 |
 |
| Practice Areas
Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard has represented and counseled clients in the areas of entertainment law, publishing, art law, copyright, trademark, and litigation for about twenty years. |
 |
Entertainment
Law
Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard is one of the leading firms in the field of entertainment law. Our clients include motion picture and television producers, cable television networks, writers, directors, performers, composers, and choreographers. Among our clients are MacNeil Lehrer Productions, the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers, National Interfaith Cable Coalition, the Joyce Theater, Judith Jamison, David Rabe, Neal Slavin, Merchant Ivory Productions, John Sayles and Michael Stipe.
In the past our filmmaker clients have won the Oscar, the Emmy, and the Peabody
for feature documentary.
Our attorneys are among the leaders in the field of entertainment
law. |
| • |
Zehra Abdi practices primarily in the areas of copyright, trademark, transactional, entertainment law, and litigation. Prior to joining Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard, she was with the firm of Wolff & Godin, LLP, where she worked closely with Nancy Wolff in matters involving copyright, trademark, licensing, art law, digital media, rights of publicity, privacy and libel and commercial/corporate transactions. |
| • |
Anne C. Baker is a transactional attorney in the areas of intellectual property and entertainment law with a focus on digital media, publishing, television, film, copyright, trademark, and music law. |
| • |
Frederick
P. Bimbler practices represents producers and the production
of theatrical and motion picture projects at all levels, though he
also actively represents individual actors, personalities, models,
playwrights, musicians, photographers, Latin media stars and fashion
designers in all media. |
| • |
Susan Bodine practices in the firm's motion picture and television group. Ms. Bodine's clients include prominent and critically acclaimed screenwriters, directors, producers, film production companies, and distributors. Among her services, Ms. Bodine provides counsel on corporate matters, film sales and distribution matters, financing matters, and production legal issues for domestic and international clients and projects. With 20 years of experience in the entertainment field, Ms. Bodine is well established as a leading member of the arts and entertainment community in New York. |
| • |
Michael Bracken practices primarily in the area of transactional entertainment and law, focusing on media, live events and sports and representing cable networks, television and event producers, team owners, website developers, digital media distributors, and providers of technical services. He is a former senior vice president of Madison Square Garden. |
| • |
Andrea Cannistraci is a well known transactional attorney in the firm's motion picture and television group, serving renowned writers, award winning producers and cutting-edge feature and documentary filmmakers, as well as major studios, leading cable networks and independent production companies. |
| • |
Al J. Daniel, Jr. is a trial and appellate litigator with substantial experience in copyrights, trademarks, entertainment law, artists’ rights, and commercial law. He served as a trial and appellate attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. and New York City, where he drafted briefs, presented argument in all federal courts of appeals, drafted briefs and petitions with the Solicitor General’s Office for cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He is also involved in entertainment-related transactions. |
| • |
Timothy DeBaets is past Chair of the Section on Entertainment, Sports and Art Law of the New York State Bar Association and is a Board Member of the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. |
| • |
Lisa K. Digernes practices primarily in the areas of intellectual property and entertainment law. Ms. Digernes has her law degree (Candidata Juris) from the University of Oslo, Norway, and her LL.M. degree in intellectual property from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. She speaks fluent Norwegian and English and is proficient in Danish, Swedish and French. |
| • |
Robert
J. Epstein represents a diverse clientele in the entertainment field. Clients include recording artists, songwriters, performers and producers, as well as corporate entities such as media companies and music publishers. |
| • |
Robert I. Freedman is the author of the leading treatise on television contract law, "Entertainment Industry Contracts: Television," published by Lexis-Nexis, is a contributing editor to Entertainment Law and Finance, and is the former General Counsel of WNET-TV. |
| • |
Jerrold B. Gold has represented clients in the entertainment world, particularly in music, for over thirty years. He also practices in the areas of real estate, elder law, and trusts and estates. |
| • |
Hayden M. Goldblatt is a transactional attorney practicing primarily in the areas of entertainment, copyright, and trademark law, including film, television, theater and digital media. He graduated cum laude from Brooklyn Law School in 2008. While there, he interned with Kimmel International, the foreign sales agency of Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and since January 2007 with Cowan DeBaets Abrahams & Sheppard LLP. Prior to law school, Hayden worked as Assistant to the Producers for Robert Altman’s Sandcastle 5 Productions. |
| • |
Albert Gottesman has concentrated in transactional matters in the various entertainment fields and in copyright and trademark licensing for most of his career. He has represented television and motion picture production companies, writers, directors and producers, and clients in music production and publishing, live theatre and book publishing. |
| • |
Roger E. Kass is an entertainment and media lawyer who specializes in the areas of feature and documentary films, television, the Internet and multimedia entertainment. His clients include producers, financiers, distributors, directors, writers and performing artists, as well as studio executives, recording artists, fashion designers, photographers and other media industry creative talent. |
| • |
Gary E. Redente is an entertainment, intellectual property, and business lawyer with transactional and litigation experience. His clients include record labels, film production companies, digital media companies, writers, producers, managers, actors, musicians, songwriters, photographers and product manufacturers. |
| • |
M. Kilburg Reedy is a transactional attorney in the areas of intellectual property and entertainment law, including publishing, film, television, copyright, trademark, and music, with a specialization in theater contracts and financing. |
| • |
Michael D. Remer has long represented prominent creative and performing arts and entertainment individuals and organizations in copyright matters and in all media, including publishing, fine arts, photography, graphic arts, motion picture, theater, dance, and television. |
| • |
Robert L. Seigel specializes in the representation of directors, individual producers, production companies, writers, distribution companies and foreign sales agents concerning the development, production, marketing, distribution and licensing of fiction and non-fiction projects. |
| • |
Josh Sessler has been practicing for over ten years at large New York law firms and has worked in private practice and as general counsel for several digital communications and media companies. Josh has specific expertise in Digital Media, Corporate, Entertainment, Trademark and Copyright Law. |
| • |
J. Stephen Sheppard has thirty years experience in the entertainment industry as an attorney, agent, manager, and producer, and is past Chair of the Committee on Theatre and Performing Arts of the New York State Bar Association. |
| • |
Marc Simon, an experienced entertainment attorney, represents film and television companies, producers, directors, writers and talent. He has served as production counsel on numerous films, handled complex negotiating and transactional matters on behalf of his diverse clientele, and has functioned as a producer's sales representative. Mr. Simon advises clients on financing, intellectual property acquisitions, all above-the-line agreements, co-production and distribution agreements. He also has experience in all areas of commercial litigation, including securities, employment, real property and entertainment matters. |
| • |
Kenneth Swezey is Co-chair of the Committee on New Technologies of the New York State Bar Association. He represents publishers, authors, and digital media and website developers, film-makers, graphic artists and photographers. |
| • |
Robert F. Van Lierop is a transactional attorney in the areas of entertainment law, real estate and international law. He has represented a number of acclaimed artists, producers, writers, and arts organizations. He is also an experienced litigator, and a former Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He is a life member of the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association (BESLA) and numerous other professional associations and civic organizations. |
| • |
Steven Weinberg, of our West Coast office, is a leading litigator and transactional lawyer in the areas of branding and trademarks; brand, content and celebrity licensing, sponsorship and endorsements; copyrights and digital rights; branded entertainment; employment and trade secret issues; publishing; software and online technology deals and licensing; online television deals; domain name protection and enforcement; IP and digital rights management; and direct response, advertising and promotion in all media. |
| |
|
|
|
|
