Paul Hastings’ interdisciplinary Entertainment and Media group has deep industry experience, advising creative, business and financial leaders and developing innovative solutions to their unique needs. The team has repeatedly been recognized as among the most notable in the market by Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America and numerous other legal and industry publications. Partners in our practice are regularly named among the most influential lawyers in Hollywood by The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.

We represent clients in matters across all aspects of film, television, music, digital media, publishing, podcasting, radio, theater, live entertainment, video games, sports, esports and the internet. In addition to handling the full breadth of talent and dealmaking matters, our industry veterans work closely with the firm’s corporate, tax, capital markets and litigation lawyers to successfully resolve the most challenging issues facing our clients.

Production, Financing and Distribution

Our team has decades of experience with the development, production, financing and distribution of hundreds of film, television and music projects. Our lawyers work with industry-leading production companies, distributors and financiers to navigate the complexities of film, television, music and digital deals across an ever-changing media and entertainment landscape.

M&A, Investments and Capital Markets

We have successfully negotiated and closed many of the most high-profile M&A and investment transactions in the entertainment and media sectors. Our clients include corporates, hedge funds, private equity funds and high-net worth investors doing deals at the intersection of entertainment, media and technology.

Music

We have broad experience representing global media companies and prominent content creators in complex corporate and entertainment transactions. Our work includes recording and music publishing; the purchase, sale and financing of music catalogs; podcasting and content licensing agreements; composer agreements for film and television; live event promotion and production agreements; and performance agreements relating to music festivals and live concerts.

Finance & Restructuring

We handle every type of financing and restructuring deal in the industry, including shaping and structuring debt and equity capital, on behalf of prominent entertainment and media companies, financial institutions, private equity funds, hedge funds, distributors, strategic investors and high-profile individuals.

Litigation

Our Entertainment and Media Litigation Group is widely recognized as one of the country’s leading practices. We have extensive experience handling contentious situations, including contract, partnership and joint venture disputes; antitrust litigation; intellectual property litigation (including copyright, trademark, privacy and trade secrets claims); and business tort claims.

Talent

We advise many of the industry’s leading players, including showrunners, actors, directors, screenwriters, musicians, producers, radio and television personalities, streamers/content creators, novelists, journalists, playwrights and athletes on the evaluation, negotiation and structuring of a variety of agreements, including film, television and recording deals, employment contracts, celebrity endorsement arrangements and production agreements for the stage.

Intellectual Property, Data Protection and Privacy

Our lawyers represent leading virtual reality and augmented reality content producers, developers and patent owners; video game and app publishers; and entertainment, advertising and social media companies in the development and implementation of monetization strategies, intellectual property protection and enforcement strategies, and matters involving consumer privacy and data security.