Best Lawyers in Nashville, Tennessee for Entertainment Law - Theater
Practice Area Overview
Theater lawyers, representing producers, underlying rightsholders, investors, authors, actors, theater owners and others who participate in the development and exploitation of stage properties, will structure, negotiate and draft agreements to advance the theatrical production process. A commercial stage production typically begins with a producer licensing a finished play or, alternatively, by first securing rights in an underlying work (such as a novel) and then engaging writers to create a play or musical.
To finance development and production, producers typically raise capital from accredited investors via private offerings under Rule 506. Attorneys for investors who provide early, high-risk funding or who make large investments will seek to negotiate heightened financial terms and billing credit. Investors include investment partnerships and, increasingly, theatrical investment funds modeled after private equity funds.
Early on, the producer will enter into agreements with a general manager, a director, and often a not-for-profit theater that showcases new works. As the production progresses, there will be numerous additional contracts - e.g., with designers, actors, and a commercial theater.
Broadway has not been impacted by technology as directly as the music, publishing and movie industries, so many elements of theatrical legal practice have remained relatively stable. However, change is accelerating as movie studios seek to re-purpose film libraries, venture and private equity investors explore Broadway investing, and the Internet continues to transform theatrical marketing and is beginning to make Broadway investing more accessible.
Mr. Braun is a partner in Hall Booth Smith's Nashville office, where he specializes in various areas of litigation and transactional work. Beginning in early 1995, Mr. Braun’s litigation practice with HBS has continued to grow in both Georgia and Tennessee. Early on in his career with HBS, Mr. Braun practiced extensively in the areas of general liability and medical malpractice litigation, areas in which he continues to practice today. As his practice has grown, he has developed experti...
Derek Crownover is a recognized leader in the music, entertainment, sports and media industries, counseling publishing companies, independent record labels, singers and songwriters who own their copyrights, and music publishing administration companies on licensing, liability matters and related litigation. He also counsels clients on recording agreements, employment agreements, LLC funding deals, real estate deals, asset purchase agreements and trusts and estates matters. In addition to his ...
Kevin Doherty practices in the area of insurance regulation and captive insurance. He serves as President of the Tennessee Captive Insurance Association, Inc., and he helped to rewrite the captive insurance law in Tennessee in 2011. Since that time, Tennessee has formed more than 200 captives and more than 500 related cells (more than 700 risk bearing entities) and become one of the leading domestic domiciles for captives. Mr. Doherty also practices music and entertainment law and represents ...
Tiffany A. Dunn’s practice focuses on transactions in the entertainment business and intellectual property protection and enforcement. Ms. Dunn represents publishing companies, record labels, management companies, recording artists, producers, authors, songwriters and other parties in the music industry. Ms. Dunn also has a depth of knowledge in copyright, trademark and intellectual property law, counseling clients on their consumer branding and marketing efforts. Ms. Dunn also practice...
Sam Lipshie practices in the areas of entertainment, music, intellectual property and commercial litigation and dispute resolution. He also has extensive experience in connection with the acquisition and disposition of media, broadcast and other intellectual property. Sam has practiced before Tennessee trial and appellate courts, as well as federal, district and appellate courts in many states. He has handled copyright, royalty (publishers, producers and talent) and intellectual property liti...
Farrah Usmani advises recording artists, songwriters, entertainment executives and companies in the music industry. She is well-versed in helping artists grow their careers while maintaining creative control and ownership of their intellectual property. Further, she has substantial experience structuring tour deals in the concert business. Farrah is admitted to practice in Tennessee and is a provisionally licensed lawyer in California. She is not fully licensed in California and is supervised...
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Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
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