Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC‘s entertainment practice is helmed by Hayden Goldblatt, Andrew Hurwitz and Lisa Davis. Goldblatt, based in New York, is co-chair of the firm’s entertainment group, and focuses on film, TV and digital media, working with a wide variety of clients, including writers, directors and producers. With an eye on large transactions, Goldblatt works on financing deals with film funds, alongside acquisitions and distribution deals. Hurwitz, based in Los Angeles, is praised by clients for his ‘understanding of the industry and the law’. He works on deals with high-profile clients to secure rights and negotiate between parties to create working arrangements. Davis, based in New York, is also co-chair of the firm’s entertainment practice and handles transactional deals with a variety of clients, examples of which include rights deals for writers, actors and the representation of theatres in large deals. Victoria Cook adds depth to the team with her representation of creative talent and financiers. Julie Murray and Ben Moskowitz, have expertise in film and television production, and sports, respectively.

The entertainment practice at Latham & Watkins handles transactional matters from a wide variety of companies and clients, including production companies, agencies, studios, and investment funds. Los Angeles-based Rick Offsay leads the team and is co-chair of the firm’s entertainment practice, advising clients on M&A deals, joint ventures, and financing transactions. Also in Los Angeles, Nancy Bruington handles financing transactions across a range of industries, including film, television, music and sports. Kendall Johnson is praised by clients for her ‘exceptional intellect’. She specializes in licensing, acquisitions, and sponsorship rights. Liliana Paparelli Ranger supports the team with expertise in equity and debt financing and distribution arrangements. The team is well placed to advise clients on a large range of matters, including M&A deals, acquisitions, investments, and strategic partnerships.

Led by Robert Sherman, DLA Piper LLP (US) is home to a team capable of handling a variety of transactional entertainment matters. The practice handles matters involving music rights and music rights finance, production finance, and distribution. The team is praised by clients for being ‘excellent from every point of view: professional and personal’. Sherman, based in Los Angeles, focuses his practice on financing, including acquisitions within the entertainment industry, and represents a variety of clients, from PE funds to film and television production studios. He is also adept at handling music rights sales and acquisitions. Katherine Imp, also based in Los Angeles, offers the team expertise, advising a range of clients from film and television companies to social media and video games entities. Tom Ara and David Markman left the firm.

Accomplished at handling rights sales, mergers, and joint ventures, the team at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is sought out by clients in the entertainment sector. Kevin Masuda and Benyamin Ross jointly lead the team as co-chairs of the entertainment practice at the firm, both based in Los Angeles. Masuda brings a focus to the sports aspects of the practice, advising investment funds alongside leagues and teams in a variety of matters, including licensing and sponsorship. Ross advises a variety of companies, such as PE firms and high-net-worth individuals in M&A deals, investments, and joint ventures. California-based Steve Tsoneff adds depth to the team, with a special focus on licensing, distribution and experience in a range of financing deals. Sarah Graham, also California-based, is adept at handling various transactions within the industry and is experienced in restructuring.

The entertainment team at Loeb & Loeb LLP is led by a large team of practitioners including New York-based Anne Kennedy McGuire, Marc Chamlin, Debbie White, Carol Kaplan, Stefan Schick, and Paul Swanson. The Los Angeles team is led by Scott Edel, John Frankenheimer, and Ivy Kagan Bierman, while Derek C. Crownover leads the team out of Nashville. McGuire handles licensing agreements for a range of entertainment clients. Chamlin is noted for his experience negotiating joint ventures and licensing. White brings a wealth of experience in the music industry, and handles the structuring of deals. Kaplan advises clients on the exploitation of IP assets. Schick focuses on financing for live theatre production. Swanson adds experience to the team with a focus on financing for a wide range of media. Edel works on deals representing film and television production companies, alongside financiers. Frankenheimer focuses on acquisitions and restructurings. Bierman brings a focus to the labor aspects of the business. Crownover is relied upon by clients to manage transactions aimed at protecting assets. Bess Morgan adds depth to the team.

 

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP‘s entertainment practice is led by Jordan Bromley, who is based in Los Angeles. His work includes a variety of transactional issues, primarily in the music industry. He advises clients on IP transactions and protection, alongside financing work. Sophia Yen also advises clients on a range of deals, including distribution rights for music artists, alongside debt financing work in the industry. The team is well-prepared to handle M&A deals within the film and television industry, rights protection deals, distribution deals, and catalogue sales. Christopher Chatham adds depth to the team, representing a range of high-profile individuals across a variety of transactional matters.

O'Melveny‘s entertainment practice advises clients across a variety of industries within the sector, including film and television companies, live venues, and podcast networks. Amy Siegel leads the practice, and offers a wealth of experience in the industry. Clients seek out her counsel on joint ventures, commercial licensing, distribution deals, and M&A transaction. Matthew Syrkin is sought out for his work in the technology side of the sector. He advises clients on structuring deals, acquisitions, and joint ventures. Lindsay Conner advises a range of clients, including film studios and distribution companies. Silvia Vannini focuses on M&A and cross-border deals.

Led by the trio of Kirk Soderquist, Jason Schneiderman, and John Delaney, Perkins Coie LLP‘s entertainment practice is well-versed in a variety of transactions and is particularly focused on technology. Soderquist, based in Seattle, is sought out for his knowledge on regulatory matters, alongside experience across a range of transactions. Palo Alto-based Schneiderman is experienced in IP protection and licensing, M&A and general corporate matters. Delaney, based out of New York, focuses his practice on the licensing of music, television, and film. He works with clients in streaming and more traditional channels. Ali Mirsaidi, also New York-based, adds to the team with a focus on IP and tech transactions, and a specialism in AI.

Los Angeles-based Christopher Spicer leads the ‘very knowledgeable’ transactional entertainment team at Akin. Equipped to handle M&A deals, joint ventures, and a variety of financings, the practice is sought out by clients in finance, credit, film and television production, and sports. Spicer is adept at handling a variety of transactions and advises clients in music, television, film, and gaming. He handles distribution deals, acquisitions, and distressed debt matters. Also based in Los Angeles, Vanessa Roman is experienced in working on credit agreements and advising clients on commercial matters. Lauren Epstein brings depth to the team.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP‘s entertainment practice is well-equipped to handle M&A deals, financings, IP transactions, and restructurings. Faiza Saeed, based in New York, leads the practice and is experienced in acquisitions, mergers, and a variety of other transactions within the industry. The team is well-versed in handling acquisitions, with a particular focus on tech companies within the entertainment industry. Alongside this, the practice works on mergers of entertainment companies and advises on investments into the industry.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP‘s entertainment practice is trusted by clients across a variety of industries within the sector, including music, film, television, video games, and live entertainment. For these clients, the team manages M&A deals, financings, IP transactions, and joint ventures. Key members of the team include Seth Traxler, Edward Lee, and Allison Wein. Chicago-based Traxler is experienced in handling the full range of entertainment transactions and has a particular focus on IP transactions and tech. Lee, who sits in New York, focuses his practice on M&A deals, both in domestic and cross-border. Wein, also based in New York, handles M&A deals for the entertainment market.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP‘s entertainment team is led by Scott A. Barshay, Robert Schumer, Michael Vogel, Charles H. Googe Jr., T. Robert Zochowski Jr., Brian Kim, Claudine Meredith-Goujon, and Steven Williams, all based in New York. Schumer brings expertise in M&A deals and is experienced in acquisitions and sales. Vogel is an experienced practitioner with regard to M&A deals, and also advises clients on tax and regulatory issues. Googe Jr. brings a wealth of experience in a range of IP transactional matters. Zochowski Jr offers the team expertise in securitization and structured financing, advising clients in music, film, and digital infrastructure.

Simon Pulman, James Janowitz, and Briana Hill lead the entertainment team at Pryor Cashman LLP. The practice is equipped to handle matters from a range of clients, including film, television, music, and video games industries. Pulman, based in New York, focuses his practice on licensing, financing and distribution, with a particular eye on structuring streaming deals. Janowitz, also based in New York, represents clients in the financial industries and is adept at handling M&A matters, alongside financing deals in film and television. Hill, based in Los Angeles, offers experience handling a range of licensing deals, with a special interest in podcasts and streaming platforms. Additionally, she works on a variety of IP transactions.

Reed Smith LLP‘s entertainment practice represents a range of clients, including those in music, film and television, finance, and distribution. Steve Sessa spearheads the team and is co-chair of the firm’s entertainment group. Based in Century City, Sessa represents a wide range of clients in the music industry, ranging from artists and producers to record and publishing companies. As part of this, Sessa advises clients on catalogue acquisitions and copyright law. Sarah Bruno, based in San Francisco, focuses her practice on privacy, IP, and advertising, with clients across the spectrum of media and entertainment.

The entertainment team at Sheppard, led by Alexis Robinson, is well-versed in handling matters for film and television studios, publishers, and fashion brands, and is praised by clients for ‘deep industry knowledge’ and a ‘proactive nature’. Robinson, based in New York, brings a wealth of experience in IP matters to the team, focusing on distribution, licensing and rights acquisition, which enables her to advise clients across a wide range of industries. Based in Century City, Robert Darwell offers the team expertise in a variety of financing matters, including acquisitions and integrations within entertainment and media companies.

Greenberg Traurig

ArentFox Schiff‘s entertainment practice has a specialized focus on IP matters, and represents a range of clients, including television and music studios, music artists, and tech companies. Michelle Cooke, Matthew Finkelstein, and Amy McFarland jointly lead the team. Cooke, based in Los Angeles, brings a wealth of experience handling IP matters, including trademark and copyright transactions. Finkelstein, based in Boston, represents clients across a range of entertainment transactions, with a focus on music IP matters. McFarland, based in Washington DC, adds depth to the team, with experience in a range of IP matters.

The entertainment team at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP focuses on M&A deals within the industry, advising clients across a range of industries, including television, radio, publishing, and streaming. New York-based Jonathan Levitsky and Emily Huang lead the team. Levitsky brings expertise in M&A deals and works with PE firms in the industry. Huang focuses on M&A, working with a variety of sports teams in the sector.

Based in Washington, DC, Ifrah Law specializes in the online gaming and gambling industry, representing large sports betting, eSports, and iGaming companies, players, and agents of major sports leagues in the US and internationally. The firm’s transactional work spans mergers and acquisitions, financing, licensing, and regulatory compliance. Founder Jeff Ifrah is an expert in the field and handles regulatory and litigation matters for clients ranging from international mobile betting platforms to eSports startups. Michelle W. Cohen chairs the firm’s data privacy and cybersecurity group, advising clients on GDPR compliance and FTC and FCC proceedings.

Los Angeles-based Michael Hobel leads the entertainment team at Katten. The team is well placed to advise a variety of clients, including film and television distribution companies, production companies, and sports teams. Hobel offers the practice experience across the spectrum of entertainment transactions, including financing and IP exploitation. Scott Cutrow adds depth to the team, with expertise in financing transactions, talent agreements, and employment contracts.

Based in New York, Moses Singer is well-situated to counsel clients in the theatre, streaming, advertising, and publishing sectors on a range of transactional matters, including financings, licensing and distribution agreements, sales, and acquisitions. Elizabeth Corradino chairs the intellectual property, media & entertainment, and technology group and represents content creators and distributors. She structures complex transactions involving branded content and live event production. Robert Rosenberg is active in the transactional space and has extensive experience in complex sales, distributions, and licensing for innovations in the media industry.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP‘s entertainment team handles M&A deals, joint ventures, financings, and distribution deals. Based in New York, Howard Ellin and Thad Hartmann lead the team. Ellin brings experience in private equity and leveraged buyouts. Hartmann advises public and private companies on mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures. David C. Eisman, based in Los Angeles, is a key member of the team. Eisman adds depth with experience in securities law, partnerships and financings within the entertainment industry.

Based in Los Angeles, Alan Epstein and Andrew Kramer lead the team at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. Praised by clients for being ‘very connected’ and ‘calm’, the team is capable of handling a range of clients, including production companies, talent, music companies, and sports leagues and teams. Epstein offers the team expertise in structuring deals for a variety of clients. Kramer represents financiers, lenders and distributors in transactions concerning film, television and digital media.