FN-1584453 MN-1584453 LN-1584453, Esq.
Mediator; Arbitrator; Entertainment and Real Estate Attorney; Licensed Real Estate Broker; Corporate Executive; Independent Motion Picture Producer
Los Angeles, California
Mediator; Arbitrator; Entertainment and Real Estate Attorney; Licensed Real Estate Broker; Corporate Executive; Independent Motion Picture Producer
Founder & Chairman, Freedman Communications Inc., 1987-Present; Chief Operating Officer, MVi Studios, 2000-2002; Founder & Chairman, Hotel Cinema Corporation of America, 1987-1989; Vice President and Head of Worldwide Business Affairs-Film Acquisition and International Foreign Sales, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., 1970-1987; General Counsel, Ivan Tours Films, 1968-1970; Associate West Coast Counsel, United Artists Corporation, 1967-1968.
Notable career as an entertainment lawyer, producer, executive, and expert witness spanning decades and touching on nearly every aspect of the businesses. Many years of experience in commercial real estate, as an active investor, attorney, and licensed broker.
As head of Worldwide Business Affairs for Warner Bros. Entertainment, led negotiations on major motion pictures including The Shining (starring Jack Nicholson), Jeremiah Johnson (starring Robert Redford), All the President’s Men (starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford), The Exorcist (directed by William Friedkin), Blazing Saddles (directed by and starring Mel Brooks), The Towering Inferno (starring Paul Newman & Steve McQueen), A Star is Born (starring Barbara Streisand and Kris Kristofferson), Superman (directed by Richard Donner), Never Say Never Again (starring Sean Connery as James Bond), and Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan (starring Christopher Lambert).
Started the first independent film acquisition department at a major studio, successfully acquiring Academy Award for Best Picture-winner Chariots of Fire and franchise-starters Mad Max and Friday the 13th for Warner Bros.
Went on to found two businesses: Hotel Cinema Corporation of America, a hotel video-on-demand business, which was sold to an NYSE-traded company in 1989; and Freedman Communications, which independently produced motion pictures starring talent such as Sean Astin (Toy Soldiers), Jamie Lee Curtis & Peter Gallagher (Mother’s Boys), Mario Van Peebles (Killers in the House), and Ed Asner (The Christmas Card) for Universal, Warner Bros., Columbia TriStar, Paramount, Miramax, USA Network, and The Hallmark Channel. During those years, also served as COO of MVi Studios, a Thomson Multimedia-funded startup that launched MTV-competitor Studio M.
Expertise in the film business includes packaging; co-production; third-party financing (debt & equity); split rights; negative pick-ups; domestic and international distributors; production/finance/distribution; talent (writers, directors, actors, producers); literary rights; sales agents; music licenses; union agreements; labor negotiations; settlement and resolution of disputes with unions and guilds, including credit matters; casting; budgets; completion bonds; E&O and other insurance; corporate development strategy; employment & human resources matters; and studio facilities operations.
Based on this wealth of experience in negotiating critical deals and settling major disputes for corporations, this neutral has been a sought-after expert witness for more than 25 years on dozens of high-profile entertainment industry cases, including for litigation on films such as Coming to America, Moulin Rouge, The Blair Witch Project, and Lord of the Rings.
In the commercial real estate realm, this neutral is an active investor, attorney, and licensed broker, having managed a mixed-use office and retail space (including rent establishment, renovation, and procuring tenants) in a landmark building in Westwood Village and negotiated and documented purchases, sales, leases, financing, and construction for large commercial centers, including supervision of litigation and settlements relating to Big Box tenants, ground pollution, and ADA issues.
As head of Worldwide Business Affairs for Warner Bros. Entertainment, led negotiations on major motion pictures including The Shining (starring Jack Nicholson), Jeremiah Johnson (starring Robert Redford), All the President’s Men (starring Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford), The Exorcist (directed by William Friedkin), Blazing Saddles (directed by and starring Mel Brooks), The Towering Inferno (starring Paul Newman & Steve McQueen), A Star is Born (starring Barbara Streisand and Kris Kristofferson), Superman (directed by Richard Donner), Never Say Never Again (starring Sean Connery as James Bond), and Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan (starring Christopher Lambert).
Started the first independent film acquisition department at a major studio, successfully acquiring Academy Award for Best Picture-winner Chariots of Fire and franchise-starters Mad Max and Friday the 13th for Warner Bros.
Went on to found two businesses: Hotel Cinema Corporation of America, a hotel video-on-demand business, which was sold to an NYSE-traded company in 1989; and Freedman Communications, which independently produced motion pictures starring talent such as Sean Astin (Toy Soldiers), Jamie Lee Curtis & Peter Gallagher (Mother’s Boys), Mario Van Peebles (Killers in the House), and Ed Asner (The Christmas Card) for Universal, Warner Bros., Columbia TriStar, Paramount, Miramax, USA Network, and The Hallmark Channel. During those years, also served as COO of MVi Studios, a Thomson Multimedia-funded startup that launched MTV-competitor Studio M.
Expertise in the film business includes packaging; co-production; third-party financing (debt & equity); split rights; negative pick-ups; domestic and international distributors; production/finance/distribution; talent (writers, directors, actors, producers); literary rights; sales agents; music licenses; union agreements; labor negotiations; settlement and resolution of disputes with unions and guilds, including credit matters; casting; budgets; completion bonds; E&O and other insurance; corporate development strategy; employment & human resources matters; and studio facilities operations.
Based on this wealth of experience in negotiating critical deals and settling major disputes for corporations, this neutral has been a sought-after expert witness for more than 25 years on dozens of high-profile entertainment industry cases, including for litigation on films such as Coming to America, Moulin Rouge, The Blair Witch Project, and Lord of the Rings.
In the commercial real estate realm, this neutral is an active investor, attorney, and licensed broker, having managed a mixed-use office and retail space (including rent establishment, renovation, and procuring tenants) in a landmark building in Westwood Village and negotiated and documented purchases, sales, leases, financing, and construction for large commercial centers, including supervision of litigation and settlements relating to Big Box tenants, ground pollution, and ADA issues.
Handled numerous very complex mediations including: regarding a motion picture completion bond (resulting in a multi-million dollar buyout); an employment dispute threatening to endanger the opening of a motion picture; restoring ownership rights to a film including release of the negative from a court ordered sequestration (the parties were multinational motion picture production and distribution companies, insurance companies and individuals); consumer claim against a major bank for alleged invasion of privacy; uniting parties to jointly seek relief from a third party in clarification of a rights dispute between them; dissolution of a digital media partnership including future use/ownership of the entities IP and YouTube channel.
Supervised counsel handling mediations in real estate (e.g., shopping centers and commercial properties) and retail.
Supervised counsel handling mediations in real estate (e.g., shopping centers and commercial properties) and retail.
Dealt with issues in the above-referenced motion picture mediations concerning the following: credits and compensation to a producer and employment issues related to allegations of improper firing; completion of bond insurance coverage and a settlement concession with the buy-out of worldwide rights for distribution of a motion picture; determining ownership and completion rights to a motion picture; legitimizing rights assignments by agreement of the parties to jointly prosecute court action against third party; non-compete clauses and exclusivity issues; dissolution of digital animation entertainment partnership and apportioning IP and transferring digital revenue-generating assets.
Has dealt with issues in the above reference real estate mediations concerning, among others: leasing, location permitting, termination of tenancy, and property management.
Has also dealt with issues in the above referenced retail store mediations involving pension fund investments issues including resolving disputes regarding the selection of providers and type of investment criteria.
Various other matters have included bank data privacy, partnership dissolution emanating from internet company ownership and breach of marketing agreement, interference with business relationships.
Multi-national cases have included mergers and acquisition disputes and breach of financing agreements.
Has dealt with issues in the above reference real estate mediations concerning, among others: leasing, location permitting, termination of tenancy, and property management.
Has also dealt with issues in the above referenced retail store mediations involving pension fund investments issues including resolving disputes regarding the selection of providers and type of investment criteria.
Various other matters have included bank data privacy, partnership dissolution emanating from internet company ownership and breach of marketing agreement, interference with business relationships.
Multi-national cases have included mergers and acquisition disputes and breach of financing agreements.
My mediation philosophy is taken from the philosopher Rumi wherein he said that "out beyond notions of right and wrong there is a field....I will meet you there." Such philosophy has enabled this mediator to contribute as a mediator recognizing that every case and its participants are different and my methods are adapted to their unique needs.
Proficient with ZOOM.
Strauss Institute, Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA (Graduate Program Certificate of Mediation - 2012); University of California at Los Angeles (JD - 1966); University of Buffalo (BA, Psychology - 1962).
Admitted to the Bar: California, 1967.
Licensed California Real Estate Broker (DRE # 01924149) 2013-2021.
Licensed California Real Estate Broker (DRE # 01924149) 2013-2021.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, Executive Branch; Los Angeles Copyright Society.
Panelist, Southern California Mediation Association, Santa Monica, CA, 2014; Panelist, NAFTA Advisory Committee on ADR, Southwestern Law School, Los Angeles, CA, 2013; Presenter, Sports & Entertainment Law Association, Stanford Law School, Stanford, CA, 2011.
Los Angeles County.
$650 Per Hour
English
United States of America
Los Angeles, CA
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The information contained in this resume has been supplied solely by the individual mediator and may, or may not, be a complete recitation of their experience. The AAA assumes no responsibility for the content, completeness, accuracy, or reliability of the information contained in a mediator’s resume. If you have any questions about a mediator’s experience or background, you are encouraged to contact your case manager.
Mediators on the AAA Roster are not employees or agents of the AAA.
The information contained in this resume has been supplied solely by the individual mediator and may, or may not, be a complete recitation of their experience. The AAA assumes no responsibility for the content, completeness, accuracy, or reliability of the information contained in a mediator’s resume. If you have any questions about a mediator’s experience or background, you are encouraged to contact your case manager.
Mediators on the AAA Roster are not employees or agents of the AAA.
