Pryor Cashman LLP

Media + Entertainment Group

Partner

Partner James Janowitz is among the country’s most respected entertainment and media lawyers.

As co-chair of Pryor Cashman’s Media + Entertainment Group and M+E Transactions and Financing Practice, and a senior partner in the Litigation Group, Jim has helped the firm build one of the most comprehensive entertainment practices in the country. He represents some of the industry’s most celebrated artists as well as influential producers, film studios, television studios, networks, and investors.

Jim belongs to a select group of attorneys in the U.S. who deliver a combination of transactional and complex litigation representation. His cross-disciplinary strength includes litigations such as the landmark copyright infringement action against George Harrison over “My Sweet Lord” as well as numerous complex financings in the film and television area. He counsels film, television, theater, music, and digital media producers as well as banks and other lenders investing in entertainment endeavors.

As a key member of the Art Law practice, Jim successfully tried a highly publicized case involving claims of Nazi theft of an Egon Schiele work and successfully prosecuted a claim against the Knoedler Gallery as a result of a historic fraud involving the sale of millions of dollars of fake modern masters. Jim also advises clients in connection with the sale, purchase, and lending of artworks.

Advancing Major Film + Television Deals

Leading collaborative teams assembled from the firm’s corporate, banking and finance practices, Jim arranges financing and production deals for motion picture producers and lenders as well as television studios and broadcasters. He negotiates complex capital arrangements and international deals that involve senior and subordinated debt as well as equity. Jim has been retained by investors, including hedge funds and insurance companies, to represent them in financing specialty lenders in film and television including establishing underwriting criteria.

Jim’s transactional practice encompasses:

Production and financing of independent films New film distribution launches Television network production and financing Mergers and acquisitions Studio output and joint venture deals Structured finance of film slates Film library acquisitions and asset collateralizations Print and advertising fund deals Governmental tax subsidies, incentives, and monetizations

In addition, Jim negotiates employment agreements and structures benefits for senior studio and film company executives.

Taking the Lead in Complex Litigation

Widely recognized for his skill in complex commercial disputes, Jim represents clients in state and federal trial and appellate courts, as well as in alternative dispute resolution forums.

Businesses and individuals from other sectors also seek Jim’s experienced counsel in class actions, RICO cases, product liability, and art provenance disputes.

Giving Back

Jim serves as co-chairman of the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), one of the nation’s oldest and largest not-for-profit advocacy organizations dedicated to independent film. Through his work with the organization, he helped establish the Made in NY Media Center by IFP in Brooklyn’s D.U.M.B.O., a 20,000-square-foot creative space that supports media and film development in New York City.

German

New York State Bar Association New York City Bar Association

New York University School of Law (J.D., 1971) Haverford College (B.A., 1967)