A powerhouse at the heart of the media & entertainment industry in Los Angeles, the team at Latham & Watkins LLP advises independent production companies, major motion picture studios, and new media companies on industry-shaping deals. Practice head Joe Calabrese is renowned for his expertise in the field and guides entertainment and media companies through their creation, operation, and financing such as Illumination Entertainment which he advises on its relationships with Illumination Mac Guff and NBC/Universal. Ken Deutsch is a first choice expert on joint ventures and capitalizing new content production and financing entities. He led the team in representation of Hammerstone, LLC in the creation of a gaming investment fund and co-financing for a ‘Black 5’ video game with Rogue Games and Columbia Pictures. Alongside Deutsch in this matter was Kendall Johnson, who is sought after for her expertise in cross-over matters of entertainment and sports. On the corporate side of the practice, Nancy A. Bruington  is a specialist in the financing of media & entertainment. In New York, Justin Hammill focuses his expertise on high-value M&A and private equity deals. The team has recently further bolstered its strength in this particular area with the hire in July 2021 of counsel Jing Cao  from O’Melveny & Myers LLP, an expert in debt financing in the entertainment space. Robert D. Haymer has retired from the practice.

O’Melveny & Myers LLP splits its practice between Los Angeles and New York, but has a global reach thanks to its expertise in cross-border and international transactions. Century City-based Amy Siegel is the practice head and a specialist in commercial licensing arrangements and exploitation of IP. She recently led the team in advising CJ ENM in its acquisition of Endeavor Content. Bruce Tobey‘s practice covers motion picture and television series from production through distribution. The Century City-based expert in digital media represented Library Pictures International in a co-financing del with Next Entertainment World. A specialist in corporate matters, Silvia Vannini handles M&A and securities in Los Angeles. Distinguished among the firm’s up-and-coming, counsel Evie Whiting in Century City maintains a variety of clients from the motion picture, television, and music sides of the media and entertainment industry, advising them on financing transactions. Lindsay Conner  joined the Los Angeles office from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP in October 2021, bolstering the team’s corporate expertise. Sean Monroe has departed the firm.

A go-to firm in Los Angeles for financial investors in film, television, and digital media, the team at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP advises its clients on complex transactions including M&A and joint ventures. Chris Spicer leads the practice, counselling companies additionally on distribution and production matters in the US, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. His colleague Marissa Román Griffith guides both established and new market players through complicated transactions. With Vanessa Roman the team includes a specialist on single project loans and credit facilities in the entertainment sector. Additionally, Alissa Miller is an expert on transactions between independent movie production companies and financial institutions. Further recommended for his expertise in digital distribution is associate Christopher Maddox. John Burke has retired from the firm.

From key players in interactive entertainment to music, publishing to TV content production, the practice at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC covers the entire media & entertainment industry and also advises on cutting-edge matters such as NFTs and other Blockchain-related endeavors. From Los Angeles, Andrew Hurwitz co-heads the department- deeply entrenched in the film & television industry, he is an expert on development, production, financing, and distribution agreements and recently represented the Roald Dahl Story Company in their sale to Netflix. In New York, co-head Michael Williams has extensive expertise in the fashion industry. Additionally in New York, Julie Murray advises production companies such as Jupiter Entertainment for which she negotiated a ‘First Look’ deal with Bronco Productions. Further recommended in New York is Marcie Cleary who focuses her expertise on talent management and cultural creators. Hayden Goldblatt is a specialist in film financing, also based in New York.  

Split between Los Angeles and New York, the team at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP handles matters for the traditional entertainment industry like Bollywood studio Eros International Plc and represents investors funding cutting-edge technologies such as Point72 in its investment in RECUR, which operates in the NFT space. Practice co-head Kevin Masuda is based in Los Angeles and advises both content production companies in film, music, gaming, and sports as well as their financiers such as Square, Inc. which he recently represented in its acquisition of TIDAL. Fellow Los Angeles co-head Benyamin Ross counsels both private equity and venture capital firms as well as tech companies like Screenshop in its acquisition by Snapchat. On the east coast, New York side of the practice John T. Gaffney advises on M&A, divestitures, joint ventures, and capital market transactions. Richard Birns broadens the scope of the practice with his additional expertise in corporate governance and takeovers and recently represented YGE Legends Holdings LLC in the sale of Legends Hospitality to global investment firm Sixth Street Partners. Stefan dePozsgay is a highly active member of the New York team, who represents clients in corporate matters both domestically and cross-border.

Experts in talent management matters and content-related transactions, the team at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, based in Los Angeles, handle deals in film, TV, and digital media as well as music, where the team has a particular proficiency in managing large catalogue acquisitions, for clients like O2 Films, Wavelength Productions, Death Cab for Cutie, and Brian Wilson. The practice is led by Jordan Bromley, a veteran transactional attorney in the music industry who focuses his expertise on representing artists and talent management companies. Sophia Yen is a specialist in production development deals, financings, and joint venture transactions who in a recent highlight represented Majordmo Media, LLC in its deal with Hulu and Vox Media. On the talent management side, Eric Custer guides high-profile individuals through complex transactions, including the sale of song catalogues. The firm has recently seen two departures, with Lindsay Conner and Charles J. Biederman leaving the firm.

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP has established itself as a practice at the cutting-edge, handling matters related to content and streaming for key players from the music and motion picture sectors such as Amazon Studios and Spotify as well as advising NFT platforms like Async Art. Robb Klein co-heads the practice out of Century City and handles matters pertaining to production, financing, IP centered agreements, and digital business. Klein’s co-head Linda Michaelson represents clients on the corporate side of media and entertainment and recently represented Lionsgate in its acquisition of the majority of Spyglass Media Group’s feature film library. Further recommended on finance, M&A, and joint venture transactions is co-head David Sands in Los Angeles who has special expertise in sports-related matters. Highly active in the practice and leading the team on Amazon’s acquisition of MGM, Robert Darwell in Century City is an expert in handling content-production deals in various industries. Stacey Rosenberg joined the firm in May 2021 from Hogan Lovells US LLP, further bolstering its strength with her deep expertise in debt finance transactions in the media and entertainment industries. Sidney Fohrman left the firm.

With a strong focus on M&A, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP advises key players in media and entertainment such as Disney and Hasbro on the corporate aspects of transactions including banking, financial restructuring, capital market offerings, and tax. Faiza Saeed leads the practice out of New York, focusing her expertise on M&A, corporate governance, and crisis management and leads the team in their representation of Quibi. 

Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP operates at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and media and entertainment, evidenced by its recent involvement as lead counsel in the creation of ‘Sotheby’s Metaverse’. New York-based practice head Matthew Syrkin is an expert on technology-driven transactions dealing with the convergence of technology, media, entertainment, and financial services. Deputy co-chair of the firm and chair of the corporate department Kenneth Lefkowitz  in New York is a specialist in complex corporate transactions in the sector, including M&A, takeovers, and going-private transactions. Together they handled Sotheby’s investment into the NFT development studio Mojito as well as the strategic partnership between the two companies which launched the auction house’s Metaverse.

With a practice divided between Los Angeles and New York, Loeb & Loeb LLP covers TV production, the music industry, Broadway plays, and has particular expertise in the branding side of talent management. Scott Edel co-heads the team from Los Angeles, a specialist in advising Hollywood production companies such as Showtime and Black Label Media as well as digital platforms. His fellow co-head Roger Arar is based in New York, focusing on film and TV development, finance, production, distribution, and talent. John Frankenheimer from Los Angeles chairs the firm’s music industry practice and represents both organizations as well as talent clients. Vice chair of the music industry practice Debbie White is based in New York and focuses her practice on representing music industry players as well as digital media and tech companies. 

Large transactions, such as the Reverse Morris Trust transaction combining AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia business with Discovery are a specialty of the New York-based team at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP who are experts in the M&A, securities, and financing aspects of media and entertainment. Practice head Ariel J. Deckelbaum is an expert in public and private M&A transactions, joint ventures, and restructuring deals who represented the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of CBS Corp in the merger with Viacom. Robert B. Schumer acted alongside Deckelbaum on this matter, deploying his extensive experience in high-profile public company transactions. Further recommended is Michael Vogel, who advises media companies on M&A and other corporate matters.

A holistic practice covering all sectors of media and entertainment, the Los Angeles-based team at DLA Piper LLP (US) also handles cutting-edge matters at the forefront, such as TikTok Inc.’s first NFT initiative. Co-head Tom Ara is one such specialist for emerging media and has close ties to the Asian markets. On the corporate side, co-head Robert J. Sherman has extensive expertise in domestic and cross-border financings and M&A. Co-head David Markman handles a variety of corporate and commercial transactions, he recently represented Concord Music in a collaboration with Skydance Productions and Nuyorican Productions for the creation of several musicals.

From content production to distribution and exploitation, the California-based team at Katten covers the entire content-lifecycle, advising major production studios and interactive entertainment companies. The practice is headed out of Los Angeles by Michael Hobel who represents key players in this space including HBO, MRC Entertainment, and Warner Media. Also based in Los Angeles and highly active in the team is associate Scott Cutrow  who regularly works closely with Hobel on matters for the firm’s high-profile clients.

Experts in transactions with intangible assets as their core, the team at Kirkland & Ellis LLP is a go-to for financial services company Blackstone on investments into the music sector, but also handles matters pertaining to video games and content production. From Chicago, Seth Traxler leads investments into media companies and recently advised The Carlyle Group in their acquisition of British video game studio Jagex. In New York, Shellie Freedman employs her expertise in agreements centered around IP and technology. Rory Wellever, previously at Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn LLP, joined the Chicago office in June 2021; a specialist in software-related cases, he has worked substantially on matters for Blackstone.

The Los Angeles-based transactional team of Paul Hastings LLP covers M&A, investment, and content production financing in media & entertainment for clients including Jukin Media, Marginal Media, and MidCap Financial Trust. Co-head Mickey Mayerson advises a global client base on production financing matters. Craig Emanuel who leads alongside Mayerson is a specialist in deals pertaining to the talent and creative side of the industry. Another expert on the matter is co-head Erik Hyman who recently represented Anthony Ramos in negotiations for leading roles. Co-head Susan Williams focuses her practice on structuring complex finance and capital market transactions in the entertainment industry.

Experts in technology-driven transactions in the media and entertainment space, the team at Perkins Coie LLP covers a wide range of issues but has particular expertise in the interactive entertainment sector. John Delaney co-leads the practice out of New York, a seasoned transactional lawyer with a focus on disruptive technologies in film/TV, music, and video gaming. In Seattle, co-head Kirk Soderquist is a specialist in interactive entertainment and emerging elements such as NFTs. Their fellow co-head Jason Schneiderman is based in Palo Alto and focuses on emerging companies and their corporate needs.

With an active practice in New York, the team at Proskauer Rose LLP focuses its expertise on the corporate side of media and entertainment and content distribution transactions. Co-head Robert Freeman is an expert in structuring complex transactions and in a recent highlight negotiated multi-year distribution agreements between Cox Communications and ViacomCBS. His fellow co-head Lauren Boglivi is a specialist in media content matters and represented Hearst Magazines in its sale of the US edition of Marie Claire to British publisher Future. Their peer and co-head Sandra Crawshaw-Sparks is a litigator with particular expertise pertaining to music industry matters. Finally, co-head Jeffrey Neuburger expands the firm’s scope through his focus on the intersection of technology, media, and IP. Will Chuchawat in Los Angeles, who focuses on middle market transactions, joined from Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP in February 2021.

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP represents a long list of private equity, banks, and investment firms across the media and entertainment industry where its international network allows the firm to handle complex multijurisdictional transactions. Michael Lubowitz , a seasoned M&A practitioner, co-heads the practice out of New York. Alongside him is co-head Jackie Cohen , also in New York. She is an expert in corporate cross-border matters and recently led the team in advising Marquee Raine Acquisition Corp.