Our Practice

Paul, Weiss has one of the most experienced and diverse media, sports and entertainment practices in the marketplace. We represent leading media companies, entrepreneurs, sports leagues, franchises and investors active in the sector in all types of litigation and transactional matters, including best-in-class mergers and acquisitions, finance, securities, bankruptcy, tax, employment and intellectual property counsel as well as a world-renowned Litigation Department.

Our clients include the most prominent industry players and global investors in every sector, including motion pictures, cable and network TV, music, book and magazine publishing, sports, live entertainment and emerging media. In an increasingly technology-driven industry, where the value of content – whether film, television, radio, live stage, music, print or sports  – depends on distribution across multiple media platforms, our experienced, interdisciplinary transactional teams help clients take advantage of strategic opportunities in a fast-moving market.

Our trial-tested litigators have deep experience across the media, sports and entertainment landscape, making our practice a standard-bearer nationwide. Many of our engagements, such as carriage and antitrust disputes on behalf of cable operators, representation of performing rights organizations in a variety of critical matters, and as lead counsel to major sports organizations in franchise-threatening player safety litigation and internal investigations, have had industry-wide repercussions.

Intellectual property assets are at the heart of  our clients’ businesses in this sector. We advise clients on how to best develop, protect and leverage their intellectual property, drawing on team members with unique IP transactional experience in the sector. We regularly advise media, sports and entertainment clients on a broad range of copyright, trademark and related IP issues, including underlying rights negotiations; major film studio deals; film production, distribution and financing arrangements; cable networks and programming-related matters; music catalog acquisitions, licensing and other transactional matters; and book, magazine and new media publishing arrangements.

Our practice is global. We frequently advise companies, investors and other providers of capital on media, sports and entertainment transactions outside the United States.

Media

No firm has had a greater impact on the shape of the media industry than Paul, Weiss. Our lawyers have vast experience in the legal areas that matter most to our media clients. We have experience in every industry sector from motion pictures, recorded music, music publishing and cable and broadcast television to live theater and book and magazine publishing. Paul, Weiss attorneys have worked with every type of client, including major film studios, cable TV companies, record labels and television networks; private equity funds, hedge funds and production financing vehicles; and playwrights, actors, directors, and screen- and songwriters, among others. Our seasoned litigators handle the highest profile and most complex cases, providing risk assessment, pre-litigation advice and strategy to help clients avoid litigation, and effective, experienced representation when litigation is unavoidable. Further, we handle media transactions around the globe, from emerging markets with untapped potential to the storied playhouses of Broadway to creating new media businesses.

Sports

In the sports arena, we handle a variety of sophisticated and high-value transactions and matters for a diverse range of clients, including many of the major sports leagues, sports franchises and owners; talent and sports marketing agencies; concessions companies, player unions and athletes; and investors active in the sector. We are the firm of choice for our sports clients’ most sensitive litigation and regulatory challenges, including player safety issues, internal investigations, antitrust, class action, commercial and employment matters, and regulatory issues. Our sports clients also rely on us for significant licensing matters and disputes involving sports franchise and broadcast distribution rights.

We regularly advise principals, investors and buyer groups in transformative sporting world transactions, including dozens of potential, attempted and completed mergers, acquisitions, investments and joint ventures in recent years. Sports industry participants rely on us for a full suite of additional corporate legal services, including financings, securitization of sports media receivables and other bespoke structured finance vehicles, major real estate transactions, brand licensing and endorsement and media contracts—a major “value add” for our sports clients.

Entertainment

For entertainment clients, we offer the best of both worlds: the strength and support of a full-service firm and the specialized expertise of an entertainment boutique. Service to the talent side of the entertainment business is ingrained in Paul, Weiss’s DNA. We have helped talent and entertainment companies negotiate and defend their critical copyright, trademark and contract matters across a variety of sectors. Clients include playwrights, actors, directors, screen- and songwriters, television and sports stars, and book publishers. We currently represent all of the largest live entertainment companies and venues in New York City.