Power Lawyers 2011
4:00 AM PDT 7/13/2011 by Matthew Belloni
The quiet (and sometimes not so quiet) forces behind every deal, dispute and decision in Hollywood are honored in The Hollywood Reporter’s fifth annual list.
In early 2007 when the idea first surfaced here to do a power list of the top Hollywood lawyers, I called up one of the town’s most respected talent attorneys to see what he thought. “Great idea,” he said. “But no one will talk to you.” After all, the inner circle of entertainment lawyers had always been an impenetrable cabal that -- unlike studio executives, agents and managers -- hated seeing their names in print. It took hundreds of phone calls (and, yes, some begging), but nearly everyone in that first Power Lawyers issue agreed to be interviewed, and most showed up (some from New York and Nashville) for our breakfast, now an annual tradition.
Five years later, with the franchise fully formed and a true resource for the top names in litigation, corporate and talent dealmaking, I called up that same attorney to spitball ideas for this issue. Perhaps, I wondered, we could get the three feuding lawyers on the Charlie Sheen case to pose for a photo together. “Great idea,” he said. “But they’ll never do it.” (See above.) Even amid an unresolved and often rancorous arbitration, they all said yes. Case closed.
The Hollywood Reporter’s Power Lawyers 2011 list is broken down into the following categories:
Talent Dealmakers: Gross points, rich backends and franchise hunting: These attorneys for A-list stars keep them in the stratosphere.
Litigation Specialists: These hired guns can go all the way to trial to right a wrong in an industry where the rules are not always black, white or even fair.
The Troubleshooters: Plenty of Los Angeles lawyers handle high-stakes criminal cases and rich divorces, but it takes a special skill to expertly navigate both the legal issues and the glare of a rapturous media.
Corporate Dealmakers: The men and women behind the big-ticket transactions that keep money flowing to Hollywood.
METHODOLOGY: For a fifth year, THR canvassed the showbiz landscape to determine the attorneys behind the year’s biggest deals and cases. Candidates are evaluated against their peers (litigators vs. litigators, dealmakers vs. dealmakers), and we added a category this year for “troubleshooters,” those handling criminal and divorce cases. Studio, network and music label lawyers were not considered, with the exception of Jonathan Anschell, the Raising the Bar honoree, an in-house executive who was chosen in consultation with several top attorneys on the Power Lawyers list.
Click here to see the Power Lawyers 2010 list.
Click below to view the lawyers in this year's list:
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Karl Austen Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer Austen Mandelbaum Morris & Kleinread more
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John Branca Ziffren Brittenhamread more
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Melanie Cook Ziffren Brittenhamread more
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Craig Emanuel Loeb & Loebread more
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Patti Felker Felker Toczek Gellman Suddlesonread more
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Sam Fischer Ziffren Brittenhamread more
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David Fox Myman Greenspan Fineman Fox Lightread more
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Seth Gelblum Loeb & Loebread more
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Michael Gendler Gendler & Kellyread more
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Cliff Gilbert-Lurie Ziffren Brittenhamread more
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Carlos Goodman Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal LaViolette Feldman Schenkman & Goodmanread more
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Tom Hansen Hansen Jacobson Teller Hoberman Newman Warren Richman Rush & Kallerread more
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Alan Hergott Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal LaViolette Feldman Schenkman & Goodmanread more
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Barry Hirsch Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof & Fishmanread more
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Jim Jackoway Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer Austen Mandelbaum Morris & Kleinread more
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Craig Jacobson Hansen Jacobson Teller Hoberman Newman Warren Richman Rush & Kallerread more
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Matthew Johnson Ziffren Brittenhamread more
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Joel Katz Greenberg Traurigread more
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Deborah Klein Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer Austen Mandelbaum Morris & Kleinread more
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Linda Lichter Lichter Grossman Nichols Adler & Feldmanread more
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Joel McKuin McKuin Frankel Whiteheadread more
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Jon Moonves Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein & Lezcanoread more
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Kevin Morris Morris Yorn Barnes & Levineread more
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Kenneth Kleinberg Kleinberg Lopez Lange Cuddy & Kleinread more
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David Lande Ziffren Brittenhamread more
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David Matlof Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof & Fishmanread more
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Marcy Morris Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer Austen Mandelbaum Morris & Kleinread more
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Bob Myman Myman Greenspan Fineman Fox Lightread more
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Peter Nelson Nelson Davis Wetzsteinread more
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Jeanne Newman Hansen Jacobson Teller Hoberman Newman Warren Richman Rush & Kallerread more
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Robert Offer Sloane Offer Weber & Dernread more
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Don Passman Gang Tyre Ramer & Brownread more
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Lee Phillips Manatt, Phelps & Phillipsread more
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Bruce Ramer Gang Tyre Ramer & Brownread more
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Ken Richman Hansen Jacobson Teller Hoberman Newman Warren Richman Rush & Kallerread more
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Lawrence Rose Gang Tyre Ramer & Brownread more
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Ira Schreck Schreck Rose Dapello Adams & Hurwitzread more
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Nina Shaw Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein & Lezcanoread more
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Jason Sloane Sloane Offer Weber & Dernread more
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Doug Stone Stone Meyer Genowread more
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Gary Stiffelman Ziffren Brittenhamread more
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Steve Warren Hansen Jacobson Teller Hoberman Newman Warren Richman Rush & Kallerread more
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Alan Wertheimer Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer Austen Mandelbaum Morris & Kleinread more
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Bryan Wolf Ziffren Brittenhamread more
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Ken Ziffren & Skip Brittenham Ziffren Brittenhamread more
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Jake Bloom Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal LaViolette Feldman Schenkman & Goodmanread more
