ENTERTAINMENT ATTORNEYS
RICHARD C. GILLER: Reed Smith LLP – Partner
As a sports and entertainment attorney, Richard Giller represents high-profile collegiate and professional athletes, including first round MLB and NBA draft picks with an emphasis on loss of value (LOV), disability and workers’ compensation insurance claims. He has also consulted on LOV and disability claims involving collegiate and professional football players as well as disability policies procured by professional sports teams. Teams have also sought Giller’s counsel regarding disability policies purchased as a hedge against guaranteed contracts.
Due to the nature of his work, professional athletes prefer to keep their relationship with Giller confidential. Giller’s successful representation of Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland involved filing a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles against the insurance company and the wholesale insurance broker and is, therefore, public.
MATT KLINE: O’Melveny & Myers LLP – Partner
Matt Kline is the go-to outside counsel for Warner Bros., is litigating water-rights cases all the way to the Supreme Court, and is a very active chair of multiple nonprofit boards. Many of Kline’s most high-profile wins recently were for Warner Bros. Combatting a growing trend in the film industry, Kline has been defending the studio in a series of cases, in which plaintiffs have accused the studio of stealing their movie ideas.
As example is the “Trouble With the Curve” case (decided in April 2016), in which the Ninth Circuit affirmed that Warner Bros. didn’t steal from plaintiff Ryan Brooks’ script about a father-daughter baseball story in making the Clint Eastwood movie “Trouble with the Curve.” Brooks and his lawyers accused Warner Bros. of engaging in a criminal conspiracy with various talent agents to steal his works. Kline defeated the claims in district court.
JAMES BO PEARL: O’Melveny & Myers LLP – Partner
Bo Pearl, Managing Partner of O’Melveny’s Century City office, represents companies in the entertainment, sports, and technology industries in their general business and antitrust litigation. Pearl’s practice involves representation of both defendants and plaintiffs. On the plaintiff side, he has represented clients in litigation that resulted in nearly $2 billion in settlements. He has obtained full defense judgments for clients such as Warner Bros, Live Nation, Samsung and Manny Pacquiao.
In just one recent week, Pearl defended the deposition of Kesha in her high-profile litigation with Dr. Luke, touching on many issues in the entertainment industry today. Pearl also helped prepare for a major idea theft claim brought against the Disney, and took the deposition of the CEO of a future Hall of Fame NFL athlete’s company who claims to have been defrauded by former employees of a major financial institution.
ERIN R. RANAHAN: Winston & Strawn LLP – Partner
Winston & Strawn LLP partner Erin Ranahan has made a substantial impact in the competitive field of media and entertainment litigation through her involvement in numerous highly publicized cases, many of which involve novel and unique circumstances that require creative defenses and a clear understanding of the related industry issues and legal precedents.
Ranahan’s experience litigating complex commercial and intellectual property matters includes disputes involving movie producers, distribution companies, new media companies and matters involving California’s right of publicity and anti-SLAPP statute. Ranahan has successfully represented clients in high-profile matters with precedent-setting results. Ranahan has established a track record as one of the best litigators in media and entertainment and intellectual property in Southern California.
