Michael Isselin
His practice encompasses commercial and content production, branded entertainment, celebrity endorsements, influencer marketing, SAG-AFTRA matters, NIL engagements, and media integrations. Michael is known for his practical understanding of how campaigns are conceived, negotiated, produced, and executed, and regularly counsels clients on talent relationships, intellectual property, rights clearances, commercial agreements, production issues, and evolving platform and regulatory requirements.
Michael serves as legal counsel to the Joint Policy Committee (JPC), the bargaining representative for the advertising industry in negotiations over the SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contracts. In that role, he participates in negotiations and advises brands, agencies, and producers on SAG-AFTRA obligations and the contractual requirements governing commercial productions.
Michael also counsels clients on advertising and marketing strategies involving artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, helping brands and media companies evaluate legal and commercial considerations as they develop new campaigns, content strategies, and business models.
Michael began his career at Venable, serving as a summer associate and then an associate in the firm's New York office from 2015 to 2017.
Related Practices
Experience
Representative Matters
- Represents major global luxury beauty and cosmetics brands in negotiating high-profile celebrity endorsement, ambassador, and influencer agreements, ranging from emerging creator partnerships to multimillion-dollar campaigns with internationally recognized talent.
- Advises global beauty and luxury brands on all legal aspects of integrated marketing campaigns, including brand activations, live events, content production, music rights, media integrations, and related commercial agreements.
- Structured and negotiated a multicomponent global brand partnership involving a major luxury beauty brand and an internationally renowned recording artist, including endorsement, sponsorship, music video integration, content production, and related creative agreements.
- Counsels major consumer brands on commercial and content production matters, including talent engagement, union compliance, location and production agreements, music licensing, rights clearances, and other production-related issues for national and global advertising campaigns.
- Advises leading creative agencies on advertising clearance, production, and talent matters for high-profile national advertising campaigns, including multiple top-ranked Super Bowl commercials.
- Advises global luxury brands on music licensing and labor issues, including American Federation of Musicians matters, for worldwide advertising campaigns.
- Serves as legal counsel to the Joint Policy Committee (JPC), the bargaining representative for the advertising industry in negotiations over the multibillion-dollar SAG-AFTRA Commercials Contracts, and advises brands, agencies, and producers on SAG-AFTRA obligations affecting commercial productions.
- Represented a major university in negotiating an industry-leading 15-year multimedia rights agreement.
Insights
Credentials
Education
- J.D. summa cum laude New York Law School 2015
- B.A. Political Science Rutgers University 2010
Bar Admissions
- New York
Professional Memberships and Activities
- Trustee, SAG-Producers Pension Plan
- Trustee, SAG-AFTRA Producers Industry Advancement Cooperative Fund
- Trustee, Digital Transition Impact Mitigation Fund
Recognition
- The Hollywood Reporter
- New York's Most Powerful Entertainment Attorneys, 2026
- Variety
- Legal Impact Report, 2026
- Dealmakers Impact Report, 2024
- Hollywood's New Leaders, 2023
- Up Next, Dealmakers Impact Report, 2020
- Ad Age, 40 under 40 List, 2023
- Chambers USA
- Nationwide Advertising: Transactional & Regulatory, 2026
- Up and Coming, Nationwide Advertising: Transactional & Regulatory, 2025
- The Legal 500 United States
- Next Generation Partner, Advertising and Marketing: Transactional and Regulatory, 2025 – 2026
- Up and Coming, Advertising and Marketing: Transactional and Regulatory, 2020
- The Best Lawyers in America, One to Watch, Entertainment and Sports Law, 2026