Best Lawyers in America for Entertainment Law - Theater
Select a location from the list below to find the best legal talent for your needs.
State
Anthony J. Dreyer is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Sports Law. Anthony J., who practices law in New York, New York, has been recognized since 2020. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Anthony J. 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.
Irwin A. Kishner is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Sports Law. Irwin A., who practices law in New York, New York, has been recognized since 2021. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Irwin A. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
James M. Kendrick is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Copyright Law and Entertainment Law - Music. James M., who practices law in New York, New York, has been recognized since 2020. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which James M. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Melissa Georges is a partner in our Entertainment Group and Chair of our Content Review & Clearance Group. For more than 30 years, she has helped award winning documentary, feature film and television producers, directors, actors, writers, animators, and comedians resolve complex legal issues to get their projects cleared and distributed. She is recognized by Best Lawyers in America in the 2025 edition for Entertainment Law. Ms. Georges assesses all forms of entertainment content for lega...
John V. Berlinski 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. John V., who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2023. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which John V. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Jason Karlov is the Entertainment, Media and Sports Practice Group Chair at Barnes & Thornburg. He represents a variety of clients in the music, entertainment, live events, advertising and technology industries. Client highlights include individuals, such as Bob Dylan, as well as institutions that work and invest in entertainment and technology, including such well-known brands as, Feld Entertainment, UrbanOne, Twitch, Beachbody and throughout the Olympic Movement since 1998, He also acts...
Charmaine D. Smith is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Entertainment Law - Music and Litigation - Intellectual Property. Charmaine D., who practices law in Atlanta, Georgia, has been recognized since 2017. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Charmaine D. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
John J. Rosenberg is a partner at Rosenberg, Giger & Perala PC in New York, New York, and brings nearly four decades of litigation experience to his practice. He earned a B.A. in Music, with a concentration in Ethnomusicology, from Brown University and graduated summa cum laude and first in his class from Boston University School of Law in 1979. After law school, Mr. Rosenberg served as a law clerk to the Honorable Levin H. Campbell of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circ...
Kristen Spanier is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Entertainment Law - Motion Pictures and Television. Kristen, who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2020. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Kristen is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Matthew D. McGill is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Gaming Law and Sports Law. Matthew D., who practices law in Washington, District of Columbia, has been recognized since 2024. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Matthew D. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Bart H. Williams is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Criminal Defense: White-Collar and Sports Law. Bart H., who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2013. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Bart H. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal practice area.
Bonnie E. Eskenazi is a top attorney recognized by Best Lawyers in the practice area(s) of Commercial Litigation, Entertainment Law - Motion Pictures and Television, Entertainment Law - Music and Litigation - Intellectual Property. Bonnie E., who practices law in Los Angeles, California, has been recognized since 2007. This recognition is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey, reflecting the high esteem in which Bonnie E. is held by other top lawyers in the same geographic and legal pract...
Monika Tashman is a Manatt Entertainment partner in the firm’s New York City office. With a broad-based practice spanning over 25 years in the music and entertainment industries, she advises and provides creative, pragmatic solutions for clients at the intersection of entertainment and innovation—from independent artists and record labels to new media entrepreneurs and emerging technology companies—aiming to strategically expand and transform their organizations, business mo...
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.