Andrew Hurwitz > Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC > Los Angeles, United States > Lawyer Profile

Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC
2029 CENTURY PARK EAST
Suite 2500N
LOS ANGELES, CA 90067
CALIFORNIA
United States
Andrew Hurwitz photo

Work Department

Entertainment

Position

Partner/Co-Chair

Career

Andrew Hurwitz is a partner and Co-Chair of the Entertainment Group at Frankfurt Kurnit and a founding partner of the firm’s Los Angeles office. He represents award-winning entertainment talent and owners of intellectual property and is widely considered one of the nation’s top film and television industry lawyers.

Mr. Hurwitz provides a full range of transactional and advisory services to clients in the motion picture, television, and digital rights businesses. He has negotiated and structured virtually every type of development, production, financing, and distribution agreement. He also advises on corporate matters — including acquisitions and joint ventures and on employment matters for senior media executives. His clients include writers, directors, actors, producers, financiers, as well as media companies and their executives. As many of his clients reside in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the Middle East, he has extensive experience advising clients in connection with cross-border entertainment, intellectual property and labor issues.

He works closely with attorneys in the firm with litigation and intellectual property expertise in securing, enforcing and exploiting valuable rights owned by best-selling authors, literary estates and toy companies in a rapidly changing media environment. His strategic counsel is frequently sought to resolve disputes and untangle complex business problems.

Mr. Hurwitz consistently ranks among the nation’s best entertainment lawyers, regularly listed in industry and legal publications like The Hollywood Reporter’s “Power Lawyers” issue, Variety’s “Dealmakers Impact Report” and “Hollywood Law Impact List,” Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA and The Legal 500.

Mr. Hurwitz has taught the entertainment law seminar at New York Law School as well as motion picture business classes at Yale University and the Czech film school FAMU in Prague. He is a frequent panelist at industry and continuing legal education events and has written articles for The Hollywood Reporter and other publications.

Mr. Hurwitz is a graduate of Tulane University (B.A., cum laude) and Georgetown University Law Center (J.D., cum laude), where he was an editor of the Law and Policy in International Business law journal and recipient of the George Brent Mickum III Prize for excellence in legal writing. He is admitted to practice in New York and California. He is the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Services for the UnderServed, a not-for-profit company serving New York City’s Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, and persons with mental and developmental disabilities. Since moving to Los Angeles, he now sits on the advisory board. He lives in Santa Monica with his wife Ariella and son Jak.

Memberships

He is the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Services for the UnderServed, a not-for-profit company serving New York City’s Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, and persons with mental and developmental disabilities. Since moving to Los Angeles, he now sits on the advisory board.

Education

Georgetown Law Center (JD, cum laude)
Tulane University (BA, cum laude)

Lawyer Rankings

United States > Media, technology and telecoms > Media and entertainment: transactional

Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC splits the practice between New York and Los Angeles, representing talent from across the entertainment spectrum and specializing in up. In Los Angeles, practice co-head Andrew Hurwitz ‘s practice includes negotiating and structuring development and production agreements, he recently handled the incorporation of Yla Eason’s superhero, Sun-Man, to Mattel’s Masters of the Universe roster. Fellow practice co-head Michael Williams is based in New York, frequently negotiating merchandising and licensing agreements. Also in New York, Richard Heller focuses on new media and IP and recently represented Robbie Williams in a life story rights deal for the motion picture ‘Better Man’. Lisa Davis focuses her practice on film, publishing and live stage entertainment; she has represented Black Theatre United pro bono since it was formed in 2020. Julie Murray represents clients in the television, comedy and branded content industries from the firm’s New York office. Further recommended is New York-based Ben Moskowitz who regularly works as production counsel on documentary films and television programs.