founder of the boutique firm, repped comedian Ronny Chieng in his deal with Netflix for three upcoming comedy specials, and screenwriter-producer Eydie Faye in her deal with Nickelodeon for the new Jojo Siwa live-action musical “The J-Team.” Cohen also handled deals for Lil Rel Howery to star in “Vacation Friends” and “Free Guy,” host and executive produce the game show “Small Fortune” on NBC, as well as his deal to act and executive produce “Home,” starring Kathy Bates.

Buyers and Artists: Cohen sees two distinct trends emerging: “Power is consolidating among a smaller number of buyers, and the ability to create content and connect with fans is increasing simultaneously with artists.”

Lindsay Conner, Sophia Yen

TRANSACTIONAL

Conner: Partner and Leader, Entertainment

Yen: Partner, Entertainment

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

Century City-based Conner and Yen represent Sony Pictures Entertainment, East West Bank and Beijing-based Perfect World Pictures. Conner repped YouTube mega-streamer CoComelon on its sale to Moonbug. Other big-name clients include AT&T, ITV Studios America and Showtime Entertainment. Yen reps Brazil’s O2 Filmes, producer Wavelength Prods., distributor FilmRise and chef David Chang for his Majordomo Media. “Despite the pandemic, M&A and financing deals in the entertainment industry have come roaring back,” says Conner, pointing out that special-purpose acquisition companies and high-net-worth individuals keep money flowing.

Weighing Alternatives: “As we’ve been observing real-time changes to the theatrical distribution model, dealmakers have been spending more time considering how deal structures will look if theatrical is skipped,” says Yen. She adds that they look for alternatives to box office bonuses and traditional backends for talent.

Doug Davis

TRANSACTIONAL

Founder & Principal

The Davis Firm

Last year the Davis Firm was involved in the explosive success of webcast music competition series Verzuz, introduced during the pandemic and created by producers Timbaland and longtime TDF client Swizz Beatz. The series began as a virtual DJ battle, with Timbaland and Swizz Beatz facing off via an Instagram Live broadcast. Davis closed DJ Snake’s extension at Interscope Records, as well as his Puma endorsement and signature line deals. Davis also managed Barry Manilow’s catalog deal with Hipgnosis. Additionally, through its expansion into film and TV, the firm handled the deal for DJ Cassidy’s “Pass the Mic” with BET for a series of event specials, and the platform expansion deal for LL Cool J’s “Rock the Bells” with SiriusXM.

Survivor’s Instinct: Davis, son of music mogul Clive Davis, was Variety’s 2018 Power of Law Honoree, recognized for his philanthropic work to fight cancer since being treated for and overcoming the disease over a decade ago.

David C. Eisman, Glen G. Mastroberte

TRANSACTIONAL

Eisman: Partner; Head of the Entertainment Group

Mastroberte: Senior Entertainment Counsel

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom

Eisman and Mastroberte were in the headlines in October when they repped Shamrock Capital’s acquisition of the masters to Taylor Swift’s first six albums, a deal reportedly worth $140 million. The following month, they helped close another high-profile music transaction, negotiating the sale of indie label Artist Partner Group to Atlantic Records. Those are just the latest in a long line of big deals for the duo, which include Katharine Jackson’s sale of her late son, Michael’s, share of Sony/ATV Music Publishing to Sony for $750 million in 2016. They have a wealth of other high-profile clients spanning the film, television, music, digital media and talent rep segments including Alamo Records, the Jim Henson Co., Mythos Studios, Project X Entertainment, Tommy Mottola and Quixote Studios.

Why All the Music Deals? “Music streaming has been one of the breakout hits of the pandemic, and it’s really been driving a lot of the growth,” Eisman says.

Craig Emanuel, David Hernand, Erik Hyman, Mickey Mayerson, Sean Monroe, Stephen Saltzman, Susan Williams

TRANSACTIONAL

Partners

Paul Hastings

Emanuel handles Lumistella (“The Elf on the Shelf,” adapted by Netflix), producer Ryan Murphy and director George C. Wolfe (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom). Hernand repped Walmart selling streamer Vudu; podcaster QCode; and celebrity-products investor Celebrands. Hyman handles New Slate Ventures (“The United States vs. Billie Holiday”), “WandaVision” creator Jac Schaeffer and Snoot Entertainment (“One Night in Miami”). Mayerson advises insurer SpottedRisk, Tribune Ent. and Indian Paintbrush. Saltzman reps south Korea’s CJ Entertainment, China’s Huayi Bros. Intl. and Germany’s Constantin Films. Williams handles Truist Bank and Vine Alternative Investments. Monroe is the newest addition to the team.

New World: Hernand believes that the new streaming landscape “has produced a fundamental shift, and will forever change the way content is created, purchased and consumed.”

Jamie Feldman, Melissa Rogal

TRANSACTIONAL

Feldman: Managing Partner

Rogal: Partner

Lichter Grossman Nichols Adler & Feldman

For nearly two decades, Feldman and Rogal have worked alongside each other at the firm. Together, they rep Viola Davis, whom they recently set to star as Michelle Obama in the Showtime series “First Lady.” Feldman’s client roster includes Barry Jenkins, Steven Soderbergh, Kiefer Sutherland, Dev Patel and Dax Shepard, while Rogal’s list includes “No Time to Die” director Cary Joji Fukunaga and screenwriter Matt Lieberman (“The Christmas Chronicles”).

COVID Conundrum: “Everybody’s got these great contracts stacking up on their desks,” says Feldman, “but much less assurance or confidence about what is going to go [into production] or when or where.”

Sidney Fohrman, Robb Klein, Leif Cervantes de Reinstein, Shaun Clark, Robert Darwell, Linda Michaelson, Alexis Robinson, David Sands, Dan Schnapp

TRANSACTIONAL

Fohrman: Leader, Music Industry Team

Klein: Leader, Entertainment, Technology & Advertising Practice
Cervantes de Reinstein, Clark, Darwell, Michaelson, Robinson, Sands, Schnapp: Partners

Sheppard Mullin

The nine-person entertainment and digital media practice extends from Century City to New York (Schnapp and Robinson). Century City-based are Fohrman, Klein, Cervantes de Reinstein, Clark, Darwell, Michaelson and Sands. The group represents Spotify in podcast transactions; Peloton for licensing sound recordings and its annual Homecoming event; and Vindex in a cross-border video game acquisition/ alliance. Hollywood majors Disney, Fox, MGM, Sony, Universal and Warner Bros. are also clients. Media clients include Amazon, Netflix, Oculus VR distribution platform, Snap, Tinder, Twitch and Vox Media. In music, the group advises ASCAP, major record labels and Vevo. International clients include CJ Entertainment, eOne, Gaumont, Komixx Entertainment, Pathe, StudioCanal and Televisa. Sands sees a user-generated-content revolution bubbling under the radar as content creators brush aside standard posting deals offered by digital platforms. “I think you will see much more sophisticated business models developed with more traditional ad-buy- ing approaches and CPMs,” says Sands, who notes influencer giants already negotiate such deals.

Pivot Mindset: “I don’t think the industry can rely just on traditional business models to drive future growth,” says Schnapp. “It’s forcing companies to pivot in real time” using technology to foster interactivity, particularly for Millennials and Gen Z demographics with vast buying power.

David Fox

TRANSACTIONAL

Partner

Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg Mobasser Younger & Light

Fox’s clients include an array of productive and high-powered talent. He repped writer-director Christopher McQuarrie in his deal to shoot “Mission: Impossible 7” and “Mission: Impossible 8” on a back-to-back production schedule; screenwriter David Koepp in his deal to write “The Green Hornet and Kato”; writer Lauren Schmidt Hissrich in her deal as showrunner for “The Witcher” on Netflix; and director Leigh Whannell in his deal to direct Ryan Gosling in “Wolfman.”

Content’s Still King: “Most of what we do is development, and development has been robust because there’s such a fierce appetite for content and so many buyers,” says Fox.

Rob Freeman

TRANSACTIONAL

Partner, Sports Group; Co-head, Technology, Media & Telecommunications Group

Proskauer

Freeman led the Proskauer team handling the recent launches of two major digital initiatives, AMC Networks’ AMC Plus streamer and the Stars Group’s sports betting service Fox Bet, as well as Cox Communications’ massive new carriage deal with Disney and ForgeLight’s acquisition of a majority stake in Univision Holdings. He also helped negotiate Spectrum Networks’ agreement with AT&T for the launch of Spectrum SportsNet LA in April 2020 that brought Dodgers games to its customers after a seven-year blackout.

Keeping It Cutting Edge: “I prefer working on the most complicated and new deals that are coming out, and the space I work in lends itself to that,” says Freeman.

Matt Galsor

TRANSACTIONAL

Partner, Head of Entertainment

Greenberg Glusker

Galsor handled director-producers Joe and Anthony Russo for Universal’s “The Electric State” and Netflix’s “The Gray Man.” The Century City-based attorney also reps Chris Hemsworth (“Thor: Love and Thunder,” “Escape From Spiderhead,” and “Mad Max” prequel “Furiosa”); and Jaume Collet-Serra directing DC Comics-adaptation “Black Adam” starring Dwayne Johnson. Galsor’s other clients include James Cameron, Tom Cruise, David Fincher, Vin Diesel and Ubisoft Entertainment.

Crystal Ball: Galsor says dealmakers setting up movies today face uncertainties over studios’ theatrical windowing policies and streaming’s cultural impact down the road. “Psychologically, it’s difficult to choose between two unknowns,” he says.

Michael S. Gendler

TRANSACTIONAL

Partner

Gendler & Kelly

Gendler, who was keynote speaker at Variety’s Power of Law Breakfast in 2019, reps many of Hollywood’s big-name talents. At the beginning of the pandemic, he worked with them to accommodate COVID-related delays. Lately, he’s repped them in major deals — Shonda Rhimes in her exclusive deal with Netflix, Chris Pine to act in “Dungeons and Dragons,” Meryl Streep in her pacts for “The Prom,” and David E. Kelley’s accord to write-executive produce “Nine Perfect Strangers” for Hulu.

Bidding for Talent: “There has been a very fierce period where [streaming companies] were competing for talent, especially writing and producing talent,” says Gendler. “We’ve been going through that period now and we seem to be coming to the end of it.”

Cliff Gilbert-Lurie

TRANSACTIONAL

Partner

Ziffren Brittenham

Gilbert-Lurie continues his work on behalf of prolific TV powerhouse Dick Wolf and his Wolf Entertainment, having negotiated the showrunner’s lucrative pacts with NBCU’s Peacock streamer and with Universal Television. Other Gilbert-Lurie clients include Tina Fey for a deal at NBCU, Patrick Stewart at CBS All Access (now Paramount Plus), Imagine Entertainment, Microsoft, Walmart and Sandra Bullock, for whom he helped set up quarantine housing on the Vancouver location where Netflix shot her next film, adapted by Christopher McQuarrie and based on British miniseries “Unforgiven.”

New Industry Model: “The pandemic has accelerated, but didn’t cause, many industry-wide changes that were already underway,” says Gilbert-Lurie.

Lev Ginsburg, Grace Kallis

TRANSACTIONAL

Partners

Ginsburg Daniels Kallis

The firm reps high-profile clients on major projects. According to reports, Timothée Chalamet, following his Super Bowl Cadillac spot and after appearing in Adam McK- ay’s “Don’t Look Up” for Netflix, will perform in “Dune” and maybe in its rumored sequel. LaKeith Stanfield, Oscar-nommed for “Judas and the Black Messiah,” is said to have a new deal for Seasons 3 and 4 of “Atlanta” on FX. Another client, Sara Hess (“Orange Is the New Black”), is thought to be the new exec producer and co-showrunner of a blockbuster sequel for a major streamer. The firm also reps JD Dillard, who has closed deals to write and direct the feature remake of “The Fly” for Fox, direct period film “Devotion,” work on an upcoming “Star Wars” movie, and write, direct and produce TV pilots. Plus, client Jaimie Alexander is rumored to be reprising her role as Sif in the “Thor” franchise and circling other Marvel projects.

Togetherness: Ginsburg notes that “the pandemic brought studios and talent closer than ever, as everyone wanted to safely and sustainably get production going again.” Adds Kallis: “There’s always great opportunity in finding common ground.”

Damien Granderson, Andre Des Rochers, Josh Sandler, Elizabeth Moody

TRANSACTIONAL
Granderson, Des Rochers: Founding Partners
Sandler: Partner
Moody: Partner; Chair, New Media Practice

Granderson Des Rochers

Formed in July 2019, the boutique firm has yet to start working in the penthouse office space on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills that it remodeled last year, due to the pandemic lockdown, but that hasn’t stopped it from cutting deals for its clients. Granderson closed brand partnerships for A$AP Rocky (Gucci, PacSun), J. Cole (Puma), H.E.R. (Tommy Hilfiger) and Ne-Yo (social-media app LÜM). Des Rochers handled deals for directors Reinaldo Marcus Green (Warner Bros. biopic “King Richard”) and Blitz the Ambassador (Warner Bros.’ feature adaptation of musical “The Color Purple”), actress Sasha Lane (Disney Plus series “Loki”) and playwright Jeremy O. Harris (two-year overall feature and series deal with HBO). Sandler’s clients include “SNL” star Pete Davidson (2020’s “The King of Staten Island”; deal to topline STX feature “American Sole”), Tony-winner Lena Hall (TNT’s “Snowpiercer”), Instagram star Ziwe Fumudoh (upcoming Showtime variety show) and “Bob’s Burgers” voice actors Eugene Mirman, Larry Murphy and John Roberts. Moody is the firm’s tech and new-media specialist, repping fitness companies (Hydrow, Liteboxer), social-media platforms (Triller) and virtual concert streamers (Sessions, Wave).

Responding to Music Streaming Explosion: “If the record companies are doing well, we want to have it trickle down to our clients, so it’s incumbent on us to go in and renegotiate the deal,” says Granderson.

Briana C. Hill, Simon N. Pulman

TRANSACTIONAL

Hill: Partner, Co-Chair Entertainment Practice, LA

Pulman: Partner, Co-Chair Entertainment Practice, NY

Cowan, Debaets, Abrahams & Shepherd

This duo repped Blumhouse Television in multiple deals, including first-look pacts with Anthony Sparks, Michael Seitzman and Scott Derrickson. They also helped the studio acquire the New York Times article “A Mother Stalked Her Daughter’s Killers Across Mexico.” “Our job is to really try and future-proof our clients in terms of what the possibilities might be from a rights perspective,” says Pulman. They repped studio Sister in acquisition of several books including “Deacon King Kong.”

Bull Market: “What has come out of [the lockdown] is it seems to be that both sellers and buyers are interested in greater flexibility for projects because there’s so much opportunity in the market,” Hill says.

Michael Hobel, Melanie Tomanov

TRANSACTIONAL

Hobel: Partner; Chair, Entertainment & Media Transactions

Tomanov: Partner, Entertainment & Media

Katten Muchin Rosenman

While Hobel spent much of 2020 guiding his “eclectic” mix of clients — including Debmar-Mercury, HBO, Warner Media and Hulu — through hurdles posed by COVID, Tomanov did the same for her animation clients. “My satisfaction has been helping clients with the barrage of issues and problems and challenges they face,” Hobel says. Tomanov, whose team helped Matt Groening’s company, Ululu, deliver 10 episodes of “Disenchantment” to Netflix on time and on budget despite the lockdown, adds: “Animation has proven more resilient than live-action. That was really gratifying because it was such a huge challenge. Nobody knew how to do it. We just figured it out.”

All Access: Hobel was initially reluctant about Katten’s staff working remotely, but adapted. “This certainly has taught me that we can be more flexible in terms of where we can work,” he says. “We can serve our clients even better. We were already 24/7 available, but we’re even more so now.”

Ivy Kagan Bierman

TRANSACTIONAL

Partner

Loeb & Loeb

Kagan Bierman handles both transactional matters and litigation. Her 2019 negotiations with the Writer Guild on behalf of the Verve agency led to the proposed “code of conduct” becoming the WGA Franchise Agreement. Last year she helped clients adapt to and understand confusing COVID protocols so they could get back into production. “Now we’re asking, ‘Can we require people to be vaccinated?’ This is new territory for all of us.”

Tough Reputation: A new client asked when he was going to see the “tough Ivy” he’d heard about. “We rejected all their proposals, then came back with counters that were worse than the predecessor agreement,” says Kagan Bierman. “What about that isn’t tough? I don’t need to slam a table to be tough.”

Jason Karlov, Carolyn Hunt, Bryan Thompson, Ryan Barncastle, Rebekah Prince, Steve Weizenecker, Scott Witlin, Amanda Taber

TRANSACTIONAL

Karlov: Partner; Chair, Media & Sports Practice Group

Hunt, Thompson, Barncastle, Prince, Weizenecker, Witlin: Partners

Taber: Senior Associate

Barnes & Thornburg

Launched in 2011, the Century City- based entertainment arm of the 95-year-old Indianapolis-headquartered law firm has a wealth of high-profile clients from the fields of music (Bob Dylan, John Fogerty, Grateful Dead Music Publishing, Rufus Wainwright, Michael Bolton, T Bone Burnett), sports (Russell Westbrook, Top Rank Boxing, NFL Networks), film and TV production (MGM, Bento Box Entertainment, Bold Films, Hercules Films, Watch This Productions!), big media (Viacom Intl., TV One) and finance (Union Bank, City National Bank, East West Bank, Bay Point Capital, TM Film Finance). Hunt and Thompson (who did stints in-house at Yahoo and Fox Networks subsidiary the Jackal Group) focus on film, television and digital media. Atlanta-based Weizenecker’s specialties include production incentives and video games. Witlin is an expert on union and guild agreements. Barncastle is a business transactional attorney with an expertise in sports entertainment branding. Prince handles sports, entertainment and corporate transactions. And Karlov and Taber head up the music efforts, which have included several big transactions in the super-hot market for music copyrights, including The Killers sale of the publishers’ and the writers’ share of their pre-2020 catalog to Eldridge Partners, and Imagine Dragons’ sale of the writer’s share and a co-publishing share of its catalog to independent music company Concord for a reported $100 million.

Psychological Hurdle for Music Catalog Deals: “Imagine someone comes to you and says, ‘We’d like to buy your family photo album,’” Karlov says. “It’s really an identity, as much as anything you can think of.”

Arash Khalili, Steve Hurdle

TRANSACTIONAL

Khalili: Co-Chair, Capital Markets & Corporate; Co-Chair, Sports

Hurdle: Deputy Chair, Capital Markets & Corporate

Loeb & Loeb

Khalili calls the multi-year live-streaming deal struck between top gamer Richard “Ninja Blevins” Tyler and Twitch precedent-setting: “That transaction not only was extremely unique and groundbreaking for Ninja, it unlocked the barriers of entry — a lot of influencers, streamers and Millennials will be third-party beneficiaries of that transaction for years to come.” Hurdle works closely with Elisabeth Murdoch, Stacey Snider and Jane Featherstone’s U.K.-based Sister. “I help them make investments in U.S. companies doing interesting things on the forefront of content,” Hurdle says. Khalili adds: “A lot of what we try to do is look ahead and fashion and design deals in a way that, to the best we can, will take into account what the future may hold.”

On the Nose: Of his deal among “Black Mirror” creators Charlie Brooker, Annabel Jones’ Broke and Bones and Netflix, Hurdle says, “The very first project they did for Netflix was called ‘Death to 2020,’ which I thought was very appropriate.”

Ken Kleinberg, Jill Smith

TRANSACTIONAL

Kleinberg: Name Partner

Smith: Partner

Kleinberg Lange Cuddy & Carlo

Both multi-decade legal veterans, Kleinberg and Smith have been working alongside each other for more than seven years, collaborating on big accounts such as the Lego movie franchise, currently based at Universal. Kleinberg’s long-term clients include Jack Nicholson, Monkee Michael Nesmith, singer Pete Cetera and Oscar-winning animator Glen Keane (“Dear Basketball”). He also advises the estate of “Mary Poppins” author P.L. Travers, administers the studio accounting of Johnny Depp’s 30-plus films and, most significantly, serves as the U.S. rep for “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling, handling everything from film adaptations to theme park attractions. Smith reps writer-director Sri Rao, writer-producers Alexa Junge and Karl Gajdusek, production company Naked Television, the heirs of Rube Gold- berg and, in collaboration with partner Bob Lange, Sylvester Stallone and his Balboa Prods., and actors Carrie-Anne Moss and Mark Hamill.

Pandemic’s Silver Lining: “It shows you can remain calm and carry on,” says Kleinberg. “People for the most part showed that they could do that.”

Dina LaPolt

TRANSACTIONAL

Owner and Founder

LaPolt Law

LaPolt and Songwriters of North America, which she co-founded, successfully advocated inclusion of independent contractors and sole proprietors for the federal COVID-19 economic assistance. Her clients include Deadmau5, Iann Dior, 21 Savage and Steven Tyler. LaPolt, whose law firm includes 10 full-time attorneys, was a key mover of landmark federal legislation Music Modernization Act of 2018, which cemented her legacy in the business. She was named Variety’s Power of Law honoree for 2020.

NFT Craze: LaPolt is stoked about non-fungible tokens as an emerging income source. Artists can issue crypto NFTs for their owned content, and “every time an NFT is traded the music creator gets remuneration,” she says.

Linda Lichter

TRANSACTIONAL

Founding Member, Partner

Lichter Grossman Nichols Adler & Feldman

Lichter has long been dedicated to repping female filmmakers, and several of them scored big in the past year, including Chloé Zhao (awards season favorite “Nomadland,” Marvel’s upcoming “The Eternals”) and Niki Caro (Disney’s live-action “Mulan” remake). Other clients include Marc Forster (set to direct Lionsgate’s “Whitebird”), producer/ director Lesli Linka Glatter (“Homeland”), producer Gail Mutrux (“News of the World”) and “Big Bang Theory” co-creator Bill Prady.

Studio Compensation for Vanishing Theatrical Backend: “You still want the artist to support the movie, so you don’t want to totally screw them, so [studios] have been pretty good, but I don’t know if that’s going to continue,” says Lichter.

Jessica Marlow, Wayne Kazan, Shaun Gordon, Jamie Lincenberg

Kevin S. Masuda

TRANSACTIONAL

Partner; Co-Chair, Media, Entertainment & Technology Practice Group

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

Masuda repped global Indian entertainment company Eros Intl. in its merger with STX Entertainment to create Eros STX Global Corp. He also repped Arnold Schwarzenegger in his deal to create “Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten” for Genius Brands Intl.; SpringHill Entertainment (founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter) in a merger and reorganization with digital sports programming network Uninterrupted; and Eros Innovations in a joint venture with Mike Tyson.

Finding Your Demo: “Video streaming and music streaming exploded during the pandemic and I think right now the focus is on buying the right content for the right demographic,” says Masuda.

Ben Meiselas

TRANSACTIONAL

Managing Partner

Geragos & Geragos

Meiselas repped Colin Kaepernick in a long list of deals that includes Netflix, Ben & Jerry’s, Audible and Disney. The attorney is also Kaepernick’s business partner and general counsel for all the entities run by the civil-rights activist. He also worked on the formation of Kaepernick’s Mission Advancement Corp., which closed its IPO in March. As a litigator, Meiselas recently settled an eight-figure case against Centurylink for overbilling customers.

Fighting the Good Fight: “I met Colin through my work as a civil rights lawyer and that’s always been something that I wanted to fight for in any form, whether it’s in a courtroom or with Colin, who has been able to bring that brand and that mission in a deal,” says Meiselas.

Darrell D. Miller

TRANSACTIONAL

Founding Chair, Entertainment & Sports Law Department

Fox Rothschild

Miller represented the NAACP for its multi-year content deal with CBS Television and Reginald Hudlin as the first Black executive producer of the Emmy Awards. Other clients include Angela Bassett, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Teyonah Parris and Courtney B. Vance; and rising talents Tati Gabrielle, Moses Ingram, Morocco Omari, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Taylor Tomlinson.

Work in Progress: Miller says Hollywood’s recent minorities-inclusion push has made progress, though the jury is still out about its long-term effects. “What will it take for Hollywood to hold itself accountable for the economic, social and business realities of increasing Black representation in film and TV?” he asks.

Schuyler (Sky) Moore

TRANSACTIONAL

Partner, Entertainment Law

Greenberg Glusker

An authority on content transactions, Moore recently worked eight movies, including representing Cross Creek on finance and distribution for Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” The Century City-based attorney also advised corporate sales of digital distributor Vertical Entertainment and Vancouver-based producer Johnson Production Group. Further, Moore handles documentaries for Warner Music. He says independent film producers today “either hit the jackpot by selling to a streamer or you are toast” as traditional distribution avenues narrow.

Homebound: The pandemic’s stay-at-home culture is becoming ingrained, aided by dazzling home TV equipment. “COVID broke the back of the theatrical world,” Moore says.

Peter Nichols

TRANSACTIONAL

Founding Member & Partner

Lichter Grossman Nichols Adler & Feldman

Thanks to the pandemic, Nichols spent most of 2020 working from his vacation home in Jackson Hole, Wyo., cutting deals for writer-directors Dean DeBlois (Universal pact, including new Lego movie), Billy Ray (Showtime miniseries about the Capitol invasion) and Chris Sanders (DreamWorks animated adaptation of “The Wild Robot”), Kevin Kwan (Sony adaptation “Sex and Vanity”), and screenwriter Etan Cohen (DreamWorks Animation’s “The Bad Guys”).

The More Things Change: “Some studios are still keeping their eyes closed and pretending that streaming money should be reported on a home-video basis, as if costs like manufacturing and shipping still apply,” Nichols says.

L. Lee Phillips, Robert Jacobs, Charles J. “Jeff ” Biederman, Monika Tashman, Jordan Bromley, Gary Gilbert, Eric Custer

TRANSACTIONAL

Phillips: Senior Partner, Name Partner, Manatt Entertainment

Jacobs: Leader, Manatt Entertainment/Litigation

Biederman,Tashman: Music Partners, Manatt Entertainment

Bromley: Leader, Manatt Entertainment/Transactional

Gilbert: Senior Partner, Manatt Entertainment

Custer: Partner, Manatt Entertainment

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

Manatt’s music practice has done more than just score big deals for its big-name clients, who include Steve Perry, Peter Frampton, Jackson Browne, Wynonna Judd, Chuck D and Public Enemy, George Benson, Styx, Death Cab for Cutie, Pat Benatar, Sly Stone, Michael McDonald, Courtney Love, Daniel Lanois, Tracy Chapman, Fall Out Boy, Marshmello, Debbie Harry and Debbie Gibson. It’s fought to make sure musicians of all stripes can keep working. In 2020, Bromley was the lead negotiator in the effort to secure a comprehensive music industry exemption to California’s AB5, a law that threatened to cripple the state’s “gig economy” in music. The firm has also been making big deals buying and selling music catalogs, with Phillips closing major financing deals for Burt Bacharach and Paul Anka with Primary Wave Music, and Biederman completing nearly a billion dollars in transactions for clients in the space. The firm has also helped clients navigate the pandemic, with Tashman taking the lead in negotiating and designing frameworks for self-distributed releases and digital alternatives to traditional concerts.

Live Music on the Comeback Trail: “We’re thinking by the third to fourth quarter, it’ll start looking good, then by 2022, it will be like the Roaring ’20s, people are so eager to see live music,” says Bromley.

Bobby Rosenbloum

TRANSACTIONAL

Chairman, Global Entertainment & Media Practice

Greenberg Traurig

Working music and tech deals valued at $3 billion in the past year, Rosenbloum reps ByteDance/TikTok; transactional and IP matters for the Recording Academy; Facebook for music licensing; Spotify for global music licensing; and Equinox Media for music. The Atlanta-based attorney also advises Amazon on music for Amazon Studios, Audible and Twitch Interactive. Further, Rosenbloum represents music talent, including the Jerry Herman Estate.

New Wave: “The growth of new income sources from fitness applications, social media and gaming, along with revenue from existing music services, have ensured the prosperity of the music industry despite the pandemic downturn,” Rosenbloum says.

Paul Rothenberg, Jeremy Mohr, Josh Binder

TRANSACTIONAL

Partners & Co-Founders

Rothenberg, Mohr & Binder

Founded by Rothenberg, Mohr and Binder in 2018, the firm is known for the cutting-edge, multi-platform deals it makes for its stable of music biz clients. For Rothenberg, recent highlights include negotiating Andra Day’s starring role in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” which earned her an Oscar nomination for lead actress; a publishing venture with Universal Music for Kenya Barris (“Black-ish”); and Logic’s seven-figure exclusive streaming deal with Twitch. Mohr handled client Chloe x Halle’s partnership with Victoria’s Secret for their “I AM Enough” campaign, and negotiated all the agreements for Kehlani’s album “It Was Good Until It Wasn’t,” as well as the deal for her new publishing agreement with Pulse Music Group. Binder closed label deals for Kendrick Lamar and SZA at UMPG, Khea with Interscope and music manager Moe Shalizi with Pick Six Records.

Not Hidebound by Tradition: “We’re not saddled with decades of policies or politics,” says Mohr. “We’re young enough to be able to pivot our business and be nimble.”

Barbara M. Rubin

TRANSACTIONAL

Partner, Co-Chair of the Entertainment Department

Glaser Weil

A onetime high school teacher, Rubin went to law school and joined Glaser Weil in 2013 after in-house stints at Spelling Television, Rysher Television and A&E West Coast Entertainment. Today, she reps both production companies and talent, including actors Martin Sheen and Alison Sweeney. Recent accords include producer Sunta Izzicupo’s pact with Front Street Prods. and Scripps Network’s IP transfer of “Big Nate” to Nickelodeon.

The Deal Before the Deal: “I’m a big believer that you need to put pen to paper, or write an email, or talk on the phone and iron out all the major deal points,” says Rubin. “If you do that, once there’s an agreement everything else will go easy.”

Alan Sacks, Hayden Goldblatt, Sean Jefferson, Larissa Calva Ruiz

TRANSACTIONAL

Sacks, Goldblatt: Partners

Jefferson, Ruiz: Associates

Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz

The foursome work film and TV in the law firm’s entertainment finance group. Sacks, Goldblatt and Jefferson are in New York. Ruiz is in Century City. Clients include Sherborne Media in a $135 million financing for Roland Emmerich’s “Moonfall” and Anton Capital Entertainment, whose “The Night House” sold to Searchlight at Sundance reportedly for $12 million. Others include A24, Atlantic Records, immersive experiential Meow Wolf, Play/Action Pictures (“Summer of Soul”) and Topic Studios. Goldblatt highlights documentaries because they can be produced despite COVID-19 uncertainties with remote interviews and archival footage. “As the world shut down, financiers and producers of narrative films pivoted to documentary films and documentary series,” Goldblatt says. Docu “license fees are beginning to rival those of independent narrative films.”

What’s Next? Sacks says movie financiers looking past the pandemic’s streaming culture will find theatricals intriguing. “I don’t think post-pandemic, people are going to want to stay at home to watch a movie,” he says. He sees opportunities for small theatricals getting recognized talent and shared-risk financing.

Stephen Sessa, Edward Shapiro, Christian Simonds, Gregor Pryor, Sophie Goossens, Michael S. Sherman, Stacy Marcus

TRANSACTIONAL

Sessa: Partner; Co-Chair, Global Entertainment & Media Industry Group, Century City

Shapiro, Simonds: Partners, New York

Pryor: Partner, Co-Chair, Global Entertainment & Media Industry Group, London

Goossens: Partner, Paris

Sherman: Partner, Los Angeles

Marcus: Head of Advertising & Marketing for Entertainment & Media Group

Reed Smith

A firm with 1,500 lawyers in 30 cities worldwide is likely to have a major footprint in the entertainment industry. Sessa, whose music practice specializes in buying and selling copyrights, serves as Concord Music’s outside counsel. In 2020 he negotiated all the NFL talent deals for the 2021 Super Bowl, including the Weeknd. Other clients include Bon Jovi, Meek Mills, Kesha, Iconic Artists Group/Irving Azoff and Derek Hough. Shapiro negotiated strategic ventures for Rihanna’s beauty lines; repped Anitta for a Netflix special and Kaskade for an Epic Games deal; and made influencer deals for popular TikToker Bella Poarch. Simonds repped the “Malcolm & Marie” team with production and subsequent sale of the film to Netflix for $30 million; The Hideaway Entertainment for financing and production of “Cherry,” sold to Apple for $30 million; and Endeavor Content for production of Michael Bay’s “Ambulance.” Pryor handled deals such as MelodyVR buying Napster and the sale of Voisey to Snapchat. Goossens specializes in licensing, entertainment transactions, technology, IT law, AI, and EU media. Sherman advises on content development, financing, production and distribution. Clients include CrichtonSun, successor to most of author Michael Crichton’s works; Viacom Intl. Studios U.K.; Glen Ballard; and Kelly Starrett. Marcus, who specializes in endorsements, SAG-AFTRA issues and branded entertainment, repped a global fashion beauty brand in an unnamed deal.

Rebirth: “Although [the pandemic] has been devastating for artists and live events in the past year, the pent-up demand for new entertainment experiences and expansive production will drive the sector for years to come,” say Pryor and Sessa.

Nina Shaw, Gordon Bobb

TRANSACTIONAL

Shaw: Founding Partner

Bobb: Partner

Del Shaw Moonves

Tanaka Finkelstein Lezcano

Shaw, a frequent spokesperson on behalf of diversity and inclusion, has recently brokered deals for multiple female directors. These include Nia DaCosta for “Captain Marvel 2”; Misha Green for the “Tomb Raider” sequel; Gina Prince-Bythewood for “The Woman King”; and Victoria Mahoney for “Shadow Force.” Other agreements: Ta-Nehisi Coates, writer of the new untitled Super-man movie; Quinta Brunson in her transition from performer to performer-creator with the “Harrity Elementary” pilot; and Andra Day in her starring role in “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.” Shaw has also handled deals for Regina King and John Legend. Bobb, whose clients include Ava DuVernay, represents actors, comedians, athletes, writers, directors and production and distribution companies. He is this year’s Variety Power of Law honoree.

Do the Right Thing: Shaw, along with attorney Anita Hill, is a co-founder of the Hollywood Commission, set up following the Harvey Weinstein scandal to combat inappropriate conduct in the entertainment industry.

Lawrence Shire

TRANSACTIONAL

Managing Partner; Head of Digital Media, Motion Picture, Television, Theatre and Sports

Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks

Shire repped Bruce Springsteen in the famous Jeep Super Bowl commercial and for the production of his new film “Letter to You,” and LeBron James in his lifetime deal with Nike. Other deals: Drake with SiriusXM and Pandora; Robert De Niro for film and TV; and Scott Rudin on his Broadway post-pandemic plans. Shire also advises Facebook in its deals with athletes and stars.

COVID Spurs Content Demand: “In this environment, the demand for content is just going to drive more and more deals,” says Shire. “As much as everything is changing to digital, many of the copyright principles still apply.”

Amy Siegel, Bruce Tobey, Silvia Vannini

TRANSACTIONAL

Siegel: Partner & Co-Chair, Entertainment, Sports & Media Group

Tobey, Vannini: Partners, Entertainment, Sports & Media Group

O’Melveny & Myers

The transactional team based in Century City advised ViacomCBS in buying a 49% stake in Miramax from beIN Media in a reported $375 million transaction. Siegel, Tobey and Vannini also advised NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. on force majeure and return-to-work strategies amid the pandemic. Siegel — who was elevated in February and has worked at the law firm 16 years — advises tech start-up Looped with media partners and an automotive client in securing a celebrity endorser. Siegel also advises on film financing and distribution matters for Bron Studios. Tobey handled Paramount Pictures in a multi-picture co-financing deal, CAA in buying creative agency Tandem, and Library Pictures Intl. in a Korean transaction with CJ Entertainment. Vannini represented indie FilmDistrict in its sale to entertainment finance company Content Partners.

Known Unknowns: “The pandemic has introduced a lot of new uncertainties but also accelerated the pivoting that we saw coming more than a year ago,” Siegel says, adding that theatrical windows were already shrinking and new streamers popping up. Uncertain is how consumers will embrace movie theaters, theme parks and concerts, and how Hollywood safely works out new production protocols.

Marc H. Simon

TRANSACTIONAL

Partner; Chair, Entertainment & Sports Law Department

Fox Rothschild

A former documentarian, New York-based Simon has a diverse client list that includes Alec Baldwin and his El Dorado Pictures, along with his wife, Hilaria (“Mom Brain” podcast); former White House photographer Pete Souza; Swedish film production company B-Reel (“Midsommar”); actors Joe Pesci and Bill Nye (“The Science Guy”); activist and police shooting survivor Leon Ford; Somali-American fashion model Halima Aden; and Oscar-winning filmmakers Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Freida Lee Mock.

Life Beyond Exclusive Streaming Deals: “There’s still going to be a big group of those films that need that TLC, where it’s not one- stop shopping,” says Simon.

Chris Spicer, Marissa Román Griffith, Alissa Miller, Vanessa Roman, Susan Leader

TRANSACTIONAL

Spicer: Entertainment Practice Head

Griffith, Miller, Roman: Partners, Entertainment Practice

Leader: Partner, Litigation Practice

Akin Gump

Spicer, Griffith, Miller and Roman are transactional attorneys; Leader is a litigator; all are based in Century City. The transactional group reps Bank of America, Comerica Bank, East West Bank, JPMorgan Chase, MUFG Union Bank and Truist Bank (SunTrust), and also Aperture Media Partners as a lender. Entertainment clients include Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, Media Rights Capital, Portfolio Funding Co., which administers the Weinstein Co. catalog, and XYZ Films. For litigation, Leader defends WME in lawsuit concerning the retention of deposits for performance cancelled by Virgin Fest Los Angeles under a Force Majeure provision; Bliss Media; Kroenke Sports Entertainment; and Playboy Enterprises. The transactional group works with the American Coalition for Independent Content Production seeking guarantees by government to overcome COVID-19 insurance issues. “What we are trying to do is establish an immediate bridge and government backstop fund to get production back up and running in a meaningful way,” says Miller. “We’re making progress.”

Unplugging: With courts clogged following shutdowns, Leader says, “attorneys and clients who don’t agree on the facts or the law are collaborating to identify creative ways to resolve their disputes.” Solutions include bench trials, mediations, arbitrations and mini-trials before a neutral party to evaluate cases.

Robert Strent

TRANSACTIONAL

Partner

Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks

Strent has repped some of the most dynamic voices in entertainment, including Lizzo with her first-look deal with Amazon Studios, Priyanka Chopra Jonas in a first-look deal with Amazon Studios and LeBron James’ Uninterrupted digital sports plat- form. The attorney also repped Spike Lee in deals with Netflix for “Da 5 Bloods” and Participant Media for the acclaimed “American Utopia.”

Devil’s Still in the Details: “There was really heavy reexamination of the legal boilerplate provisions and agreements to understand how force majeure would work [in a pandemic],” says Strent. “But people still want content and the dealmaking has not slowed down one single bit.”

Matthew Syrkin

TRANSACTIONAL

Partner; Global Chair, Media, Technology & Commercial Transactions Group

Hughes Hubbard

New York-based Syrkin calls on a deep knowledge of entertainment tech, serving as the primary counsel for the launch of HBO Max in its first international market, Latin America; advising Sony Music Entertainment, equity owners of “Peanuts,” on deal to make Apple Plus the new home for content inspired by the legendary cartoon strip; and handling the development of next-gen tech for Madison Square Garden’s upcoming 360-degree experience the Sphere in Las Vegas.

Going All-In on Streaming: “[The pandemic] effectively propelled the movement forward by 20 years,” says Syrkin. “Theoretically, it’s cannibalizing your own to get to a better end result.”

Matt Thompson, Rusty Weiss, Richard Petretti, Stephen Fronk, Annie Wallis, Rollin Ransom, Luke Ashworth, Feifei Bian, Raisa Turner, Emily Zipperstein

TRANSACTIONAL

Thompson, Weiss, Petretti, Fronk, Wallis, Ransom: Partners

Ashworth, Bian, Turner, Zipperstein: Associates

Sidley Austin

Thompson, co-founder of the firm’s Century City office and leader of its media and entertainment group, reps sources of capital that drive content creators, producers and distributors. Along with his colleagues he repped Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group on several nine-figure deals that closed in the second half of 2020. Other transactions: repping Dwayne Johnson and business partner Dany Garcia in their XFL acquisition and Teremana Tequila launch, and the Raine Group in the Thrill One Sports & Entertainment launch. Weiss, handling technology and IP, repped FoxNext on licensing and distribution rights for its Predator VR game; Daybreak in its acquisition of Cold Iron Studios; and KKR on the music, technology and intellectual property aspects of its investment in Artlist. Petretti, specialist in global finance and private equity, worked with J.P. Morgan Chase and City National Bank in multiple major entertainment transactions. Palo Alto-based Fronk focuses on tech, IP and venture capital. His projects include Amazon in multiple deals, including its streaming partnership with the New York Yankees. Wallis, also in finance, helped Raine in creating a credit facility for the launch of Thrill One, and advised film producer and distributor Neon on a credit facility with lender MUFG Union Bank. Ransom, co-leader of the global commercial litigation and disputes practice, as well as managing partner of the L.A. office, serves clients such as record labels and the RIAA, and advises Warner Music in a class-action suit challenging the calculation of royalty payments attributable to foreign streaming. Firm associates playing notable roles in many of these deals include M&A and capital markets specialist Feifei Bian, global finance expert Raisa Turner and private equity whizzes Emily Zipperstein and Luke Ashworth.

Team Builder: “I’m a firm believer in the collective approach to the practice of law,” says Thompson, who recruited many of the attorneys in his group since moving to Sidley six years ago. “It’s not just about me. We have a remarkably strong team.”

Todd Weinstein, Tara Senior, Ethan Cohan

TRANSACTIONAL

Partners

Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein Lezcano

The trio of Weinstein, Senior and Cohan collectively oversee more than $200 million worth of production and related legal work annually, repping high-profile clients that include Vox, the NFL, producer Vin Di Bona (“America’s Funniest Home Videos”), broadcast journalist Soledad O’Brien, writer-showrunner Kira Snyder (HBO’s “Demimonde”), fashion designer Dapper Dan,
Ample Entertainment, restaurateur Wolfgang Puck, Lori Greiner (“Shark Tank”), Amanda Kloots (“The Talk”) and authors Eve L. Ewing and Vann R. Newkirk II. When the country went into lockdown in March 2020, more than 60 of their clients’ shows were shuttered simultaneously. Says Senior: “There were all sorts of legal and logistical implications that came into play,” including force majeure and uncertainty about whether people were going to get paid.

Unity in a Time of Crisis: “It didn’t matter if it was our client or somebody else’s,” says Senior. “Everybody really had to roll up their sleeves and figure out how to get these productions back up and running, safely and legally.”

Kevin Yorn, Ashley Nissenberg, David Krintzman, Ryan Goodell

TRANSACTIONAL

Partners

Morris Yorn Barnes Levine Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner Endlich & Gellman

The firm’s partners have collaborated as a team on multiple transactions. Recent agreements include: Laura Linney’s renegotiated “Ozark” deal, making her one of the highest-paid actors on Netflix; redrawing the “Umbrella Academy” deal for Elliot Page and helping the actor with their doc “There’s Something in the Water”; endorsement deals for Ellen DeGeneres and Zoe Saldana, plus actor deals for Saldana with Netflix and New Regency; a deal for Marlon Wayans to portray Richard Pryor in limited series “Black Is the New White”; and Mike Judge’s deals for the “Beavis & Butt-Head” reboot and spinoff series at ViacomCBS. Additionally, Morris Yorn negotiated deals for Scarlett Johansson’s production company These Pictures, including “Bride” for Apple and A24; and a pact for Jennifer Kaytin Robinson to co-write Marvel’s “Thor: Love and Thunder” with firm client Taika Waititi, as well her new director and producer deals with Netflix and Sony TV. Other clients for whom the firm has scored recent deals include Jenny Slate at Netflix; Jessica Biel at Paramount TV; producer Neil Meron on new projects; Matthew McConaughey for endorsements and a book deal; Terry Crews for books; Steph Curry for the Match golf tournament; and Michael Shannon and Ansel Elgort for acting.

Standing for a Cause: Yorn is exec producer of a pediatric cancer documentary for the industry charity Stand Up to Cancer in collaboration with PBS and Ken Burns. A fundraising event will take place after the pandemic.

Despina Beazoglou

IN-HOUSE

Business Affairs Executive, News & Broadcasting

UTA

New York-based Beazoglou negotiates deals for UTA clients across news, broad- casting, publishing, radio, unscripted tele- vision and sports. Recent highlights include Norah O’Donnell’s pact as an anchor and managing editor of “CBS Evening News”; Bill Whitaker’s renegotiation to remain as a correspondent on “60 Minutes”; Kaitlin Collins’ promotion to CNN’s chief White House correspondent; Jenna Wolfe’s deal to continue hosting Fox Sports’ “First Things First”; and the contract for political strategist Symone Sanders’ nonfiction book “No, You Shut Up.”

Focus on the Big Picture: In news, “people sign contracts for three or four years of their life, [so] it’s even more important that everyone feels good about where the final deal is,” Beazoglou says.

Kerry Brockhage

IN-HOUSE

EVP and Chief Counsel, Content Distribution

NBCUniversal

In addition to structuring deals for NBCUniversal networks — scripted and unscripted entertainment, news, sports and Hispanic programming — Brockhage spent much of 2020 focused on the company’s Peacock streaming service. “I got to be involved with its launch,” she says. “That was a new era and a new set of deals to work on. That was another part of the year that was important to the team.”

New Opportunities: “As our whole business evolves, our distribution agreements evolve, and our relationships with consumers evolve, it all presents challenges, and it’s all an opportunity to work through the challenges,” Brockhage says. “That’s what keeps work interesting and keeps people sharp and focused.”

Susanna Felleman

IN-HOUSE

Executive VP, Business Affairs

HBO, HBO Max, TBS, TNT and truTV

The Los Angeles-based Felleman works talent transactions, including exclusive TV deals, talent participations, residuals, labor and international co-productions. That includes “The Game of Thrones” prequel, HBO Max series “Peacemaker,” the continuation of “Succession,” and overall deals for Jesse Armstrong (“Succession”). Felleman recently added responsibility for TBS, TNT and truTV; she joined HBO in 2001.

Their Common Enemy: Felleman is heartened that the industry united to restart production amid the pandemic with “a spirit of cooperation by parties who are not always aligned, like the studios, guilds, actors, writers, directors, crew members, and all their representatives such as agents and lawyers.”

Noah Fogelson

IN-HOUSE

Co-President & General Counsel

Eros STX Global

Fogelson, who heads a team of dealmakers, was behind the July merger between STX Entertainment and Indian powerhouse Eros Intl., creating the $750 million-plus stock-market-capitalization company. Fogelson, who was previously general counsel of STX, now sits at the top of a multiplatform media company that produces and delivers entertainment worldwide. In addition, he helped pivot the distribution of “Greenland” to an array of media platforms globally; the apocalyptic thriller generated over $50 million in international box office. Fogelson also worked deals with Amazon, Epix, HBO, Hulu, Showtime and an innovative co-financing TV program deal template with Netflix.

Be Prepared: In today’s topsy-turvy media world, Fogelson says each movie needs to be ready to go theatrical, streaming or a combination thereof, “so pre-negotiating is super important. You want the talent to be comfortable with the outcome in either direction.”

Michelle Katz

IN-HOUSE

VP, Business & Legal Affairs

Ithaca Holdings

Katz handled management deals for artists CL and Quavo; and legal aspects for Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande’s single “Stuck With U,” raising money for the First Responders Children’s Foundation. She also provides outside legal and risk management for Bieber’s clothing brand Drew House. Ithaca is the media holding company led by SB Projects founder Scooter Braun, and Katz also works SB Projects’ business and legal affairs.

Nimble: With the pandemic shutting down concerts, Katz says the music industry pushed live-stream concerts, sponsorships, partnership with brands and merchandise for talent. “It’s more important than ever to maximize opportunities outside of traditional touring,” she says.

Clara Kim

IN-HOUSE

EVP & General Counsel

ASCAP

When stay-at-home orders were issued at the outset of the pandemic, Kim and her team aggressively sought out monetary relief for ASCAP members, helping the org set up direct grants to songwriters and composers in need as part of the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund, and working with the U.S. Secretary of Labor to make sure that music creators, who are mostly self-employed, would receive unemployment benefits under the CARES Act. At the same time, they closed multi-year deals with a number of major music licensees.

Meet the New Boss: “Radio used to be the most dominant supplier of public performance royalties, but I think this year streaming music services eclipsed terrestrial radio as a category,” says Kim.

Dan Limerick, Courtney Braun

IN-HOUSE

Limerick: COO, WME

Braun: General Counsel, Endeavor’s Client Rep Group

Besides helping clients navigate legal challenges and protocols posed by COVID, Limerick says the past year proved “instrumental” in bringing negotiations with the WGA to a close. Adds Braun: “It was definitely a high point for us to get this done and get back to representing our clients.” Limerick notes a number of deals were made despite the pandemic. “More challenging were the events businesses that were obviously greatly affected by this — theater, public appearances, music touring — but we feel well poised for the future.”

Dream Team: Braun and Limerick complement each other. “That’s incredibly important in a year like the one we just had — and going through a dispute with the WGA,” Braun says. “We got thrown into that fire together. To come out the other side stronger, as a partnership, has been incredibly meaningful.”

Robert Lister

In-HOUSE

Chief Legal Officer & Senior EVP

IMAX Corp.

While people were predicting doom for the theatrical distribution biz in the wake of the pandemic shutdown, Lister and his legal team closed deals with dozens of partners for more than 65 new Imax theaters around the world. They also negotiated new and expanded partnerships for its Imax Enhanced in-home technology, a five-picture slate agreement with Toho in Japan, and a deal with Hulu to exclusively stream a minimum of 16 Imax documentaries for U.S. subscribers.

Theatrical Window Won’t Close for Imax: “Some of these movies cost $400 million or $500 million to make,” Lister says. “You’re not going to recoup that releasing a movie directly to a streamer.”

Efrain Miron, Starr Silver-Baker

IN-HOUSE

Miron: VP, Original Series Business Team, Content Acquisitions

Silver-Baker: VP, Original Series Content Acquisition

Netflix

The two in-house attorneys work business affairs/legal from Netflix’s Hollywood HQ. Miron is chief negotiator for the newly formed overall deals division. Miron re-upped Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps Entertainment (“Stranger Things”) for TV and added features. Silver-Baker handles original drama series, including overall deals with the duke and duchess of Sussex and the Obamas’ Higher Ground Productions, and David E. Kelley’s series “Anatomy of a Scandal.” While TV programs are usually regional, Miron says Netflix is telling global stories. “We’re casting all over the world, shooting all over the world and navigating union, regulatory and financial issues on a global basis.”

Human Touch: The pandemic forced talent to uproot and quarantine, notes Silver-Baker. “It was incredibly important that it felt that there was a human being making decisions about the livelihoods of the creative partners on each of those productions.”

Jun Oh, Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon

IN-HOUSE

Oh: President, Global Business & Legal Affairs

McKinnon: General Counsel

Skydance Media

Oh worked February’s multi-year deal for animated features and TV with Apple. He also helped craft production/distribution deals “The Tomorrow War” for Amazon Studios; Netflix’s highly watched actioner “The Old Guard” and establishing an animated features division. McKinnon worked the $1 billion corporate credit line announced in January, and the company’s COVID-19 mitigation plans. She also took a key role in establishing Skydance New Media and Skydance Animation Madrid in Spain. Oh says streamers are planting deep roots in original movies. “In a post-pandemic world, that’s a real shift for features and is not going to slow down,” Oh says.

Balancing Act: McKinnon feels return-to-work won’t be one big movement after the pandemic, but gradual. Working at home is convenient, she says, while face-to-face in the office has advantages too.

Jamie Stockton

IN-HOUSE

Head of Business Affairs, Books Department

CAA

Stockton’s busy structuring a precedent-setting rights deal with MGM for Andy Weir’s upcoming novel, “Project Hail Mary,” and helped close deals for political figures, including then-President-elect Joe Biden, Dr. Jill Biden and Vice President-to-be Kamala Harris. “Those were career-changing experiences for me,” Stockton says. Additionally, he saw Eva Chen’s first picture book grow into a best-selling book series that’s now being developed as an animated series at Warner Bros.; helped negotiate Paramount Television’s acquisition of the rights to “Middlesex,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Jeffrey Eugenides, who will also executive produce; and “The Prom” rights deal with Netflix, on behalf of the stage rightsholders, which was produced and directed by agency client Ryan Murphy.

Books and COVID: “We’re all home, and we’re all cooking, so we’re also doing a book for Antoni Porowski that’s coming out this year, called ‘Let’s Do Dinner,’” says Stockton. “I think we all need a little bit of that in our lives.”

Julie Swidler, Wade Leak, Stu Bondell, Jeff Walker, Susan Meisel

IN-HOUSE

Swidler: EVP, Business Affairs & General Counsel; Division Head

Leak: EVP, Deputy General Counsel, Chief Compliance, Ethics & Privacy Officer

Bondell: Executive VP, Business & Legal Affairs, International

Walker: EVP, Head of Business & Legal Affairs, Global Digital Business

Meisel: Senior VP, Corporate Deputy General Counsel

Sony Music Entertainment

As leader of the New York-based Sony Music Entertainment team, Swidler has been at the forefront of modernizing the company’s artist contracts and updating its royalties reporting systems, enabling profit participants to collect earnings faster. She also championed the company’s nonpartisan U.S. voter campaign, Your Voice, Your Power, Your Vote. Working alongside her, Bondell completed more than 75 major artist, label and distribution deals across the U.K., Canada, Continental Europe and Asia in the past year, while helping finalize over 30 international COVID-19 relief charity projects. Walker focuses on the worlds of social media and gaming, working with digital service providers to create innovative exploitation models covering everything from live concerts to fitness classes. He’s also a key driver of the company’s social and racial justice task force, formed last year. Meisel oversees company’s investments, ranging from merch, promotion and podcasting to labels and live events, including the recent acquisitions of artist distribution and services company Human ReSources and U.K.-based music merchandiser Probity.

Theory of Everything: “We’re Rome in the sense that all roads lead to us,” says Swidler. “We get involved in everything, so it’s incredibly important that we understand the business we’re working we’re in.”

Kenneth Wu

IN-HOUSE

SVP, Business and Legal Affairs

Anonymous Content

Wu put together the business and legal affairs team for the Anonymous Content Studio and manages the company’s team of lawyers in setting policy, deal parameters and business strategy across film, TV and new media. This includes the film “Swan Song” for Apple TV Plus, starring Anonymous client Mahershala Ali and written by client Benjamin Cleary — that got produced during the pandemic; George Clooney’s “The Midnight Sky,” for Netflix; the Hailee Steinfeld series “Dickinson” for Apple TV Plus; and an “Eyes on the Prize” series looking back at the 1987 PBS original civil rights docuseries, set to appear on a major streamer. “It’s so timely now,” he says of the latter. “We definitely have a mission to do something that’s socially relevant, and social justice is important to us.”

Lean Team: Wu has a “Swiss Army Knife approach” to staffing: “You have to be able to take a show from development to production to delivery, both as a business affairs executive and as an attorney,” he says.

Pooneh Aminian

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Associate, Entertainment Practice Group

Cowan, Debaets, Abrahams & Sheppard

In addition to serving as a transactional attorney in Cowan, DeBaets’ entertainment practice group, Aminian acts as outside business affairs exec for several studios, production companies and joint ventures, negotiating development and rights-acquisition deals. Cases in point: She serves as production counsel for Line by Line Media’s shows, which were completed during the pandemic; assisted Venn in launching its live 24/7 network for gaming, esports and entertainment audiences by negotiating talent deals; and supported firm client IDW Entertainment in negotiating deals for animated projects.

Matthew Bernstein

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Associate

Glaser Weil Fink Howard Avchen & Shapiro

Bernstein’s practice involves litigation of entertainment, business and commercial disputes — including fraud, breaches of contract, defamation and unfair competition. Clients include an independent worldwide sales, financing, production and distribution company for feature films; a major overseas media company involved in pro- gram production and distribution; and a media company active in producing and financing feature films, unscripted and scripted TV, sports, music, theater and live events. Bernstein also worked with partners Patricia Glaser and Jill Basinger in their representation before the California labor commissioner of ICM Partners and agent Rob Prinz in their dispute for non-payment of commissions by Celine Dion; the commissioner found in favor of ICM/Rob Prinz following an evidentiary hearing.

Sandra Bignone

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Associate

Chatham Law

Bignone assists firm founder Christopher Chatham on multiple transactions. She handles legal needs for Dax Shepherd and Kristen Bell’s company Hello Bello and for Brad Paisley’s company Tiller and Hatch, and helped close deals for them with retailers such as Walmart, Kroger and Target while managing the brands and marketing with the talent. Bignone also runs point on negotiations and licensing deals with actors such as Anna Farris and Dominic Purcell, as well as popular YouTube personality and cookbook author Joshua Weissman, and the exec producer of hit FXX comedy “Dave.”

Karl Fowlkes

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Founder

The Fowlkes Firm

Fowlkes’ clients include musical artist Blxst; Section 8, the producer behind Lil Baby’s chart-topping single “The Bigger Picture”; and internet sensation Dro Kenji. He also reps Producer Grind, a digital community serving music producers worldwide. Fowlkes founded his firm in 2018 as a “law practice that’s both Black-owned and intentionally Black-operated,” and his clients boast music contributions in over 30 Billboard-charting albums. Within the past year, Fowlkes has negotiated deals worth over a combined $25 million. He also serves as adjunct professor at Rowan and Drexel universities, helping them build out their music programs.

Kendall Jackson

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Associate

Gendler & Kelly

Jackson, who comes from a family of lawyers, is negotiating a new book option/purchase agreement for showrunner David E. Kelley, who turned several books into successful TV projects such as “Big Little Lies,” “The Undoing” and “Big Sky.” Other deals include an agreement for Steve Martin, creator and star of the upcoming Hulu comedy series “Only Murders in the Building”; and writing-producing agreements for Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson for Season 2 of National Geographic’s scientific thriller “In the Hot Zone: Anthrax.” Jackson is also busy on a feature film agreement between two A-list writers and a streaming service.

Meredith Lippman

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Senior Counsel, Original Series

Netflix

One of the first lawyers on Netflix’s original series team, Lippman helped create the streamer’s legal infrastructure for that unit and introduced external talent attorneys and reps to Netflix’s way of doing business. Since then she has managed some of Netflix’s most high-profile projects and deals, including “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss’ multimillion-dollar overall agreement, and has served as the lead negotiator for their upcoming adaptation of the international best-seller “The Three Body Problem.”

Jason Lueddeke

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Associate

DLA Piper

Lueddeke has repped Spyglass Media Group in litigation brought by plaintiff Marvin Peart, a film and TV producer. The dispute arises from Spyglass’ acquisition of the Weinstein Co.’s assets in bankruptcy, including titles such as “Silver Linings Playbook” and “Django Unchained.” Peart claims he’s entitled to a finder’s fee of over $100 million. Additionally, Lueddeke reps Spyglass in litigation brought by Ron Burkle’s private equity firm the Yucaipa Cos. He also reps songwriter-producer Philip Lawrence in litigation brought by attorney Mickey Shapiro, who claims he’s entitled to a percentage of Lawrence’s music publishing catalog.

Christopher Maddox

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Associate

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld

Over the past year, Maddox has worked with Akin Gump teams repping clients in deals totaling over $625 million. Among them: financings for motion pictures, TV and digital projects for lenders East West Bank, Bank of America, Comerica Bank, J.P. Morgan Chase and MUFG Union Bank. Customers of these financial institutions benefiting from the credit lines included Skybound, Blumhouse, Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios, Tyler Perry Studios and affiliates of Apple TV Plus suppliers Media Res Studios and Blinding Edge Pictures.

Jordan Manekin

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Partner

Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks

The newest partner at his firm, Manekin has a varied practice across large media clients as well as talent in film, TV and fashion. He advised iHeartMedia + Entertainment on podcasts, including its multimillion-dollar agreement with Shondaland, and spearheads the company’s music awards deal with Fox. Manekin also advised Sony Music’s general counsel and business and legal affairs team in the development and launch of its new podcast vertical, negotiating a seven-figure agreement with satirical news outlet the Onion. Additionally, he helped guide Facebook’s business and legal affairs teams in their original content for Facebook Watch.

Ramela Ohanian

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Associate

Sheppard Mullin

Ohanian reps top producers, studios and networks on multiple transactional matters. She is lead associate on the firm’s Amazon Studios account, handling first-look and other agreements for film and television, including pacts for Jordan Peele, Barry Jenkins, John Krasinski and writer-producer Francesca Sloane (“Atlanta,” “Fargo”). Ohanian also handled negotiations in connection with Amazon Studios’ acquisition of the film “The Map of Tiny Perfect Things,” and the company’s rights to the animated series “Invincible” and YA series “Nancy Wu Done It.” Other clients include Nickelodeon (rights to two book series) and Focus Features (acquisition of international rights for Neil Burger sci-fi thriller “Voyagers”).

Ariel Sodomsky

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Associate

Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz

New York-based Sodomsky advises clients on TV production matters — especially in the documentary and unscripted space — and handles event and content production deals in the fashion industry. She has provided legal services for Nick Bilton’s HBO documentary “Fake Famous” for client the Carter Office and producers Graydon Carter and Annabelle Dunne; negotiated net- work and production agreements for “Visible: Out on Television” for Apple; for feature documentary “Assassins,” investigating two women duped into killing Kim Jong-un’s half-brother; and legal advice and agreements for client Reel Peak for Netflix doc series “immigration Nation.”