On April 20, 2022, Variety released its annual Legal Impact Report, featuring the top in-house attorneys, litigators, and transactional attorneys in the entertainment industry. Lee Brenner, William Briggs, David Fink, and Josh Rosenberg were recognized in the Litigation category. Chris O’Brien was recognized in the Transactional category.
Lee Brenner, a partner and chair of Venable's Entertainment and Media Litigation Group, is a trial attorney and high-stakes business litigator. With numerous published decisions in his career, Lee has deep experience in the media and entertainment industry, particularly in the areas of defamation, copyright law, idea theft, credit disputes, privacy, intellectual property, and right of publicity. He has developed significant experience regarding defamation by anonymous posters on the Internet. He also has an extensive background in handling matters related to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
William Briggs, a partner in the Commercial Litigation Practice, is a trial lawyer and civil litigator with broad experience in the entertainment industry. William represents some of the top talent in film, television, music, and sports. He has experience in state, federal, and appellate courts and with arbitrations involving intellectual property disputes, complex entertainment contract disputes, partnership disputes, rights of publicity and First Amendment issues, and employment matters.
David Fink, a partner in the Commercial Litigation Practice, is an experienced and proven commercial litigator at both the trial and appellate court levels. With more than two decades of experience in state and federal litigation, as well as alternative dispute resolution, David has prosecuted and defended complex claims involving hundreds of millions of dollars. His vast experience in the media and entertainment industry includes defamation and privacy claims, right of likeness, copyright, trademark, guild-related issues, and profits participation. David also regularly represents clients in general commercial disputes.
Joshua Rosenberg, a partner in the Commercial Litigation Practice, handles a wide range of complex litigation matters, including breach of contract, copyright and trademark infringement, employment disputes, defamation, invasion of privacy, and general business matters. He has represented numerous entertainment industry clients, including studios, production companies, talent agencies, record labels, recording artists, actors, writers, directors, producers, studio executives, and social media influencers. He has also represented manufacturers, real estate developers, high-net-worth individuals, and nonprofit organizations. Joshua’s experience includes pretrial investigation, extensive motion practice, fact and expert discovery, arbitration, trial, and appeals.
Chris O’Brien, a partner in the Corporate Practice, helps clients create value through corporate transactions across a wide range of industries, including entertainment and media. Chris represents multinational and regional corporations, established companies, and nascent enterprises on a wide range of business transactions, including company formation, mergers and acquisitions, financings, and joint ventures. He is also a co-founder and a co-chair of Venable’s Blockchain and Digital Currencies Group. As a trusted advisor, Chris frequently serves as outside general counsel for his clients.