Best Lawyers in California, United States for Entertainment and Sports Law
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Stanton (“Larry”) Stein is a partner and the head of Russ August & Kabat’s Media & Entertainment group. Larry’s clients include actors, writers, directors, producers, music artists, high-net-worth individuals, entertainment guilds, talent agencies, personal and business management companies, independent production companies, and video game companies. Larry is widely known in the entertainment industry for his work taking on Hollywood studios. Throughout the las...
Over more than 35 years of practice, David Halberstadter, the firm's deputy general counsel, has established a reputation among leading entertainment companies as a no-nonsense advisor and talented litigator. When other options fail, he aggressively pursues and defends lawsuits, with a focus on intellectual property-related disputes. Across all his work, clients value David's clear thinking, strategic wisdom and practical business sense. David represents motion picture studios, production com...
Susan Williams is a partner in the Entertainment and Media practice of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm’s Century City office. She is chair of the firm’s Entertainment and Media Finance group. Highly regarded as one of the entertainment industry’s top dealmakers, Ms. Williams is frequently sought to represent clients on some of their most significant finance and restructuring transactions. Ms. Williams represents financial institutions, senior, mezzanine, and equity fu...
Scott Edel understands the complexities of today’s evolving media and entertainment landscape, serving as a trusted business advisor and legal strategist to traditional Hollywood players and major digital platforms. A dealmaker, a problem solver and a quarterback for Loeb’s elite team of entertainment attorneys, Scott brings decades of industry experience and relationships to help clients create and exploit motion picture, television, digital and interactive entertainment content....
Steven Marenberg is the Chair of the firm’s Entertainment and Media Litigation Group and the Chair of the Century City Litigation Group. Mr. Marenberg’s practice encompasses a wide range of commercial litigation matters in various industries, with particular concentrations in the areas of entertainment-related litigation, technology-related disputes, copyright, trademark and other intellectual property litigation, and antitrust and business tort disputes. His clients have included...
Chad Fitzgerald is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Entertainment Law - Motion Pictures and Television and Litigation - Intellectual Property. Chad, who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Chad is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Greg Akselrud is a founder and Partner of the firm and a member of the firm’s executive committee. He Chairs the firm’s Internet, Digital Media and Entertainment Practice group. Greg advises clients across a wide range of industries, including companies in the entertainment, digital media, Internet, technology, software, mobile, venture capital and consumer electronics industries. Greg Akselrud has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, teaching Busine...
Carolyn has experience with advising investors in virtually all aspects of their film, television, interactive gaming and other finance and distribution matters. She represents domestic and international financial institutions, funds, high net worth individuals and media and entertainment companies in their corporate, intellectual property and entertainment-related transactions. Carolyn routinely counsels clients on the legal and business issues of entertainment financing transactions, includ...
Caroline is a seasoned trial lawyer representing clients in the entertainment, arts, fashion, retail, and technology sectors, such as motion picture studios and production companies, major media companies, film libraries, actors, comedians, television personalities, musicians, artists, jewelry designers, retailers, manufacturers, architects, market research firms, and others, in disputes involving copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, design patents, defamation, licensing and other contract ...
John T. Frankenheimer's practice is centered in the entertainment and media industries, with emphasis on both institutional and talent clients. This includes advising on the acquisition, sale and restructuring of companies, including financing, valuation, securitization and due diligence issues, as well as representing companies, artists and executives in all aspects of the music industry, including all forms of talent contracts, distribution, licensing, technology-related issues, publishing,...
Ron Nessim has been lead trial counsel in numerous civil and criminal trials and arbitrations. He has argued numerous appeals in both federal and state courts, including in the United States Supreme Court, and has been at the center of numerous precedent-setting, high-profile entertainment, commercial and white-collar criminal law cases. His clients value his attention to detail, ability to think strategically, tenacity and his trial skills. Prior to joining Bird Marella, he served as an Assi...
David C. Eisman represents companies, investment banks and private equity funds in connection with a variety of corporate, securities and M&A transactions, including private and registered securities offerings, public and private acquisitions, strategic investments and joint ventures. He also represents private equity, hedge fund and other private fund sponsors in structuring and forming their funds, registering as investment advisers and dealing with regulatory issues. Transactions in wh...
Mr. Kinsella is a nationally known trial lawyer specializing in the areas of entertainment and intellectual property litigation. During his career, he has successfully tried numerous cases in state and federal courts, and in private arbitrations and administrative proceedings, involving a wide array of disputes, from copyright and trademark infringement matters to antitrust and securities litigation. Mr. Kinsella has represented large domestic and international corporations, major motion pict...
Jason D. Russell is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Litigation - Securities and Sports Law. Jason D., who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Jason D. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Schuyler Moore practices entertainment, corporate and tax law. He has been practicing in the entertainment industry since 1981, represents producers, sales agents, foreign distributors and financiers, and has handled some of the largest financing transactions in Hollywood. He is Chair of Stroock’s Entertainment Practice Group.
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.