Robert Brada, 33, newly appointed executive vice president and general counsel of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., is one of the busier corporate lawyers in town.
“This position involves a tremendous amount of work and pressure,” Brada said, “but so far it has been a very enjoyable experience. Tough, but enjoyable.”
Tough indeed. MGM has some very large irons in the fire these days: the recently announced acquisition of the PolyGram film library, an upcoming stock offering that will double the number of public shares held, and a pending lawsuit with Sony Pictures Entertainment over the rights to the lucrative James Bond franchise. Brada is involved with all of them.
As for the lawsuit, MGM has already won the first round. A U.S. District Court judge handed down an injunction against Sony, preventing it from developing any kind of Bond project until the suit is decided. Both studios contend they own the rights to make Bond films.
“We believe the court thinks we have a pretty good case,” Brada said. “But I am still very newly involved in this. I’m concentrating on getting myself up to speed so I can be fully involved when this thing moves ahead.”
Meanwhile, MGM has arranged to buy the 1,300 movie titles that make up the library of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment. This, combined with MGM’s current holdings, gives the company the largest film library in the world.
Brada has been at MGM since 1995, when he joined as head of the corporate legal department, but his involvement with the company began earlier. After graduating from USC law school, Brada worked in the Paris office of law firm White & Case, where he did work for Credit Lyonnais, the French bank controlling MGM at that time.
David Johnson, MGM’s most recent general counsel, left White & Case to join the studio, and soon after convinced Brada to do the same. When Johnson left MGM in August, Brada was offered the job. “To be in this position, at this historic company, especially with the status of the company growing right now, is incredible,” he said.
Karen Teitelman
