Variety’s 2020 Legal Impact Report

LITIGATORS

Partners and co-chairs, media, entertainment and technology practice group Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

In the L.A. office, Edelman led the legal teams fighting class-action lawsuits for MGM Studios, UMG Recordings and Sony Music. Masuda repped DirecTV in various content trans- actions with major studios and Klutch Sports Group in its partnership with UTA, also handling the formation and capital raise for Ntwrk, an e-commerce shopping show platform. Over in New York, Snyder’s work with big celebrity clients (including Jerry Seinfeld and Lady Gaga) was overshadowed by his efforts in the social-media space, where he’s been leading the legal team for Facebook in several privacy- related issues, including its $5 billion settlement with the FTC. He’s also repping the founders of Tinder in a billion-dollar breach of contract suit against its current parent companies. He’s working with Edelman to defend AMC in profit-participation suits over its series “The Walking Dead.” “We’re repping the new tech economy, the old tech economy and the old brick-and-mortar entertainment industry, which in order to compete and win has to increasingly move to the digital and gig economy,” Snyder says.

LITIGATORS

Founding partner, Freedman + Taitelman

Repping women in high-profile employment disputes, Freedman advised Deborah Dugan departing the Recording Academy, Gabrielle Union exiting “America’s Got Talent” and Sharon Tal Yguado leaving Amazon programming. The Century City-based litigator works video games extensively, including Turner “Tfue” Tenney challenging an e-sports collective as an unlicensed talent agency. Other clients include screenwriter Michael Bacall and attorney Jake Bloom and his former law firm. Freedman believes there will be a raft of new workplace protocols for employees, businesses and government due to the coronavirus pandemic, including physical distancing and remote work. “That will be an interesting concern in the next year as we work through this.”

LITIGATORS

Partner and chair of the litigation department, Glaser Weil

The always busy Glaser has been involved with many significant projects, including representing popular late-night comedian Conan O’Brien, his prolific production company, and the TBS network in a copyright infringement suit concerning comedic material that aired on the “Conan” show in 2015. Glaser cautions that the current and volatile sociopolitical climate can sometimes create unwanted anxiety. “Nobody is listening to each other anymore, and we’re living through a tremendous amount of unwarranted and unnecessary divisiveness,” says Glaser, who earlier this year flagged intellectual property and employment law as growing sectors. “I’m most proud of getting things settled without having to go to litigation.”

LITIGATORS

Founding partners, Hersh Mannis

Hersh and Mannis’ boutique Beverly Hills family law practice made a name for itself taking care of extremely confidential personal matters for highprofile clients. Standout recent cases include handling postseparation financial matters for a major international celebrity whose share of assets exceeded $100 million, and a multimilliondollar child support and palimony case for an NBA star. They also won a hotly contested move-away child custody case for a female film and TV star, and helped a client recoup $10 million-plus in post-separation back-end compensation from approximately 58 major motion pictures. “[Divorce] is a very emotional business,” Hersh says. “If someone loses a chandelier in the dining room, that could be more important than getting a million dollars in the bank.”

LITIGATORS

Kendall, managing and founding partner

Kelly, named partner

Kendall, Brill, & Kelly

Kendall represents CAA in its ongoing battle with the Writers Guild and defended the estate of Hollywood business manager Bob Philpott in a legal battle involving a client’s divorce. Kelly’s clients include CBS, composer Hans Zimmer, NBCUniversal, Sony Music Entertainment and financiers in a multinational film completion bond dispute. The two L.A.-based litigators represented New Regency in its winning claims over a movie marketing campaign, and also Viacom, Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon and VH1 in various matters. A former federal prosecutor, Kendall says the unfolding antitrust battle between talent agencies and writers will set “an important precedent governing unions’ powers to restrict how the Hollywood ecosystem does business.”

LITIGATORS

Founder partner, Johnson & Johnson

Johnson reps Sylvester Stallone in net-profit disputes over three movies, settling last year for “Demolition Man” with Warner Bros. The Beverly Hills-based attorney also handles a pending class action on artist streaming royalties versus Sony Music. Though his practice tilts to litigation, Johnson also handles transactions for singer Michelle Phillips, William Shatner, teenage personality JoJo Siwa and rights-holders for the Buck Rogers property. Whenever new distribution media arrives, Hollywood talent invariably gets short-changed, says Johnson, an adjunct professor at Southwestern Law School since 2012. “Underpayment is a given in the industry, which is why my law firm will never suffer for lack of work.”

LITIGATORS

Partner, entertainment department

Loeb & Loeb

Kagan Bierman has been busy advising companies on guild and union matters related to pandemic shutdowns and startups; she also represents Fremantle in SAG-AFTRA investigations of racial bias allegations by Gabrielle Union (“America’s Got Talent”) and Orlando Jones (“American Gods”). A leading legal light of the #MeToo era, she helped draft Time’s Up safety guidelines for auditions and sex scenes, serving as outside labor counsel for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in its sexual-harassment investigation of its former president John Bailey. Other clients include AMC Networks and Lionsgate. “I couldn’t work for clients if I didn’t think they understood, appreciated and were very focused on having good cultures,” she says.

LITIGATORS

Kinsella, founding partner

MacIsaac, partner

Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert 

Kinsella handled a landmark $179 million arbitration award for veteran executive producer Barry Josephson (“Bones”) in a profit-participation lawsuit and arbitration against 20th Century Fox Television, while MacIsaac represented “Fast and Furious” franchise producer Neal Moritz in his claims against Universal regarding his dismissal from “Hobbs & Shaw.” The duo defeated Universal’s efforts to keep the dispute private, an important win, MacIsaac says, “because it allows Moritz to publicly tell his account of how Universal has treated him in connection with the uber-successful franchise he helped build for the studio.”

LITIGATORS

Kump, founding partner

Holley, partner

Kinsella, Weitzman, Iser, Kump, & Aldisert

The duo had an extremely productive 2019, working with A-list clients such as Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian, Kendall and Kylie Jenner and Sandra Bullock. Anticipating their clients’ potential issues is one of the ways they stay ahead of the game. “I really enjoy working with clients to avoid problems before they become problems,” Kump says. Holley, who started her career as a public defender, adds: “I don’t think my clients realize they’ll need as much emotional support as they do. And they’re incredibly grateful to find that I’m as available to hold their hand and offer reassurance as I am to resolve their legal problems.”

LITIGATORS

Partner, Mitchell, Silberberg, & Knupp

Lepera has been at the center of several of the most contentious, high-profile cases in the music industry, most notably as the representative of producer Dr. Luke in his ongoing defamation case against Kesha. She’s also served as the lead defense counsel in a copyright infringement suit over the Katy Perry song “Dark Horse” and successfully defended Drake and others in a copyright suit over the track “Pound Cake/Paris Morton Music 2.” “Movie cases are routinely thrown out on motions to dismiss because the two things just have generic things in common,” says Lepera, who is based in New York. “But it’s hard for people who aren’t trained in music to understand the same principles apply with music.”

LITIGATORS

Partner, Mitchell, Silberberg, & Knupp

Levin found himself at the center of the industry-altering dispute between the Writers Guild of America and talent agents last year when he sued the WGA on behalf of UTA, alleging that the union’s call for members to fire their agents violates antitrust and federal labor laws. He also won a victory in the California Supreme Court for CNN in an employment discrimination case and defended numerous other major media companies in employment disputes (Fox, Disney, Warner Bros., CBS). “People react so quickly these days,” says Levin, a self-proclaimed yogi who is based in the firm’s Los Angeles office. “Particularly as a lawyer, you need to do more thinking and less talking and reacting.”

LITIGATORS

Civil litigation and transactional chair, Geragos & Geragos

Some tried baking sourdough bread, but when stay-at-home orders erased Meiselas’ court dates, he and his brothers — Emmy-winning video editor Brett and marketing pro Jordan — filled the void by launching “one of the top political action committees in the country right now.” Called MeidasTouch, its website is rich in content, including podcasts and fast-trending videos. The second-generation entertainment lawyer is general counsel for Colin Kaepernick, the former 49ers quarterback who just signed a first-look deal with Disney and launced a COVID fund through his Know Your Rights Camp. Meiselas also reps the Hockey Diversity Alliance and NFL safety Eric Reid.

LITIGATORS

Modabber, chair media/entertainment litigation practice and managing partner, Los Angeles

Halberstadter, partner, deputy general counsel

Weiner, Partner

Katten

Music-focused, Modabber leads the litigation trio based in the firm’s Century City office. He defended the Michael Jackson estate in a class-action suit over vocals and music producer Quincy Jones’ bid to share royalties; in May, a California appeals court drastically reduced the amount of money a jury had previously awarded Jones. Modabber also represented Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor in various matters. Halberstadter works on intellectual property, defamation and right-of-publicity disputes for the firm: his clients include Amblin Partners and DreamWorks Studios; FremantleMedia North America; HBO; Lionsgate/Starz Media; Netflix; STX Entertainment; and ViacomCBS including CBS Studios, Paramount Pictures and Showtime Networks. Weiner’s practice spans copyrights, media law and business and personal disputes in entertainment. Weiner reps NBCUniversal Media, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Endemol Shine Group, Excel Sports Management, Robert Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios and Pilgrim Media Group. Following the pandemic shutdown, the firm shifted to remote work and Modabber says Hollywood players will sift through contracts settling accounts for lost business. The attorney hopes that no single sector suffers disproportionate impact because that “could do real damage to one of the stakeholders,” destabilizing the ecosystem.

LITIGATORS

Partner, head labor and employment group, Los Angeles office

Proskauer

Oncidi is a top attorney for media giants and production companies looking to resolve employment issues. This past year, he was busy handling two high-profile cases for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) — an ongoing dispute with its former president and CEO Deborah Dugan and a lawsuit by Dana Tomarken, the former VP of its charitable arm MusiCares, that was resolved in November. He’s also lead counsel for several clients (including Viacom) suing Netflix for interfering with high-level executive employment contracts. “You have to have emotional intelligence in terms of what you’re saying and how it will be received by a client,” says Oncidi.

LITIGATORS

Petrocelli, Partner/chair, trial practice committee 

Breuder, Godesky, Kline, Lens, Lucas, Marroso, Seto, partners

O’Melveny & Myers

Petrocelli, Lens and Godesky won a summary judgment and permanent injunction in December for Fox versus Netflix for executive poaching. Brought in to handle appeals, Petrocelli repped Fox in vacating a huge punitive award over TV series “Bones” profit participation ruling and NBCUniversal for getting a new trial over “Columbo” talent royalties. Petrocelli, Breuder and Seto helped Disney prevail defending “Zootopia” two copyright infringe ment claims. Petrocelli and Marroso rep tunes-rights client Global Music Rights in litigation with radio stations. Petrocelli and Lucas pursue right-of-publicity claims for singer Ariana Grande against a retailer. Kline reps Warner Bros. in claims involving the movie “War Dogs.” A year ago, Petrocelli led AT&T’s anti-trust victories supporting the Time Warner mega-merger. As legacy Hollywood companies launch their own digital ventures, “we are seeing an uptick in profit participation suits challenging affiliated transactions,” Petrocelli says, citing content deals with buyers and sellers within the same company. To avoid future headaches, talent is increasingly negotiating financial formulas for compensation, replacing traditional profit participations. Lens adds: “With these changes, traditional areas of law — like employment and profit participation — are also changing, as the law adapts and reshapes to reflect the industry’s evolution.”

LITIGATORS

Partner, chair of litigation and trial department, Los Angeles

Latham & Watkins

Putnam leads the national litigation team in Latham’s entertainment, sports & media practice. Most recently, he’s been representing the Assn. of Talent Agents in its ongoing battle over packaging fees between Hollywood agents and the Writers Guild of America; the guild sued the four major talent agencies in April 2019, prompting some writers to fire their agents. “2020 was always going to be a very tumultuous year, from the rate of overall change in the industry, to the ongoing issues between ATA and the WGA, and now things will be utterly changed by COVID-19,” says Putnam, who joined the firm five years ago. “The environment is going to be very different.”

LITIGATORS

Partner

Eisner

L.A. based Reynolds has been a go-to litigator in the indie film world, representing the producer of “After” in a suit alleging distributor Aviron Pictures misrepresented its ability to market the film, and spearheading a suit against the distributors of “Ali,” “Gangs of New York” and “Traffic” for understating the revenues of those films. He’s also involved in more juicy personnel matters, handling “American Housewife” star Katy Mixon’s suit against her former nanny for breaching their NDA, as well as production company disputes with Hollywood labor guilds and #MeToo defenses for top Hollywood execs. “It’s so difficult to defend [#MeToo] cases because you’re presumed guilty in this environment,” Reynolds says.

LITIGATORS

Shareholder, Los Angeles media & entertainment litigation practice

Greenberg Traurig

Rosengart won a $14 million judgment for hedge fund Sandton Capital in a New York-based trial over an investment in Gold Circle Films. The Los Angeles-based litigator also reps Three Six Zero Group, a management company, in a dispute with rapper Travis Scott and reached a settlement between “London Fields” producer Nicola Six Ltd. and actor Amber Heard. Other clients include Casey Affleck, CAA, Daymond John/ the Shark Group, Sean Penn, Three Six Zero Group, EDM’s “Z” and Verizon. While Hollywood often favors pre-trial settlements and arbitrations, Rosengart notes that with formal trials “the client literally gets his or her day in court before a judge, it’s public and it’s definitive.”

LITIGATORS

Partners

Pryor Cashman

The powerhouse duo represents some of the biggest names in the music biz and were the lead partners in the successful bid by music publishers and songwriters to win higher streaming royalties; rates rose nearly 44% under a Copyright Royalty Board ruling made effective last year. “We see a growing recognition of the interconnectedness between the different legal touchpoints that our clients have,” Scibilia says. “One reason we stay engaged at the forefront of practices in litigation, transactions and regulatory work is that, while these may be three different categories of work, a client often has common interests to be addressed across all three.”

LITIGATORS

Partner

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius

Speights successfully defended public TV broadcasting against breach-of- contract claims brought by former host Tavis Smiley, whose personal services company was ordered to pay PBS $1.5 million for violating his morals clause. It was a rare instance of such a clause playing a pivotal role in a jury trial decision. Based in Washington, D.C., Speights leads the firm’s workplace consulting team and specializes in employment discrimination, discrimination in public accommodations and crisis management. Last year, the litigator was also elected chair of the board of trustees for George Washington U. Law School, where she received her legal degree.
THE

LITIGATORS

Partner, Venable

Representing the adult children of the late Tom Petty, Weingarten worked out a settlement over control of the singer’s musical catalog with his clients’ stepmother. The litigator also repped Brooke Shields for her claims against retailers, Selena Gomez on IP matters and music fest Woodstock 50. In defending copyright infringement claims over hit song “Youngblood,” Weingarten reps music group 5 Seconds of Summer. Other clients include Spotify, Vevo and Universal Music. He provides general advice to Will Ferrell and Anonymous Content. After surprise victories in song infringement lawsuits, Weingarten expects such litigation will proliferate, and the industry’s “fear is that this will stifle creativity.”

LITIGATORS

Partner

Lavely & Singer

Weinsten reps Ellen DeGeneres suing marketing companies for false product endorsements; and husband-and-wife unscripted TV executives Scott and Deirdre Gurney (“Duck Dynasty”) settling dueling lawsuits involving the buyer of their company. Other clients are FX house Digital Domain defending an infringement claim; actor David Caruso; and influencer Paris Hilton, her company and family members including sister Nicky. As California narrows confidentiality in harassment and discrimination lawsuits, Weinsten says, wrangling gets more front-loaded pointing to arbitration and pre-trial settlements. “Once a lawsuit is filed, it is difficult to put the genie back into the bottle,” says the Los Angeles-based litigator.

TRANSACTIONAL

Ara, partner, co-chair, entertainment transactions practice, co-chair, entertainment finance practice

Markman, partner, co-chair, entertainment transactions practice

Sherman, partner, co-chair, entertainment finance practice

Beyzaee, partner

Bradford, of counsel 

Imp, Associate

DLA Piper

The DLA Piper entertainment team was a key player in Disney’s $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s assets, helping determine where shows based on the Fox lot (still owned by Rupert Murdoch) would be shot post-sale. It also handled a pair of Netflix deals for animation studios, repping StoryBots in its sale to the streamer, Titmouse (“Big Mouth”) in a multiyear production and first-look deal, as well as Concord Music’s acquisition of Pulse Music, and all corporate and transactional matters for Park Country, the production company behind long-running “South Park” series and “The Book of Mormon” musical. It was also active in the entertainment tech space, repping e-sports infrastructure platform Vindex in its partnership agreement with Imax and VR/AR innovator Talespin. “I like to view our team as an entertainment law practice for the next generation,” says Ara. “We have a mix of young, diverse and experienced attorneys that creates a unique practice, and we’re growing very fast.”

TRANSACTIONAL

Vice chair, global entertainment & media practice, Greenberg Traurig

Black advised Spin Master adapting its Paw Patrol property for the silver screen via Nickelodeon Movies/Paramount Pictures, as well as other toy-to-screen initiatives. Other clients include Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates for his Gates Ventures, multiplatform Sugar23 from producer Michael Sugar (“Spotlight”), and Caesars Entertainment’s groundbreaking content deal with Turner Sports. The Century City-based transactional attorney also handles executive employment agreements, including talent-agency principals, strengthening their equity and separation agreements as generational transfers looms. Film and TV deals used to follow standard templates, notes Black, but as the digital revolution upends conventions, it “requires attorneys, more than ever, be fluent in a myriad of areas.”

TRANSACTIONAL

Founding partners

Brecheen, Feldman, Breimer, Silver & Thompson

The Century City-based transactional five opened their law firm in January, decamping from Bloom Hergott following the retirement of its principals. Brecheen reps Hollywood talent and companies; clients include Conan O’Brien, Mel Gibson, Walter Hill, John Oliver, Gavin Polone, Davis Entertainment Television, Plan B Television and Serendipity Point Films. Feldman negotiated more than $100 million in talent deals during the past year; his clients include Oscar-nominated screenwriter Will Fetters, Keegan-Michael Key, Jet Li, Naturi Naughton, producer Irwin Winkler and producers Bertram van Munster/Elise Doganieri. Breimer’s talent-centric practice includes actors (Lucas Hedges, Diane Ladd and Shemar Moore), directors (Peter Hedges), novelists (Jordan Peterson, Gregg Hurwitz), TV showrunners (Andrew Dabb and James Duff), playwrights, producers and Hollywood writers. Silver handles talent in traditional Hollywood and influencers — often working licensing, endorsements, joint venture and co-branded deals. Repping talent and corporate clients, Thompson focuses on motion pictures, TV, digital and licensing — frequently immersed in financing, copyrights, digital media and client-built businesses. After newbie streamers crimped talent’s contingent bonuses and rights to derivative works, “now the rest of Hollywood is trying to follow suit,” laments Brecheen. Adds Feldman: “Studios are trying to separate how the talent is compensated from how the studios’ revenues and profits are actually calculated.”

TRANSACTIONAL

Bromley, partner, leader of entertainment transactions and finance practice 

Biederman, music partner

Gilbert, senior partner

Phillips, senior partner

Tashman, music partner 

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

Recently, the team has been involved in some of the biggest and most high-profile music deals in the industry, including negotiating the sale of Paul Anka’s large music catalog to Primary Wave Entertainment, and representing Miles Davis Properties in its new administration deal with Downtown Music Publishing. Staying ahead of the curve and anticipating trends is of paramount importance to the group, based in Manatt’s Century City office. “Our competitive edge stems from the size of our staff, to everyone’s ability to negotiate and close lucrative deals for our clients, and we’ve become serious experts in the new streaming platform economy,” says Bromley, leader of the firm’s entertainment transactions and finance practice.

TRANSACTIONAL

Partners

Latham & Watkins

Some of Offsay’s key clients include Warner Bros., PictureStart, Skydance Media and Platform One Media. Bruington has been working with A24, MGM, Anonymous Content, Media Res Studio, STX Entertainment, Content Partners and Participant Media. Hamill advises on a range of corporate transactions for industry giants, including Endeavor in its high-profile attempted initial public offering, and Deutsch recently advised Revolution Studios in a multi-year license of home entertainment rights of Revolution films to Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. With the industry rapidly changing, the team remains optimistic. “People love to catastrophize, but while there are certainly challenged areas of the industry, particularly in the theatrical sector, the explosion of platforms across media and geographies keeps pushing the need for quality content to new highs,” Deutsch says.

TRANSACTIONAL

Partner, global chair of entertainment, sports & media practice

Latham & Watkins

Calabrese provides clients around the globe with experienced perspective on a full spectrum of film, television, sports and content-related business transactions, while advising long-time clients and major independent film and distribution companies such as A24 Films, Disney, Miramax Films, Sonar Entertainment, Skydance Media, Warner Bros. Entertainment and Westbrook Inc. “I love the creativity of the dealmaking process, and coming up with elegant solutions to complex problems,” Calabrese says. “The ecosystems of long-term revenue streams that people relied upon are changing to a more up-front compensation model.”

TRANSACTIONAL

Partner and chair, television

Loeb & Loeb

New York-based Chamlin reps long-time client Glenn Close (Ron Howard’s “Hillbilly Elegy”); and Oprah Winfrey/Harpo Prods., including its Apple pact. He also handles unscripted talent Mike Rowe (“Dirty Jobs”), Ree Drummond (“The Pioneer Woman”) and Andy Cohen (“Watch What Happens Live”), and also non-scripted producers Sharp Entertainment and Truly Original. Chamlin advises publishers about adapting their IP, and also executive employment contracts including Warner Bros. chair-CEO Ann Sarnoff. He believes “streaming services will become the definition of what TV is in the future,” and that broadcast TV, cable and premium TV will “live under the larger umbrella of streaming services.”

TRANSACTIONAL

Partner

Chatham Law Group

Chatham’s roster of general counsel assignments include top-rated daytime talk show “Dr. Phil” as well as Tiller & Hatch and Hello Bello. Chatham’s clients function across multiple content platforms stretching over a variety of genres, with 800 hours of programming last year. “The biggest recent shift has been celebrities moving into consumer products and taking on the role of brand ambassadors, and I think over the next five to 10 years, this will become even more common-place,” Chatham says.

TRANSACTIONAL

Cleary, counsel, entertainment group 

Davis, partner, entertainment group 

Wolfe, co-chair, corporate & finance group

Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz

These three New York-based attorneys have established themselves as leaders in the podcast space, working on more than 25 transactions involving podcast shows and companies in the past year alone. They repped the co-creators of the Gimlet podcast “Reply All” in the $200 million-plus Gimlet/ Spotify merger and Desus Nice & the Kid Mero in their ownership and sponsorship deals for their “The Bodega Boys” podcast. They also handled numerous other podcast development, hosting and employment agreements for personalities including Kid Fury and Crissle West (“The Read”), Brendan Francis Newnam (“The Dinner Party Download”), Amanda Seales (“Small Doses”), restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson, authors Malcolm Gladwell and Jonathan Goldstein, and Nancy Giles and Nancy Wyatt of “CBS Sunday Morning.” “We’re seeing players in the podcast industry doing deals they’ve never done before, including acquisitions of platforms and joint ventures,” Wolfe says. “Companies that have been in business a long time are now taking themselves a lot more seriously with a lot more thought to how to finance things to manage development costs.”

TRANSACTIONAL

Connor, partner and leader, Manatt Entertainment

Yen, partner, Manatt Entertainment 

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

The duo have been involved in some massive deals, including an eight-figure investment agreement between New Republic Pictures and Amblin Entertainment over Oscar-winning film “1917,” as well as co-representation of East West Bank, headquartered in Southern California, in connection with a loan facility agreement for the production of hit TV series “Yellowstone.” “The world of film, TV and gaming is converging into one broad world of content, and we’re always looking to push the external boundaries of technology and new media, while removing the internal boundaries of older business models,” says Conner.

TRANSACTIONAL

Partner, entertainment group

Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz

Cook cut career-advancing deals for female filmmakers Augustine Frizzell (to direct the pilot of HBO’s “Euphoria”), Nicole Kassell (to direct and executive produce HBO’s “The Watchmen”) and Tayarisha Poe (for an Amazon TV series adaptation of her film “Selah and the Spades”). Her clients also include iconic independent filmmakers Jim Jarmusch and Todd Solondz, breakout directors David Lowery and Robert Eggers, and “Desus & Mero” hosts Desus Nice and the Kid Mero. “Directors who would’ve been considered super-indie a few years ago are now directing pilots for major series because their vision is considered more interesting,” Cook says.

TRANSACTIONAL & LITIGATORS

DelNero, co-chair of communications and media industry group and co-chair of the diversity & inclusion initiative 

Kamin, co-chair of communications and media industry group and co-chair of commercial litigation practice group 

Polashuk, co-chair of communications and media industry group and managing partner of Los Angeles office 

Sahni, partner

Covington & Burling

The Covington team is a go-to for TV programmers (including AMC, NFL Network and Pac-12 Network) in their deals and disputes with distributors, with D.C.-based DelNero handling regulatory, Polashuk serving as the transactional top gun, and Kamin and Sahni leading litigation efforts. They were at the center of one of Hollywood’s all-time biggest deals, advising Disney on its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox, completed last year, and the subsequent $9.6 billion sale of the Fox Regional Sports Networks to Sinclair. Additionally, Polashuk repped CBS on its contract renewal with AT&T’s DirecTV, U-verse and AT&T TV Now and Viacom on its $340 million acquisition of Pluto TV, while DelNero, who returned to Covington in 2017 after a four year stint at the FCC, served as counsel for Cox Enterprises in a $3.1 billion deal with Apollo Global Management affiliates. “The industry is changing with companies like Netflix, Apple and Amazon creating their own programming and distributing it, and I think we’re a very strong resource given our expertise in that space,” Kamin says.

TRANSACTIONAL

Partner, head of entertainment group

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom

Eisman repped Qatar-based beIN Media selling a 49% stake in Miramax to ViacomCBS/Paramount for about $375 million in December. Other clients include Entertainment Partners, David Maisel’s animation Mythos Studios, new production studio Project X Entertainment, Quixote Studios, Saban Capital and UTA for acquisitions including athlete-representative Klutch Sports Group. Eisman predicts “a boom once things go back to normal” after the virus lockdown, observing that “demand for fresh content will be higher than ever given that many subscribers have exhausted” old favorites during shelter-in-place and isolated consumers yearn for shared experiences again.

TRANSACTIONAL

Partners

Paul Hastings

For talent clients, Emanuel reps Netflix-based Ryan Murphy/ Ryan Murphy Prods., multi-hyphenate Robert Rodriguez (Netflix’s “We Can Be Heroes”) and Marisa Tomei (“All in the Family” revival). Hyman handles TV showrunner Jac Schaeffer (Disney Plus’ “The Vision and the Scarlet Witch”), music producer Quincy Jones and actor Anthony Ramos (“In the Heights”). The mostly transactional group is based in Century City, except Saltzman, who is in London. Hernand works in corporate transactions including Viacom buying ad-supported streamer Pluto TV for $340 million last year. Mayerson repped Indian Paintbrush licensing “The French Dispatch” to Searchlight Pictures, Old Hill Capital in P&A funding, Fibonacci Films and Motion Picture Co. of America’s Brad Krevoy. Williams’ clients include Bank of America, CIT Bank, First Republic Bank, MidCap Financial, SunTrust Bank and Vine Alternative Investments (acquired 300-title Lakeshore library). Saltzman focuses on international, repping China’s Huayi Bros. (“Moonfall”), and Nic Crawley-led H Collective establishing Asian film joint ventures. The firm recently lured two top entertainment litigators to its ranks: Marenberg, formerly of Irell & Manella, in March, while Pearl made the shift from O’Melveny & Myers last month. Financiers need predictability to comfortably extend financing, but Hollywood’s on-demand revolution upends economics, Mayerson notes. “I don’t think we’re settled in a new normal.”

TRANSACTIONAL

Chair, entertainment and media group

Venable

Epstein handles corporate transactions for companies and talent, with a specialty in tax law. The Century City-based attorney repped actor Ryan Reynolds for Mint Mobile, and also advises PictureStart, founded by ex- Lionsgater Erik Feig. A year ago, he repped exec Gary Barber in a business combination transaction with Lantern Entertainment to leverage Weinstein Co. assets in a relaunched Spyglass Media. “Access to cheap capital, an insatiable desire for premium content and constantly evolving distribution models have created opportunities for media entrepreneurs including talent and producers who want to reinvent themselves in the digital age,” Epstein says.

TRANSACTIONAL

Managing partner

Lichter Grossman Nichols Adler Feldman & Clark 

Feldman brokered Steven Soderbergh’s mega-deal with WarnerMedia to create television and film content across multiple platforms including HBO Max, HBO and Warner Bros Pictures, while also negotiating the Safdie brothers’ deal with A24 to write and direct the critically acclaimed “Uncut Gems,” which won three Indie Spirit Awards, including one for the siblings’ directing of the Adam Sandler movie. “Even before the latest events, our industry was in a period of wild volatility,” Feldman says. “To do our jobs well, we need to invent new doors when old ones close. There will continue to be a lot of opportunity for that kind of creativity in the next few years.”

TRANSACTIONAL

Partner, Greenberg Glusker

Century City-based Galsor closed big deals for some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, including Chris Hemsworth (“Thor: Love and Thunder,” Netflix Hulk Hogan biopic for “Joker” director Todd Phillips), Tom Cruise (next two “Mission: Impossible” movies) and Vin Diesel (numerous “Fast & Furious” projects, “Bloodshot,” overall Universal deal). He also represents top directors including James Cameron and Jaume Collet-Serra, along with producers such as Dan Farah and Dallas Sonnier. “I like it when both buyer and seller want to figure out something new where it’s not, ‘Hey, this deal has been done 28 times in the last month, let’s do it a 29th time,’ ” says Galsor.

TRANSACTIONAL

Partner

Cohen Gardner

Gardner has demonstrated a knack for signing emerging artists and guiding them to critical and commercial success, including directors Ryan Coogler (“Fruitvale Station,” “Creed,” “Black Panther”) and Boots Riley (“Sorry to Bother You”). This year, South Korea’s Bong Joon-ho, a client of more than half a decade, made headlines by winning three Oscars as the writer, director and producer of “Parasite.” Gardner also reps up-and-coming directors Minhal Baig (“Hala”) and Guy Nattiv (Oscar-winner for 2018 live-action short “Skin”). “I definitely embrace outsiders,” says Gardner. “I’m looking to help filmmakers and storytellers disrupt the status quo, and I take some pride in that.”

TRANSACTIONAL

Co-founder

Gendler & Kelly

Gendler has been busy with big overall deals for top writer-producers, both new (Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa and Hank Steinberg’s Sony agreements) and pre-existing (e.g., the Shonda Rhimes and/Shondaland Netflix megapact). He’s also been doing legal work on Alex Kurtzman’s numerous series for CBS TV Studios (including “Picard,” “Clarice” and “Higher Loyalty”) and David E. Kelley’s six new shows for six platforms (ABC, CBS, HBO, Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus). That’s on top of multiple deals for other big-name clients including Meryl Streep and Steve Martin. “The streamers are in the beginning of establishing what their [deal] templates look like, so there’s plenty of room to talk,” Gendler says.

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Senior partner

Ziffren Brittenham

In February, Gilbert-Lurie closed a headline-making five-year pact for producer Dick Wolf and his Wolf Entertainment with Universal Television worth a reported nine figures. It covers streaming rights to Wolf’s massive catalog of procedural hits, as well as three-season renewals for “Law & Order: SVU” and his trilogy of NBC “Chicago” dramas. That’s on top of big deals for his other big clients including Tina Fey (new term deal at NBCU), Patrick Stewart (CBS All Access’ “Picard”), Sandra Bullock (Netflix’s “Unforgiven”), Imagine Entertainment, Jerry Bruckheimer, Microsoft and Walmart. “My clients are interested in sizing up the new entertainment landscape and re-engineering their approach,” he says.

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Partner, entertainment & media industry group

Reed Smith

Goossens splits her time between London and Paris, using her expertise in copyright law and technology to help clients such as Netflix, SoundCloud, Square Enix and Believe navigate a complex European regulatory landscape. It has been made more treacherous by emerging tech and the EU’s April 2019 adoption of a copyright directive (Article 17) that is fundamentally rewriting the playbook for online liability and responsibility of media companies. “Clearing [the rights to] content is becoming increasingly complicated, and when you have to clear content in the context of AR and VR, you have all the complications put together in one big pot,” she says.

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Partner

Ginsburg Daniels

Ginsburg has been overseeing deals and working with a bevy of up-and-coming talent, including Timothée Chalamet (“Little Women”), LaKeith Stanfield (“Knives Out,” “Jesus Is My Homeboy”) and Michael Zegen (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”). Navigating a tricky landscape for his clients is top priority for the Beverly Hillsbased attorney. “We try to situate our deal-related advice within the context of industry trends,” Ginsburg says. “The buyer market these days favors those who are able to focus. Giving each project the breathing room it needs to flourish is as important to us as it is to our clients

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Partners and co-chairs entertainment practice

Cowan DeBaets Abrahams & Sheppard

The partners and co-chairs of Cowan DeBaets Abrahams & Sheppard’s entertainment practice handle Blumhouse Television, which is adapting New York magazine’s “The Stolen Kids of Sarah Lawrence” for Amazon and graphic-novel adaptations for IDW Entertainment (Netflix’s “Locke & Key”). They also rep Paul Lee’s Wiip shingle and CNN. Los Angeles-based Hill advised Nicole Fosse/the Verdon Fosse Legacy for Emmy-winning limited series “Fosse/Verdon” and audiobooks Podium Audio. New York-based Pulman represents gaming/e-sports streamer Venn, and authors adapting their works to film and TV. Hollywood is increasingly scouring overseas IP to adapt to English-language content, according to Pulman. “It’s driven by the intense hunger for fresh ideas and concepts,” he notes. Hill observes that IP owners increasingly drive harder Hollywood deals for their properties. Says she: “The rights holders want a seat at the table for the financial upside and creative involvement.”

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Hobel, partner, head of entertainment & media transactional practice

Tomanov, Partner

Katten

With a broad Hollywood practice, Hobel represents Lionsgate TV program unit Debmar-Mercury, MRC Television (producers of “House of Cards” and “Ozark,” both on Netflix), Epix, AMC Networks, FremantleMedia North America, U.K.-based Handmade Films, HBO, Hulu and Quibi. Tomanov’s wide-ranging practice spans copyright/ trademark, motion pictures, streaming content, licensing, merchandising, publishing, animation, interactive games and apps. Her clients include “Simpsons” creator Matt Groening’s Ululu Co. for Netflix’s “Disenchantment,” Sony Pictures Animation, Legendary Entertainment and United Plankton Pictures. The transactional duo is based in Katten’s Century City office. As animation production booms, the industry is tilting toward quantity, or “good-enough” programming, but Tomanov cautions that “in the long run I think they will all find they need a core of really good programming” that’s durable.

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Karlov, chair, entertainment, media and sports practice group

Hunt, Prince, Thompson, partners

Witlin, partner, head of California labor & employment law practice

Taber, associate

Barnes & Thornburg 

Karlov’s clients include Bob Dylan, John Fogerty, Imagine Dragons, Grateful Dead Music Publishing, Twitch and Rufus Wainwright. Karlov and Taber represent Michael Bolton, live events FiveCurrents, NFL/NFL Network in music matters, MGM for music administration and T Bone Burnett. Hunt (specializing in finance and distribution) and Weizenecker (focused on TV programming, video games and incentive financing) represent City National Bank. Hunt also advises Natixis Coficiné, East West Bank, First Republic Bank, Hyde Park Entertainment, MUFG Union Bank and Mohamed Al Rafi’s 50 Degrees Entertainment/ White Knight. Hunt and Thompson (concentrating on TV, digital media and financing) represent financier Paris Kasidokostas-Latsis’ Hercules Films. Thompson also represents boxing promoter Top Rank for TV distribution. Meanwhile, for tax-credit financing of TV programs, Weizenecker advises digital TV multicaster Bounce Media, Cast & Crew Financial Services, Canada’s eOne, U.K.-based financier Ingenious Media, MGM, basic cable network TV One and Viacom Intl. Prince focuses on sports, entertainment, media and corporate transactions; clients include Wolfgang Puck Worldwide; and endorsement deals for fitness outfit F45 (and its agreement with Mark Wahlberg), WNBA star Candace Parker and NBA player Russell Westbrook. Witlin, who handles employment matters, represents Animal Head Animation and Watch This Prods. The attorneys are based in Century City, except for Weizenecker in Atlanta. A quarter century ago, music talents encountered industry obstacles when trying to sell their songwriting income, but now such royalty streams can be sold for big money, Karlov says. “It’s as robust as we’ve ever seen in the history of the business.” Cities are offering financial incentives for production, after seeing state programs succeed, Hunt notes. “It’s coming from localities now.”

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Klein, leader of the entertainment, technology and advertising practice group

Michaelson, practice group leader of the corporate and securities practice group 

Sands, co-leader of the entertainment and digital media team 

Cervantes de Reinstein, Clark, Darwell, partners

Sheppard Mullin

The broad international reach of Sheppard Mullin’s L.A.-based entertainment practice is apparent in Darwell’s client list, which includes a global collection of major studios and production companies from the U.S. (Disney Animation, Amazon) to France (Gaumont, Studio Canal, Pathé), and the background of Cervantes de Reinstein, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Finland, fluent in Spanish, who does big TV and streaming deals for companies such as Showtime, Fremantle and 101 Studios. Klein specializes in complex financing, production and distribution deals for film, TV and games such as setting up Komixx Entertainment’s sequel to its Netflix movie “The Kissing Booth.” Meanwhile, Sands and Michaelson focus on corporate transactions and M&A including ICM Partners’ sale of a minority stake to Crestview Partners and Lionsgate’s joint venture with Point Grey Pictures. Clark’s deals from the past year include everything from the launch of Spotify’s podcast division to Creative Wealth Media’s financing of “Bombshell.” Darwell says: “A large percentage of our clients are located outside of Hollywood, and a lot of the associates on the team speak at least one foreign language: Portuguese, French, Farsi, Armenian and Hebrew.”

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Named partner

Morris Yorn Barnes Levine Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner Endlich & Gellman

Krintzman worked on the big “South Park” streaming deal for clients Trey Parker and Matt Stone. It will bring episodes of the long-running Comedy Central animated series to HBO Max. The Century City-based attorney also repped Matthew McConaughey to star in the FX series “Redeemer.” Other clients include actor/on-air host Terry Crews, actor Ansel Elgort, multi-hyphenate Mike Judge, multi-hyphenate Daniel Levy (“Schitt’s Creek”) and actress Wendi McLendon-Covey. According to Krintzman, major studios still “haven’t fully wrapped their heads around how they’ll pay talent if they go direct streaming” when theatrical films get re-positioned

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Lange, founding partner

Carlo, Smith, partner

Kleinberg Lange Cuddy & Carlo

The trio have remained intensely busy, with Lange representing longtime client Billy Bush in his high-profile return to television as host and managing editor of the newly reformatted “Extra”; Carlo working with Sega’s Marza Animation on hammering out the final deal for the hit “Sonic: The Hedgehog” movie; and Smith working closely with Sylvester Stallone’s Balboa Prods. in connection with upcoming superhero film “Samaritan.” “Although some say we’re getting saturated with too many services, I believe we’re still in the upswing of a bull market for streaming,” Lange says. “Cord-cutting is prevalent among the younger demographic and early adopters, but hasn’t hit older cable and satellite users yet. The amount of work we’re undertaking for clients making product for streaming services is multiplying rapidly.”

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Founding partner

Lichter Grossman Nichols Adler Feldman & Clark

Lichter’s at the forefront of entertainment law, and a staunch advocate for women in the entertainment industry. Some of her clients include filmmakers Chloe Zhao (a Gotham award winner for “The Rider,” now busy with “The Eternals” for Marvel), Niki Caro (“Mulan”) and Benh Zeitlin (“Wendy”). She’s optimistic about the capacity for a robust market. “Up until the recent health crisis, the pace of change in the business was accelerating, with new companies, new methods of delivering, new ways of seeing content every day, so we’re able to make innovative deals across all platforms. There are multiple places our clients can tell stories.

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Partner, entertainment & media industry group

Reed Smith

A third-generation attorney, the Ohio native was involved in deals valued at more than $58 million in the past year, advising clients on all facets of advertising and entertainment law, including talent agreements, celebrity endorsements, media buys, corporate sponsorships and branded entertainment deals. As chief negotiator for the Joint Policy Committee, she secured unanimous approval from the SAG-AFTRA Board for a new three-year, $3 billion commercials contract in April 2019 that modernized and simplified the previous agreement. “The benefit for performers is they get paid upfront, which helps them qualify for their health benefits and pension credits,” says Marcus of the contract.

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Partner, founding chair, entertainment & sports law department

Fox Rothschild

A one-time professional singer, Miller has been closing deals for established actors such as Angela Bassett (Netflix comedy “Otherhood,” the indie film “Gunpowder Milkshake”) and her husband Courtney B. Vance (Netflix film “Uncorked,” HBO series “Lovecraft Country” and “Heist 88”), producer Reginald Hudlin (Netflix doc “The Black Godfather: The Story of Clarence Avant”) and rap duo Salt ’N Pepa (a Lifetime movie based on their lives), as well as breakout stars such as Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Teyonah Parris. “For me, success has come in embracing technology, new players in the marketplace, and the idea that brand is greater than an individual talent,” the attorney says.

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Partner

Greenberg Glusker

An expert in high-dollar, cross-border transactions, Moore worked with indie production company and financier Cross Creek Pictures on several high-profile transactions, including deals to co-finance the Vin Diesel-starrer “Bloodshot,” and finance and produce David Ayer’s “The Tax Collector” and director Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” recently scooped up by Netflix. He also advised indie film distributor Gravitas Ventures on its sale to Red Arrow Studios and repped producer Joey McFarland on the sale of his interest in Red Granite Pictures. “I don’t watch movies at all,” Moore says. “I’m the business guy, and when guys talk about creative issues, I just stay quiet.”

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Chair, West Coast tax and wealth planning group

Venable

Mulrooney handles personal- estate planning for high-net worth individuals, and their personal companies and nonprofits. Clients include actors, artists, directors, executives, producers and writers. The L.A.based attorney’s work spans estate planning with emphasis on generational wealth transfers, estate/trust administration, prenups, tax planning and tax audits, and is cross-border. Mulrooney says that smalltalk with clients about politics often takes a serious turn. “If we have a change of administration, it is possible that clients will become concerned about revisions in the law and accelerate generational-wealth transfers,” she says.

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Ramo, founder and managing partner

Canchola, Chang, partner

Ramo Law 

Together, the three manage a staff of 10 attorneys and provide comprehensive business affairs and legal services for all-star clients such as Imagine Entertainment (“Rebuilding Paradise,” “Hillbilly Elegy”), Boardwalk Pictures (Andrew Friend, Dane Lillegard), Scout Prods. (Rob Eric, David Collins, Joel Chiodi), Skydance, Balboa (Sylvester Stallone’s production company) and the Jim Henson Co. for projects at all stages of production. It’s the breadth and eclectic nature of their multi-talented clients that speaks to the group’s passionate dedication to their jobs. “There’s never been a more exciting time to be representing content-makers, and we’re always implementing innovative ways to conduct new modes of business,” Ramo says. “We never take how content is being consumed for granted, and we’re now being forced to look at the life of content in a very different way.”

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Chairman, global entertainment & media practice

Greenberg Traurig

Rosenbloum serves as lead counsel in content deals for Bytedance’s TikTok and Resso musical apps, and reps Spotify and Facebook for music content transactions. The Atlanta-based attorney also handles music-related matters for Amazon Studios, Amazon’s Twitch, Equinox Media & SoulCycle and podcaster Luminary Media. Other clients include publisher Condé Nast, Fender Musical Instruments, Grand Ole Opry, Snapchat, Twitter, Samsung and Tesla. Rosenbloum feels the music industry should ease off its traditional buyers-must-license-everything stance for deals in gaming, fitness, social media. As “incidental music users, they can be selective in what they can curate,” he says.

TRANSACTIONAL

Partner and chair of the entertainment department

Glaser Weil

Rubin represents production companies and talent in film, television and digital media, and recently worked on deals for executive producer Jeff Melvoin (AMC Networks/BBC America’s “Killing Eve”) and Martin Sheen (Netflix’s “Grace and Frankie”). “Television series profit participants are auditing more readily these days, hoping that the audit will yield hidden treasure,” the Century City-based attorney says. “However, what would be more effective is to have their entertainment attorney engage an auditor at the beginning of the process, prior to signing. Removing landmines before they explode may be costly at the outset, but it’s a more effective way to maximize profits,” Rubin adds.

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Partners and co-heads, unscripted and alternative practice

Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein Lezcano

Weinstein and Senior oversee the unscripted department at the Century City firm and are responsible for more than $200 million of content for their top reality producer and production company clients, and recently restructured the partnership for Good Story Entertainment, which brought together J.D. Roth (“The Biggest Loser,” “My Cat From Hell”) and Scooter Braun. “Our passion comes from our clients’ success, and we’re always pushing them to achieve exactly what they want to achieve in terms of their career goals,” Senior says. The pair also handles all legal work for VH1’s popular “Love & Hip Hop” franchises.

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Shaw, co-founding partner 

Bobb, partner

Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein Lezcano

Shaw recently brokered Regina King’s multi-year deal with Netflix, and her pact to direct the feature film “One Night in Miami,” while also working with John Legend on a deal for his production company at ABC. Bobb kept busy working with Ava DuVernay on the accord for her HBO Max pilot “DMZ,” and to direct the feature film “New Gods” for Warner Bros., while securing an $8 million deal at Sundance with Hulu for Justin Simien’s “Bad Hair.” “Streaming has definitely helped to drive the business over the last few years, and we’re always looking for ways to maximize our client’s return,” Shaw says. “It’s a constantly evolving industry.”

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Head of the motion picture, television, theater, publishing, new media and sports practice group

Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks

The New York-based attorney had a busy year with his diverse list of A-list clients, setting up former HBO CEO Richard Plepler’s deal at Apple, negotiating George Cheeks’ new contract as president and CEO of CBS and finalizing rapper Drake’s pact with SiriusXM and Pandora to create a 24/7 channel. He also handled all entertainment and endorsement matters for basketball star LeBron James. Other clients include Robert De Niro, Elton John, Madonna, Live Nation, iHeart Media, Spotify, Bruce Springsteen, Colin Kaepernick, David Byrne, Mariska Hargitay and Martha Stewart. Says Shire: “You have to be a smart businessman, and partly a shrink a lot of the time.”

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Partner, chair, entertainment & sports law department

Fox Rothschild

Highlights from the past year include closing deals for a Focus Features documentary about former White House photographer Pete Souza and an unscripted Netflix adaptation of author Emily Spivack’s books “Worn Stories” and “Worn in New York” with Jenji Kohan as exec producer of the series. Simon’s broad stable of clients includes Alec Baldwin’s El Dorado Pictures, actor Joe Pesci, Swedish prodco B-Reel and Brian Knappenberge’s Luminant Films. “Five to 10 years ago, I had to almost justify proclivity for unscripted content,” says Simon, who directed the docs “Nursery University” (2008) and “Unraveled” (2011). “Now, the unscripted world is far more lucrative.”

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Spicer, partner and head of entertainment and media practice

Burke, Roman Griffith, Miller, Foltyn Roman, partners

Akin Gump

Spicer leads the Los Angeles- based group that includes Burke, Griffith, Miller and Roman. Their lender clients include Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, CIT Bank, Comerica Bank, East West Bank, MUFG Union Bank and SunTrust Bank. Clients for financial transactions include John Lesher’s Le Grisbi Prods.’ investing in movie “Blood Moon”; Media Rights Capital; and Takai Enterprises investing in spy drama movie “355.” The team also administers a 191-title library for Portfolio Funding (owned by Assured Guaranty and AMC Networks) and separately various trans– actions for distributor XYZ Films. While video streaming settles into a groove Stateside, Spicer sees it just starting to pop overseas. “I would look to increased investment in overseas media and entertainment companies as everyone focuses their attention on international expansion,” he says.

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Partner and global chair, media, technology & commercial transactions group

Hughes Hubbard & Reed

Emphasizing tech-based insights to guide digital transactions, Syrkin represented WarnerMedia in making its HBO business an over-the-top service in Latin America, and separately MGM-owned premium pay-TV Epix for direct-to-consumer distribution partnerships. His other clients include Advance Publications/Condé Nast, AMC Networks, Bumble, Madison Square Garden Co., Ernst & Young, and luxury brand John Varvatos Enterprises. Syrkin previously worked at Major League Baseball, News Corp. and TiVo. He predicts that the virus lockdown will further galvanize a migration to direct-to-consumer delivery, as the homebound insist that content providers boost on-demand access. Says the New York-based transactional attorney: “The digital economy has been weaponized” after previously navigating around legacy media.

TRANSACTIONAL

Thompson, head of media and entertainment group firmwide

Petretti, Weiss, partner

Sidley Austin

Thompson specializes in mergers & acquisitions, and leads the Century City-based trio. They represented Dwayne Johnson/Dany Garcia for their new Athleticon event with Endeavor’s IMG (now postponed to October 2021 due to COVID19) and also repped the launch of Johnson’s Teremana Tequila brand with Mast-Jägermeister. They rep the Raine Group investing in action-sports Thrill One Sports & Entertainment; and T-Street for Rian Johnson/Ram Bergman (“Star Wars: The Last Jedi”) with Valence Media funding. Petretti represents lenders and borrowers while Weiss handles transactions and strategic advice; clients include City National Bank, J.P. Morgan and 20th Century Fox. Thompson believes the implications of the digital-to- consumer streaming revolution “are on going and will continue to change everything” from talent compensation to corporate mergers to Hollywood commercial transactions. And Weiss points out that “initially TV and streaming were viewed as separate media, but have been converging and are becoming indistinguishable to the consumer.” As delivery modes evolve, Petretti says, “financial backers are adapting along with them in the way they structure their transactions to continue to support the industry.”

TRANSACTIONAL

Tobey, chair, entertainment, sports & media corporate practice 

Siegel, Century City managing partner / partner, entertainment, sports & media corporate practice

Monroe, partner, mergers & acquisitions corporate practice 

Vannini, partner, entertainment, sports & media corporate practice

O’Melveny & Myers 

The transactional law group advised ViacomCBS in a deal to acquire 49% of Miramax for $375 million, and Univision launching TUDN TV channel in partnership with Mexico’s Grupo Televisa. They share clients Bron Studios; Legendary Entertainment; Skydance Media; and ViacomCBS and its Paramount Pictures. Tobey repped an investment in Library Pictures Intl. (CAA Media Finance), and separately Bona Film Group investing in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Siegel advised Epson for a Shaquille O’Neal endorsement, and Bron for co-financing and distribution. Monroe repped media investor 30West in financing for actionthriller “Violence of Action” and also Bron Ventures. Vannini worked for advisory firm Raine Group in a $50 million media-research investment and 20th Century Fox TV purchasing a TV show creator’s royalty participation. Local-language productions are booming around the world due to “a new economic opportunity both in-country and extra-territorial to make and monetize quality localized product,” Tobey says. Siegel says tech giants barging into digital media need “to define their brand and who they are going to be to differentiated from.” One notable change: former co-chair Matthew Erramouspe moved to client Legendary.

TRANSACTIONAL

Managing partner

Morris Yorn Barnes Levine Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner Endlich & Gellman

Yorn reps media juggernaut Ellen DeGeneres for renewing her talk show, her game-show hosting and growing her personal lifestyle brand. Yorn’s talent practice includes top-paid-theatrical actor Scarlett Johansson, “Avatar” film-series star Zoe Saldana, Laura Linney and Ansel Elgort (Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story”). The Century City-based attorney also advises financiers considering investments in consumer brands, especially in environmental and food. Yorn counsels talent not to puzzle about the thicket-maze of digital media outlets. Advises Yorn: “Rather than looking at all the platforms and their nuts-andbolts, focus instead on creating content that can break through.”

MUSIC

Principal

The Davis Firm

Having a hand in key career decisions for DJ Snake, who has the rare distinction of 3 billion streamed songs, was a big deal for Davis. So is his work with quarantine-perfect platform Verzuz, launched by long-time client Swizz Beatz with Timbaland. “Bringing a million eyeballs to their weekly battles, it’s been a thrilling unwrapping of rights in real time.” Davis is truly inspired by “the global social and civil- rights movement that is Black Lives Matter” and recently joined the Black Music Action Coalition. In that spirit, he’s especially proud to represent a diverse client list that includes Mike Will Made It, Savan Kotecha, LL Cool J and such executives as Larry Jackson, Ryan Press, Ezekiel “Zeke” Lewis and Jeannette Perez.

MUSIC

Executive vice president & general counsel

ASCAP

New York-based Kim oversees transactions involving $1.2 billion in annual music royalties for songwriters, composers and music publishers. She worked licensing deals involving Apple, Discovery Communications, Fox Cable Networks, NBCUniversal, Spotify and trade group Television Music License Committee. She also completed agreements with new ASCAP members Mariah Carey, Diplo, Billie Eilish and the Tom Petty estate. Further, Kim interfaces with the U.S. Department of Justice reviewing ASCAP’s regulatory consent decree. Kim advises music creators to resist buyout deals from producers giving up music public performance rights. “It’s an important aspect of their compensation” as music creators, Kim says.

MUSIC

King, managing partner 

Frank, Garcia, Paterno, Soriano, partners

King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano

King is the managing partner of the firm, which has been in the middle of some of music’s biggest legal disputes in recent years, including Lil Wayne’s 2018 multimillion- dollar settlement with Cash Money, the warehouse fire class-action suit filed on behalf of artists against Universal Music Group and the December settlement on behalf of Tom Petty’s daughters in a dispute with their stepmother. Its clients include Metallica, Sia, Frank Ocean, Calvin Harris, Tyler the Creator, 21 Pilots, Skrillex, Steve Aoki, Pink Martini, Juanes, J Balvin, Zedd, Bon Iver and Dr. Dre. Balvin kept Garcia busy, negotiating deals for the reggaeton star’s March release “Colores.” The firm is helping clients find other revenue channels to make up for touring income lost to the pandemic while working to eliminate systemic racism. “My colleagues and I, as a kickoff, donated a day’s pay to various nonprofit organizations undertaking that fight and aiming toward advancement in communities of color,” says Frank. “We have a wishlist of related initiatives that are in development.” Additional clients include Linda Ronstadt, Alice in Chains, Van Morrison and Lauryn Hill.

MUSIC

Partner, head of music

Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks

With a roster that includes Sean “Diddy” Combs, Lady Gaga, the Weeknd and Usher, Meiselas is one of the most powerful and established attorneys in the music industry. A former musician himself, he famously got Combs, then a young executive, fired from a project; rather than getting angry, Diddy hired Meiselas himself. Meiselas helms big deals for his clients — not least Gaga’s Las Vegas residency — and also many philanthropic efforts. “I think when it comes to career, it’s all about luck combined with taking advantage of every opportunity and working hard to create other opportunities,” he says. “But you never know where that first opportunity could come from.”

MUSIC

Partner

Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman  

Even with a client list that includes Taylor Swift, Adele, Pink and Green Day, Beverly Hills-based Passman says his side job represents his biggest recent feat: prepping the 10th edition of his 1991 book “All You Need to Know About the Music Business,” released in October. “It was the most extensive update I’ve ever done in the history of the book because streaming has so radically changed the music business’ ecosystem. For the first time in history, music is monetized by not selling something but listening and consumption. It literally took a year longer than normal to update the book.” Upside: While COVID obviously sank touring income this year, “I’ve found that the rest of the business is pretty robust. People are still making record deals, publishing deals; people are buying and selling catalogs.”

MUSIC

Business and Law Office of Berkeley Reinhold

Tours including Lollapalooza

Reinhold began representing the Lollapalooza music festival in 2003 while she was at the William Morris Agency, and now reps more than 15 festivals and tours worldwide; she recently negotiated more than 100 artists performance deals on behalf of producer clients in music and television. “COVID19 is a tectonic event that has completely frozen the global live-event business,” Reinhold says. “The most complex issue isn’t the shut-down itself, but the unnerving uncertainty on a time line for reopening,” which has left so many in an indefinite holding pattern. But she expresses optimism the music industry will prevail, as it has before. “We have proven to be resilient and strong.” she says.

MUSIC

Partner

Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg Mobasser Younger & Light

The man who represents Ariana Grande, Jennifer Lopez and Justin Bieber considers the Black Lives Matter movement and COVID-19’s impact top issues; John Legend was his first client, and Rosenberg’s support of BLM is longstanding. “John and the rest of our team have really been focused on issues of social justice, first with the Show Me Foundation and now through his initiatives in criminal justice reform,” he says “It’s amazing to see the issue amplified.” He reps the Keep Cool label, launched through RCA by Tunji Balogun; and LVRN, the Interscope label founded by Justice Baiden, Sean Famoso McNichol, Carlon Ramong, Junia Abaidoo and Tunde Balogun.

MUSIC

Founding partner

Sedlmayr & Associates

“Providing legal counsel and negotiation expertise that helped enable several of my clients to secure ownership of their master recordings” are among Sedlmayr’s more satisfying feats. The man that reps Eminem, Drake, Post Malone and DJ Khaled also feels strongly about music copyright infringement claims. “Since the ‘Blurred Lines’ decision five years ago, the number of baseless ‘evocation’ infringement claim letters and lawsuits against new hit songs has risen precipitously,” says Sedlmayr, who expresses hope that the recent appeals ruling on “Stairway to Heaven” will curb copyright claims that he describes as specious.

MUSIC

Founding Partner

Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Aldisert

Movie producer Ivan Reitman and TV king Chuck Lorre remain loyal clients, but the estate of Michael Jackson figured into Weitzman’s biggest recent triumph. In May, an appeals court reversed an unpaid royalties verdict for producer Quincy Jones, reducing the Jackson estate’s liability to around $2.5 million from $9.4 million. Projects since Jackson’s 2009 death, including concert film “This Is It” and two Cirque du Soleil shows, were at issue. The Jackson estate figures into Weitzman’s next big quest. Asked the top issue facing his practice, he responded: “Can you enforce a 27-year-old non-disparagement clause from a 1992 agreement between Michael Jackson and HBO?” Stay tuned.

MUSIC

Partner and vice chair, music industry

Loeb & Loeb

White, who handles Christina Aguilera, BTS and Big Hit Entertainment, Duran Duran and Chinese media giant Tencent, hasn’t seen her dealmaking drop off in recent months. For new client Diane Warren, “We were able to close a large ex-U.S. publishing administration deal and features album agreement, both with BMG, as the pandemic hit a tipping point,” says White, noting that “artist deals on the recording side and publishing side have not slowed down, and we are having daily talks with record labels and distributors, major and independent, on behalf of both developing and established artists and writers. Catalog sales on the master and publishing side haven’t slowed down either and we are involved in several large transactions

IN-HOUSE MUSIC

General counsel, EVP of business & legal affairs

Universal Music Group

Harleston also serves as interim CEO of Def Jam and co-chair of UMG’s new Task Force for Meaningful Change, the latter contributing $25 million to causes promoting social justice and racial equality. His legal team labored mightily on Tencent’s $3.4 billion investment, which bolstered UMG’s valuation. “It was an exhaustive process, starting around a year ago, motoring all the way until we had the final close at the end of March,” Harleston says. “The deal structure is a little different, but we’re very excited to have them as a shareholder and what that can mean for our business overall.”

IN-HOUSE MUSIC

EVP and general counsel

Warner Music Group

Last September, Robinson and a handful of others from the company began collaborating with owner Access Industries on a proposed IPO, which launched in June after a COVID-19 delay. “Luckily, Trent Tappe, deputy general counsel on our corporate legal team, is a securities attorney by training,” says Robinson. Warner Music’s general counsel since 2006, he’s mindful of the staffing on his team and the legal firms WMG engages. “We all need to do a better job on diversity and inclusion, not only because it’s the right thing to do but also because it’s undeniably good for business.”

IN-HOUSE MUSIC

EVP, business affairs & general counsel

Sony Music Entertainment

Swidler, whose purview includes labels Columbia and Epic Records, says the global pandemic has been an added challenge for her team, which has worked to ensure the health and safety of Sony Music’s staff while continuing to protect artists’ works, “especially reflected in the music industry’s successful $1 billion lawsuit over an ISP that failed to meet its obligation to address piracy on its network.” Swidler, in her 12th year as general counsel, also enabled new revenue through its strategic investment in podcasting; SME has closed several joint ventures in the podcasting sector.

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Executive vice presidents, business & legal affairs

Lionsgate

Biondo led his team in negotiating and finalizing deals for “Knives Out,” Oscar-nominated “Bombshell” and “Spiral: From the Book of Saw.” Stylides has recently negotiated deals for Point Grey Pictures, “John Wick” director Chad Stahelski’s producing deal, “The 1619 Project” and producer Kristin Burr (“Cruella”). COVID-19 hasn’t slowed their efforts. “Since Los Angeles County issued a ‘Safer at Home’ order, I’ve been working from home and having a lot more video calls,” Biondo says. “The trends in technology will continue to develop to allow more and more people to seamlessly work remotely from anywhere in the world.” Says Stylides: “We are all now living in an alternative coronavirus universe, which has changed everything and will have a long term impact on our business. Productions are suspended, movie theaters are closed, work has shifted from offices to homes. It will take a lot of planning and determination to get through this rough patch.” 

IN-HOUSE

Executive vice president, business affairs

Fox Entertainment

Bramhall oversees all legal and business affairs for Fox Entertainment, and plays a crucial role in helping to strategize and broaden the company’s ownership capabilities. He and his team were integral in bringing high-profile initiatives to fruition, including Fox Alternative Entertainment, and various scripted co-production and direct-to-talent deals. “With the advent of peak television, we’ve had to weigh the things we’ve typically relied on to distinguish our programming — exclusivity, positioning and access to top talent — against the fact there’s so much competition,” says Bramhall.

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Senior counsel

Netflix Films

Over the course of 2019, a year of increasing competition among streamers, Dormer and his dedicated team supervised the legal work on upcoming original features for Netflix, including “Red Notice,” “Beverly Hills Cop IV,” “A Fall From Grace” and “The Prom,” as well as first-look deals with Dark Horse. Rolling out with high-profile releases with big talent is exciting for the in-house legal eagle. “‘Red Notice’ really demonstrates the kind of flexibility our business model affords us, and underscores our ability to create all forms of content, including global event pictures on a massive scale,” says Dormer.

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SVP, business & legal affairs

OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network

Grant-Selma joined OWN from DreamWorks Animation a year ago and oversees the negotiation and execution of all of OWN’s major business deals, concentrating on the network’s slate of scripted and unscripted programming and digital properties, with a big recent focus on OWN’s entry into the holiday movie business. “Even during this period of endless talk of diversity, there are still very few outlets that produce holiday movies with a predominately African American cast or with storylines that capture the culture and represent the African-American experience,” says Grant-Selma, who previously worked at ITV and Live Nation

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Partner, head of global business & legal affairs, general counsel

APA

Johnson advises on deals for crossover talent ranging from Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s “$150 million overall production deal with Starz, to Mary J. Blige’s involvement in Starz’s spinoff to hit series “Power” and various agreements related to the 25th anniversary of her iconic album “My Life.” “It’s fun to work with the team to help clients grow their businesses across the industry, from music to on-camera film and television, to producing and gaming and other ancillaries, to sponsorship, endorsement and brand integration deals,” she says.

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Vice president, business and legal affairs

Hulu

Kang Park facilitated the 2019 deal in which Disney became the controlling owner of Hulu, while also working on the content licensing and live agreements for Fox and Disney. The Comcast transaction giving Disney control over the subscription streamer required negotiation of numerous content licensing agreements between Hulu and NBC entities. “This was a significant transaction with overarching corporate elements regarding Hulu’s ownership structure. Plus, I worked “on it while nine months pregnant, so it was a personal achievement for my now-9-month-old son and me,” she told Variety when this report was originally being put together.

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Executive office of the general counsel

CAA

Krumwiede works transactions across sports, film, television, and mergers and acquisitions for the massive agency. She worked on deals acquiring Base Soccer Agency, establishing a cultural strategy agency CAA Amp with basketball’s Dwyane Wade and merging CAA China with Momentum Sports. Krumwiede also handles various film and TV initiatives, including the launch of content-financing venture Library Pictures Intl. As cross-border deals proliferate, there are different priorities in various regions. For example, privacy and cybersecurity matters are crucial to Europeans, so “that’s going to be something that’s heavily negotiated,” Krumwiede says, whereas in other places, those issues are not list-toppers.

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Executive vice president and general counsel

Starz

Lee helped Starz avoid a yearend blackout, overseeing the legal strategy in the channel’s renewal of its carriage deal with Comcast that was finalized just eight days before it expired on New Year’s Eve. She was also instrumental in the international expansion of the Starz service, including its Starzplay direct-toconsumer app, which launched in five countries last year and is set to roll out in 20 more this year. “Change is the normal in this industry,” says Lee. “When I started, it was moving to digital media with the advent of electronic sell-through, on-demand and pay-per-view. Now, we’re all dealing with the move towards more OTT distribution.”

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EVP, general counsel

Showtime Networks

Last year, Marcus marked her 35th year at Showtime with some big deals, including a multi-year exclusive pact with top indie distributor A24 Films and agreements to bring the Showtime app to additional OTT platforms, as well the finalization of its 100% ownership of the Smithsonian Channel. But the matter closest to her heart was securing Showtime’s sponsorship of the WorldPride/Stonewall 50 celebration in NYC in June, where she rode with her wife on the float for the cabler’s series “The L Word: Generation Q.” “To me, it was a concrete manifestation of the impact the show and the company have had on the LBGTQ community,” says Marcus of the float experience.

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President of global business and legal affairs

Skydance Media

Oh played a key role in negotiating Skydance’s $275 million equity partnership with RedBird Capital and CJ Entertainment and Merchandising (the studio behind “Parasite”), which brought the company’s valuation to $2.3 billion. That’s on top of overseeing business and legal affairs for its television, animation and interactive games divisions and executing all the deals for its film slate, including above-the-line talent contracts for the upcoming features “The Tomorrow War,” starring Chris Pratt; “The Old Guard,” starring Charlize Theron; and writer-director Peter Farrelly’s “The Greatest Beer Run.” “Part of the joy of this job is I get to have hands in everything,” says Oh.

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Head of business affairs

A3 Artists Agency

Perroni, who recently exited Paradigm for her new perch as head of business affairs for A3, negotiated agreements for Brian Cox (“Succession”), Titus Welliver (“Bosch”), Ed Sheeran (“Yesterday”) and Mehdi Debhi (“Messiah”) while at her former agency. She also renewed a series package deal for Fox’s “The Masked Singer.” “I’m particularly proud of working on ‘The Masked Singer,’ the upcoming spinoff ‘The Masked Dancer’ and ‘The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show,’ because these programs transcend genres and unite audiences of all ages with comedy, music and pure fun,” she says. “During uncertain times, this is exactly the kind of uplifting and connective entertainment we need.”

IN-HOUSE

Business affairs executive

UTA

Tasvibi originally planned to be an agent, but instead found his calling crafting deals for ten-percenters and their clients behind the scenes. In the past year, he’s helped close a three-year, first-look pact for Will Ferrell and Jessica Elbaum’s production company Gloria Sanchez Prods. (producers of “Hustlers”) at Netflix and set Don Cheadle to executive produce and star in Showtime’s “Black Monday,” as well as negotiate a string of podcast deals with UTA emerging platforms head Oren Rosenbaum. “Part of getting good deals is listening to the other side, hearing what their concerns are and formulating some kind of solution that works for both parties,” Tasvibi says.

IN-HOUSE

President, business operations

NBC Entertainment

Yamamoto handles negotiations for all scripted and unscripted programming across NBC entertainment. She’s shaping the way the company makes deals in a shifting landscape, while helping to navigate new directions for the future, especially with the full launch of NBC Universal’s streaming service, Peacock, this month. Last year, she oversaw the renewal of the overall deal for prolific producer Mike Schur, a key player on such network hits as “The Good Place,” “Parks & Recreation” and “The Office.” The pact was “a true collaborative effort by our upper management, finance, creative and legal groups in identifying innovative ways to keep Schur at Universal Television,” she says.

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Counsel

Greenberg Glusker

Geller focuses on entertainment and intellectual property litigation, having worked on complex issues of trademark damages before the 9th Circuit, and in one instance securing a multimillion ­dollar trademark award for a major licensor. He represents studios, production companies, video­game publishers, musicians, graphic artists, and other independent content creators, and is co­chair for his company’s coronavirus task force.

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Associate

Glaser Weil

Hannah is a litigation attorney who represents clients throughout a broad spectrum of business and entertainment ­related disputes, with experience in state and federal courts. Hannah works with Fortune 500 companies on matters of fraud and unfair competition, and has represented major Hollywood studios and production companies. She’s a member of the Black Women Lawyers Assn. of Los Angeles.

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Litigator

Freedman + Taitelman

A general litigator with an emphasis on business, real estate, intellectual property, and entertainment, Hardy’s areas of focus include pleadings, discovery, law and motion practice, and dispute resolution. Hardy has achieved great success in applying his vast litigator’s knowledge toward closing difficult exit packages for high ­level executives and talent in the entertainment industry, including Megyn Kelly.

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Associate

Greenberg Glusker

Milostan only passed the bar back in 2017, but has already handled a slew of important matters, including Revelations Entertainment’s development and rights deals, production and financing for “What Is Life Worth, Cross Creek Pictures on director David Ayer’s “Tax Collector” and Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” He also works on licensing and rights deals for Bob Marley’s estate.

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Partner

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

Samplin focuses on entertainment industry disputes and intellectual property litigation and counseling. Samplin represented AMC in profit participation and breach of contract litigations concerning “The Walking Dead,” and was a member of the team that represented Voom HD Holdings in a multibillion­ dollar breach of contract action against Dish Network.

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Associate

Sheppard Mullin

Snow is an associate in the corporate practice group, placing a focus on advising public and private companies across the media and entertainment industries. Snow represented ICM Partners in connection with the sale of a minority equity interest to Crestview Partners, and she recently represented 101 Studios in connection with its joint venture with Authentic Brands Group to create Sports Illustrated Studios.

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Associate

Cowan DeBaets Abrahams & Sheppard

Stein recently negotiated and closed on behalf of producer Stick Figure Entertainment, as well as a distribution agreement between YouTube, Interscope and Yungblud, for “Stay Home With: Yungblud,” part of YouTube’s global campaign urging people to stay home during the pandemic. Stein also focuses on rights acquisition, development, and production deals in the film, television and digital­ media industries.