GAIL MIGDAL TITLE
Firm: Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
Law School: UC Berkeley
Clients: NBC, Universal, Reveille LLC, Miramax, Pilgrim Films and Television.
Best Career Moment: A career highlight was defending the world-renowned playwright Tom Stoppard, Miramax and others in several lawsuits claiming that the Oscar-winning movie “Shakespeare in Love” contained ideas and expression improperly taken from plaintiffs’ works. I had the opportunity to pore through all of Tom Stoppard’s prior works to support our defense of independent creation and to read centuries of fictional works on William Shakespeare to establish prior art, thereby using literature to advance legal arguments.
Worst: While still a very young attorney, I received a phone call from the then-chief justice of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. I thought it was a friend of mine pretending to be the chief justice and began teasing him about his charade, only to find out that it really was the chief justice.
Highlight From Past Year: I’m managing partner at Katten Muchin, and we’ve continued to prosper and remain strong without the significant layoffs or other institutional disruption that some firms were compelled to undergo in response to changes in the economic climate.
Longest Workday: One Monday morning, a client called saying he had been subpoenaed to testify the next day before a Senate subcommittee at the Capitol and needed my help. We got on the next flight to Dulles, and worked throughout the flight and around the clock in D.C. preparing his written statement. We spent the entire next day before the subcommittee then raced from the Capitol back to Dulles to catch the evening flight to L.A. It was no longer, but more varied, than pulling an all-nighter on a brief.
How My Practice Is Changing: I have found myself being increasingly sought after by clients not only for legal services but also as an adviser and counselor in connection with overall business objectives as well as the legal implications of their matters.
If I Weren’t an Attorney: I think I might have become a linguist or psychologist.
My Colleagues Don’t Know: I did theater makeup while in college, and I love to dance.
