Praised for its ‘ hands-on deal management’ and ’deep expertise in the entertainment and music sectors’, DLA Piper LLP (US) advises extensively on music rights securitization and is equipped to structure and negotiate a broad range of agreements in areas such as content development, production and distribution. A trio of partners head up the Los Angeles-based team: Tom Ara‘s transactional abilities were most recently showcased in his handling of a VR content production deal for TikTok and parent company ByteDance, Robert Sherman is frequently sought out by music rights acquirers to advise on distressed transactions, and David Markman’s broad practice includes serving as production counsel for film and television projects. Seasoned entertainment lawyer Richard Petretti is geared to assist with work including secured and unsecured film, television and music financings, while Katherine Imp has extensive experience in negotiating production and post-production agreements for audiovisual content.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘Really fantastic folks. Super-knowledgable. Collaborative. Easy to work with. ’

  • ‘The level of collaboration is unreal, they are just so wonderful. ’

  • ‘Deep expertise in the entertainment and music sectors, and very strong expertise across corporate matters, financings, tax, etc.’

  • ‘Long-time experience in the sector and functional expertise. Very hands-on deal management, with a very strong team. Highly collaborative and practical.’

  • ‘Deep knowledge of the sector. Highly skilled team. Broad range of specialities. ’

Key clients

  • TikTok Inc.
  • Creative Artists Agency, LLC
  • Cyber Group Studios
  • Coupang Play
  • Concord
  • Michelle Rodriguez
  • CJ ENM Co., Ltd.
  • Educational Media Foundation
  • The Walt Disney Company
  • HarbourView Equity Partners, LLC
  • MMM Asset Co LP
  • Annapurna Games LLC

Work highlights

  • Represented Concord in its $1.8bn music securitization.
  • Represented ByteDance and TikTok in a multi-year VR content production deal with WaveXR.
  • Counseled Victoria’s Secret & Co. in connection with the production and distribution of the recently released Victoria’s Secret: The Tour ‘23 documentary.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Tom Ara, Robert Sherman, David Markman

Other key lawyers

Richard Petretti, Katherine Imp