CHIMP CRAZY

We are counsel to CHIMP CRAZY, the most watched HBO documentary series of the last four years.

KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE

We are counsel for KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE, the acclaimed documentary by Rachel Lears, which was purchased by Netflix at Sundance for a record $10 million.

Vogue 2

LEAVING NEVERLAND

We are counsel for this explosive two-part film about Michael Jackson, by Dan Reed for HBO Documentary Films.

FEDERER: 12 FINAL DAYS

We are counsel to this stirring feature documentary by Oscar-winning director Asif Kapadia, on Amazon Prime.

JURY DUTY

We're counsel to this insane and hilarious Amazon FreeVee series.

NOBODY SPEAK

We have been counsel for producers of this Netflix documentary about the Hulk Hogan vs. Gawker Media case and its outside funding, showing how big money can be used to silence the media.

Fifa Uncovered 2

HBO

Our attorneys have been among the production and claims counsel to Home Box Office, Inc.

CITIZENFOUR

We're among the counsel for this Oscar-winning (Best Feature Documentary) about Edward Snowden and national security in post 9/11 America.

WELCOME TO WREXHAM

We are counsel to this five-time Emmy Award Winning hit television series starring Ryan Reynolds.

THE BBC

We have been among the outside counsel for the BBC, where SmithDehn's Philip Wheeler was a senior in-house solicitor for 11 years.

Sony

Among counsel for Sony Pictures and Sony Pictures Television, producers and/or distributors of some of the most successful motion pictures and programs in the world.

KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE

We are counsel for KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE, the acclaimed documentary by Rachel Lears, which was purchased by Netflix at Sundance for a record $10 million.

WHO IS AMERICA?

We are production and claims counsel for Showtime, Sacha Baron Cohen, and their hardhitting, controversial new series, WHO IS AMERICA?, a reincarnation of DA ALI G SHOW in the Trump era.

Sins Of Our Mother

SPACEY UNMASKED

We're counsel to this hard-hitting biographical documentary series on the distributed by Max and Channel Four.

STUTZ

We're counsel for Jonah Hill's remarkable documentary feature about his therapist and how the therapy transformed him.

OCTOBER FILMS

We are US and UK counsel to October Films, one of the world's most respected and longest established factual television production companies. They have won over 100 international awards.

BUZZFEED

We are outside counsel to BuzzFeed.

Fear Thy Neighbor

Production counsel to this Investigation Discovery series about what happens when a homeowner unwittingly takes up residence next to psycho or when evil minds decide to lay down roots right next door.

CHEER

We are among the production counsel for Season Two of this Triple-Primetime-Emmy-Award-winning series on Netflix.

TIGER KING

We are outside counsel for the directors and producers of the most popular documentary series in history.

Paramount Pictures

We are among the outside counsel for Paramount Pictures.

SELMA

Honored to be representing the director and producers of this important, Academy-Award-winning film.

PHILIP GLASS

One of our partners, Russell Smith, has provided legal advice and related services for Philip Glass, the world's most successful living music composer.

DON'T F**CK WITH CATS -- HUNTING AN INTERNET KILLER

We are counsel to this hit Netflix true crime series that follows internet sleuths who attempted to track down Luka Magnotta after he reportedly shared a graphic video killing cats.

LIGHTBOX ENTERTAINMENT

We are US and UK counsel for this LA-and-London based production company founded by multiple Oscar and Emmy Award winning Simon Chinn and Jonathan Chinn, and funded by Channel 4.

Bruno

Production and litigation counsel to Sacha Baron Cohen's award-winning film "Bruno."

THE MAURITANIAN

Executive Produced by Russell Smith and Zak Kilberg for our joint venture, Convergent Media. With Jodie Foster, Tahar Rahim, Benedict Cumberbach, and Shailene Woodley.

THE FINAL YEAR

An insiders' account of President Barack Obama's foreign policy team during their final year, as they set out to define their legacy, promote diplomacy - and react to the rise of Donald Trump.

Trainwreck Woodstock 99

NETFLIX

We are outside counsel for Netflix.

PASSION PICTURES

We are US and UK counsel to this multiple Oscar winning film and television company behind Searching for Sugar Man, The Imposter, and Project Nim, to name a few.

SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN

Production counsel for the late Malik Bendjelloul's sensational, Oscar-winning "Searching for Sugar Man," released by Sony Pictures Classics.

THE LONGEST WAR

We are counsel to this definitive Showtime Documentary by the creators of HOMELAND and director Greg Barker, which unpacks the human stories and drama behind America's involvement in Afghanistan.

BECKHAM

We are counsel for this four-part documentary series that reached number one on Netflix in the US and the UK.

ALL THREE MEDIA AMERICA

We're among the US and UK counsel for All3Media America, the LA-based, multi studio production hub for one of the world's leading creators of high-quality content.

100 FOOT WAVE

We're counsel for this HBO Original Series

1971: THE YEAR THAT MUSIC CHANGED EVERYTHING

Honored to be production counsel for this Apple+ series from the Oscar award-winning team who created the acclaimed documentary, AMY

LISTEN TO ME MARLON

We are production counsel to this 2015 Sundance-selected, 2016 Oscar-Short-Listed, Marlon Brando biopic released by Universal Studios and Showtime.

THE EDGE OF DEMOCRACY

We are production counsel to this Oscar short-listed film, which the New York Times has ranked among the top ten films of 2019 in all categories.

BAFTA

Handling contract drafting and negotiations for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts

American Nightmare 2

CBS CORPORATION

We are among the outside counsel for the CBS television network.

THE TINDER SWINDLER

We were production counsel for this Netflix true crime series.

FREMANTLE MEDIA

We are among the outside counsel to one of the world's largest and most successful creators, producers and distributors of outstanding entertainment brands.

TINA

We're counsel for this definitive HBO biopic of Tina Turner, produced by our Academy Award winning client, Lightbox.

Break Point 2

All That Breathes

UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA

We are production counsel for this Primetime Emmy-Award-wining hit CNN series that follows comedian and political provocateur W. Kamau Bell as he explores communities and challenges across America.

The Imposter

Production counsel for "The Imposter," an astonishingly true story about a French man who fools everyone into believing he is a missing Texas boy, including the boy's family.

UNTOUCHABLE

We are US production counsel for the BBC/Lightbox film, UNTOUCHABLE, about the rise and fall of Harvey Weinstein, premiering at Sundance 2019.

The Princess

SOPHIE: A MURDER IN WEST CORK

We are counsel for this controversial and compelling Netflix documentary series by our Academy Award winning client, Lightbox.

THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS

We are production counsel to this most successful documentary film since Fahrenheit 9/11.

Ghosn

Borat

Production and claims counsel for the multi-Oscar nominated comedy, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan."

Gold Rush - Raw Television

Production counsel for all nine seasons of Discovery's popular observational documentary television series, "Gold Rush."

A24

We are honored to be legal and business affairs counsel to A24, winner of dozens of Oscars, and the producers behind EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, MOONLIGHT, LADY BIRD, THE WHALE, and much more.

ITV

US counsel to the largest and most popular commercial television network in the United Kingdom.

Da Ali G Show

Production and litigation counsel to Sacha Baron Cohen's multiple-Emmy-nominated, path-breaking television series, "Da Ali G Show."

RADICAL MEDIA

We are counsel to film/TV production company Radical Media. With offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Berlin and Shanghai, Radical is one of the premiere companies in the industry.

BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM

We are production and claims counsel to Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Dirty Wars

We served as production counsel for this award-winning, widely acclaimed investigative documentary about U.S. covert operations across the globe.

UNTOUCHABLE: THE INSIDE STORY OF THE HARVEY WEINSTEIN SCANDAL

We are counsel for the Hulu Documentary, UNTOUCHABLE: THE INSIDE STORY OF THE HARVEY WEINSTEIN SCANDAL

Unprecedented

AMERICAN ANIMALS

We were production counsel for this "wildly entertaining" (Variety) scripted feature film that captivated the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.

NATIONAL BIRD

We are honored to be production counsel for this scathing, "bird's eye" documentary, directed by Sonia Kennebeck and exec produced by Wim Wenders and Errol Morris, about the US military drone program.

PLAN B ENTERTAINMENT

Among the counsel for Brad Pitt's production company, acclaimed for SELMA, 12 YEARS A SLAVE, THE BIG SHORT, THE DEPARTED, and other important films.

FORMULA 1: DRIVE TO SURVIVE

We're counsel for this Netflix documentary series.

Virunga

We are production counsel for this Oscar-Nominated 2014 documentary about the fight to save Virunga National Park, the last refuge of moutain gorillas.

MURDER MOUNTAIN

We're counsel for this acclaimed and popular documentary series.

THE MOST HATED MAN ON THE INTERNET

We were production counsel for this legally difficult, hugely popular Netflix series by Raw TV.

Our Great National Parks

We were counsel for Netflix on this documentary series narrated by President Obama and produced by his production company, Higher Ground Productions.

The Ford Foundation

Media Rights Capital

Among counsel to MRC, the industry’s largest independent film, TV and digital studio.

STARZ

Owned by Lionsgate, our client Starz is a leading global media and entertainment distributor/producer, with over 5,000 TV episodes and feature films each year on its several channels.

ENDEMOL SHINE GROUP

We are among the outside counsel for Endemol Shine Group, a global production powerhouse. Endemol Shine has 120 companies across all the world’s major markets.

LAST CHANCE U

We're counsel for this award-winning, very popular Netflix series that goes behind the scenes at the top junior college football programs in the US.

TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY FOX

We have been among the outside counsel to Twenty-First Century Fox.

Sprint 2

WHITNEY

We are production counsel for this definitive biopic of Whitney Houston, directed by Oscar-winner Kevin MacDonald and produced by double-Oscar winner Simon Chinn.

NAVALNY

We're handling business affairs and production counsel work on this hard-hitting CNN/HBO documentary by Fishbowl Films.

Channel 4

U.S. counsel to Channel 4, Britain's second largest broadcast network and one of the world's most challenging and creative producers of television programs and films.

SHOWTIME NETWORKS, INC.

We are among the outside counsel to Showtime Networks, Inc. At the moment, we are production and claims counsel for their hardhitting, controversial new Sacha Baron Cohen series, WHO IS AMERICA?.

ORIGIN

As counsel to The Ford Foundation, we handled negotiations and drafting for the funding of this film by Ava DuVernay, which is inspired by the life and work of Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson.

AMAZON STUDIOS

We are among the litigation defense counsel for Amazon Studios

ASHLEY MADISON

We are production and business affairs counsel on this hit Netflix documentary series.

Raw TV

US production counsel for Raw TV, a multi-award winning production company with a reputation for gripping narrative, visual innovation and journalistic vigour.

Web of Lies

We are production counsel for this compelling Discovery series that reveals stories of deception and homicide triggered by online interactions.

BRANDY HELLVILLE

We're counsel to this hugely popular Max series produced by Lightbox.

THE HATCHET WIELDING HITCHHIKER

We're counsel for this sensational Netflix documentary that has taken the internet by storm.

Make Or Break

Federal Shield Law?

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The Free Flow of Information Act of 2011, the same federal shield law legislation proposed in ‘05, ‘07, and ‘09, was once again proposed last week by Republican Representative Mike Pence of Indiana (in ’07 and ’09 the legislation passed in the House, but took its last breath on the Senate floor). The stated purpose of the bill: “To maintain the free flow of information to the public by providing conditions for the federally compelled disclosure of information by certain persons connected with the news media.”

The Act would provide a qualified privilege for “covered persons,” with certain exceptions, among others, for national security, the prevention of death or bodily harm, and information deemed critical in a criminal case or civil suit where all reasonable alternatives have been exhausted. A “covered person” under the Act is defined as “a person who regularly gathers, prepares, collects, photographs, records, writes, edits, reports, or publishes news or information that concerns local, national, or international events or other matters of public interest for dissemination to the public for a substantial portion of the person’s lively hood or for substantial financial gain….”

Nine states have passed shield laws since 2005, when the Free Flow of Information Act was first proposed (now 40 states and the District of Columbia have such laws; Maryland passed the first shield law in 1896). But state shield laws do not apply when federal law is at issue.

The Obama administration is the first to publicly support a Federal Shield Law. Perhaps four times is a charm…