Business is not always “as usual”. Actually, it sometimes gets very complicated. We leverage our expertise around business and commercial law to understand your situation and what needs to happen for you to access potential.
For most private businesses, it is simply not practical to employ in-house legal counsel. Every business, however, benefits from having access to a general counsel who can advise you when the need arises. Whether hiring independent contractors and employees, understanding and negotiating agreements or leases or weighing the pros and cons of a particular decision, let our experience in tackling issues like yours serve you.
Sometimes, your problem requires being put in contact with the right people who can give you a solution. In those situations, we will reach out to our extensive network and find the right person to help you.
Anyone can set up a business. Not everyone can set up a business structure that is tax efficient, insulates you from legal exposure and helps achieve your business goals. There are a lot of factors to consider – such as, where will you operate, how much money do you plan to make, what is your exit strategy, will you seek outside investors and what products or services will you provide.
By knowing the ins and outs of your goals, we can help you establish and maintain the business structure that is right for you (and will be for years to come).
Business disputes are a fact of life. The more you succeed, the more you attract potential claims – such as breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, tortious interference with contractual/economic relations or other business related claims. When these disputes arise, we are here to help.
Our goal is to help you clearly articulate your objectives in the dispute – whether it be prevailing or minimizing your exposure – and help you achieve that result.
Every part of a business is dictated by some form of agreement. We are here to advise you on the consequences of the terms in the agreement and how to minimize your legal exposure and protect your business.
We can also help draft different types of agreements for you or help revise an existing agreement that ensures your rights are protected.
Sometimes, we need to reevaluate our existing business. It may need to be changed, moved or streamlined to help you achieve your goals, address the unanticipated or simply minimize the company’s tax burden.
Regardless of whether surgical changes are required or a complete overhaul, we will find the solution that is right for you and guide you through the process.
The law within the realm of media is always becoming more intricate. And don’t we know it? We’re here to be your guide through covering rights, responsibilities and regulations governing creative outputs of current and evolving media formats.
Defamation (sometimes known as libel or slander) is when a person makes a false statement of fact that is damaging to another person’s reputation. If you are involved in the creation or dissemination of speech or expression, you are already familiar with the ominous prospect of a defamation claim.
Whether you face a defamation claim or require guidance to minimize a potential claim, let our deep knowledge of the various First Amendment and legal protections against defamation serve you.
Various claims are directed at protecting a person’s privacy, including false light, intrusion upon seclusion, public disclosure against private facts, eavesdropping and wiretapping and more. Like defamation, if you are involved in the creation or dissemination of information, you are familiar with the prospect of invasion of privacy claims.
If you face such a claim or require guidance to minimize potential liability, let our strongly rooted knowledge of the various First Amendment and legal protections against invasion of privacy claims help you.
SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. In simple terms, SLAPPs are lawsuits directed at silencing lawful speech. Various states have enacted laws to combat SLAPPs. They are meant to root out meritless state law claims based on certain types of protected expressive activity.
If you face a SLAPP, let our experience of successfully defeating them in trial courts and appellate courts vindicate your speech.
The First Amendment is the sword and shield of those involved in the creation and dissemination of speech and creative expression. Whether it be copyright, trademarks, name, image and likeness, defamation, invasion of privacy, the First Amendment permeates many areas of the law.
The First Amendment also provides those involved in the creation and dissemination of speech the right to access and disclose governmental documents, speak about governmental proceedings and avoid content or viewpoint discrimination by the government. Whatever your speech related issues, let our knowledge of the nuances of First Amendment law be your sword and shield as well.
Digital and Internet law is the wild wild west of the law because technology is constantly evolving. Whether you are a digital platform or an online content creator, we can help with our knowledge of the laws that govern posting content online and the digital platforms that help disseminate it.
We can help you with drafting terms of service, compliance with the DMCA, Section 230 and other laws that govern the digital space or tackle legal disputes that involve the Internet.
We are passionate advocates for the creators and disseminators of speech and creative expression. We are here to help you successfully tackle claims involving copyright, defamation, trademarks, name, image likeness, invasion of privacy, idea submission, along with business-related claims that apply to the media, entertainment and digital industries.
Regardless of your role in the media, entertainment or digital industries, we have successfully represented people like you, including movie and television studios, production companies, filmmakers, digital platforms, online content creators, news publications, journalists and documentarians, musicians, record labels, fashion labels, photographers, video game publishers, book publishers, authors, artists and others who create and disseminate speech and creative expression.
Pre-publication and pre-broadcast review involves reviewing content for potential liability before it is disseminated to the public, including how to reduce such risk. Sometimes, review is necessary to help you secure errors and omissions insurance to cover your content. Other times, review is to assist you in reducing the risk of legal liability.
Our knowledge and experience with the creative process is here to help you – not only identify legal issues – but provide you with creative solutions.
Film and television productions require a wide variety of agreements, ranging from talent agreements and releases to distribution licenses. Whether you are involved in a scripted or unscripted project, we can help you tackle the various agreements you will need to make your vision a reality.
We believe your voice and expression should be protected and empowered. It’s why we formed this partnership – to ensure excellence is met with innovation when serving ideas that belong to creative visionaries and brands, like you.
Copyright law is the law that governs creative works. It is meant to incentivize the creation and dissemination of creative and expressive works – such as, movies, music, television shows, photographs, books, artwork, sculptures, websites, choreography and much more. Whether you create or exploit copyrighted material, our vast knowledge of copyright law is at your disposal.
We are here to help you navigate issues relating to registration, authorship, ownership, licensing, transfers, enforcement, infringement, fair use, anti-circumvention, content management information, takedown notices, counter notifications under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) and DMCA compliance.
Trademark law is the law that governs any term, phrase or design that helps distinguish goods and services. It is meant to assist consumers to identify the source of goods and services and incentivize those who provide goods and services to build goodwill.
Whether you need to secure and enforce your trademarks or defend against a trademark claim, our deep knowledge of trademark law is here for you. We can help with registration, enforcement, infringement, false advertising, unfair competition, cybersquatting and the First Amendment’s protections against trademark claims.
Various laws and statutes protect an individual’s name, image and likeness. These laws and statutes are meant to protect an individual’s identity from being exploited without their consent for some type of advantage – particularly for a commercial purpose.
Such laws are balanced out by various First Amendment protections, such as when the use is in the public interest, made in connection with expressive activity or used in a transformative manner. Whether you need to protect your name, image and likeness or defend against such claims, we can help.
Idea submission law governs the disclosure of an idea in exchange for compensation. Generally, the disclosure of ideas does not give rise to a claim – nor are ideas protected by copyright law.
The exception is when someone pitches an idea for a creative project and there is an expectation of compensation for the use of the idea – such as pitching a movie or television show. Whether you are disclosing or receiving such submissions, we are here to ensure you protect and vindicate your rights.
Intellectual property rights can be exploited in a variety of ways. Sometimes, intellectual property rights are sold – known as a transfer or assignment. Other times, licenses are granted that vary drastically in scope, duration, location, medium and more.
We can help you negotiate and draft a wide range of agreements involving intellectual property that ensures your objectives are met and rights protected.
Nearly every type of business needs to address intellectual property issues. If you own intellectual property, it is wise to create a strategy to register, police and enforce those rights.
If you use third-party intellectual property, guidance is necessary to clear such use – i.e., to minimize or, if possible, eliminate risk from third-party claims. Whether you create or exploit any form of intellectual property, let our experience in intellectual property litigation and transactions empower you with
Whatever the nature of your intellectual property dispute, we can help you resolve it. We have successfully pursued and defended against countless copyright, trademark, name, image and likeness and idea submission disputes. Frequently, we can resolve these disputes before litigation. When litigation is necessary, our deep understanding of intellectual property law and the litigation process proves invaluable in bringing the litigation to a successful conclusion.
