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entertainment

Entertainment is a serious business. Above and beyond the months of rehearsal or years of preproduction that guarantee the success of a great play or film, there are complex legal and business structures that need to be in place for any project to succeed. From performer contracts to publishing agreements, from personal representation to merchandising contracts, the business of entertainment demands sound and sophisticated legal counsel.

Paul, Weiss's Entertainment Department is synonymous with New York entertainment law. Our transactional work in the media & entertainment industry is rooted in the representation of such American cultural icons as Cole Porter and Arthur Miller. As the years have passed, we’ve helped shape many of the legal agreements and business arrangements still used in the industry today. Few firms can match the scope and variety of our media & entertainment practice, which adds interest, excitement and unique challenges to the other traditional practice areas within the firm. We are proud to be able to work closely with some of the best producers, artists, composers, designers, writers and performers working in theater, film, television, music and publishing today.

For more information about our Media & Entertainment Department, please click here.

Carol Kaplan
Entertainment Counsel

When I came to the United States from South Africa, I worked as a writer in the entertainment industry. I’d always been interested in law, and after working on a project that involved some legal research, I became interested in going to law school – more as an extension of my education than anything else. When I became a summer associate at Paul, Weiss, I was given the opportunity to work on a number of interesting assignments, especially in litigation and a few entertainment matters. I had such a great summer experience that I realized that I actually wanted to practice law.

When I arrived at the firm, I discovered that one of the playwrights whom Paul, Weiss represented was August Wilson. I’d always admired his work enormously, so I was delighted to find myself working on negotiating one of his production deals. The producer of that particular play had been a professor at Yale where I did my MFA in playwriting, and he was quite surprised to discover that I was now one of August Wilson’s lawyers.

Paul, Weiss has a full-service Entertainment Department. Not only do we represent talent (like playwrights, performers, composers, authors, filmmakers, etc.), but we also represent theaters, producers, investors and a variety of other clients who have business interests in the entertainment industry. We’re involved in many aspects of New York City’s cultural life, representing both commercial and not-for-profit producers. In fact we probably represent the majority of nonprofit theaters in the city, like Lincoln Center Theater, The Public, Manhattan Theater Club and many more. It’s quite an experience to walk through the heart of the city and see all the theater marquees up, announcing the new and long-running plays, and being able to say, we worked on that play, and that one, and that one... You realize that you played some small role in helping bring these cultural events to New Yorkers, as well as to visitors from around the world.