MORE THAN COUNSEL -
PART OF YOUR TEAM
From the inception of every representation, Film & Ink aims to establish rapport with our clients, with an eye toward learning their goals, concerns, and overall business. The result is that we become an extension of the client, part of their team. Our clients – from leading studios to independent producers to individual talent – can attest that a team relationship tailored to their specific needs and resources leads to effective and efficient legal representation. Let us join your team.
YOUR FIRM
Since its founding in 2005, Film & Ink has represented top entertainment industry clients on numerous television, feature film, music, digital media, home entertainment and consumer products matters. The firm is led by Natasha Mandich and Trisha Gum who envisioned a legal collective that could deliver world-class legal services as part of the client’s team, achieving client goals through compelling advocacy, timely advice, and meticulous drafting. To realize this vision, Film & Ink has assembled its own team of highly skilled attorneys who hail from elite law firms and entertainment companies with deep experience in various Practice Areas.
Film & Ink’s culture of collaboration, ethos of mutual respect, and carefully curated team promotes a collegial atmosphere where we genuinely enjoy working with each other. We are proud of this differentiator and believe it allows us to focus on representing our clients more enthusiastically and with fewer distractions.
As a female-owned law firm, diversity is important to us, including diversity of backgrounds, experience, and viewpoints. We see our diversity as a true strength not only in bolstering our client relationships, but also positively affecting our transactions with our negotiating counterparties and our dealings with adversarial parties.
YOUR TEAM
Film & Ink’s attorneys are as passionate as the clients they serve. Bringing a unique combination of in-house studio and large law firm experience to our practice, our lawyers are able to balance the need for practical legal and business solutions to day-to-day problems against more complex projects requiring a longer term commitment. Clients have praised them for their responsiveness, pragmatism, reliability, precision, effective communication, and dedication. Of course, our lawyers could not perform at this level without a professional and well-prepared team of paralegals and assistants.
CONTENT PRODUCTION
Our goal is to facilitate the vision of content creators whether on studio-originated or independent projects. From inception to release, we provide timely legal services in all phases of production – from researching a clean chain of title to acquiring rights for development to negotiating production agreements with talent. Our firm has the studio experience required to solve the inevitable legal problems that arise in production.
• Theatrical, Television, Online, and Animation Projects
• Chain of Title Analysis
• Acquisition of Literary Property
• Development Agreements
• Production Agreements
• Permissions and Clearances
• Derivative Production Analysis for Prequels, Sequels, Remakes, Spinoffs
DISTRIBUTION AND MARKETING
Our lawyers have experience in traditional and digital media, and we are well-poised to guide our clients through the legal maze of distribution and marketing of content, regardless of platform. Our firm has negotiated and drafted countless distribution agreements on behalf of major studios and individual producers. We have also counselled a spectrum of clients ranging from studios to start-ups through successful promotional and marketing campaigns.
• Distribution Rights Analysis
• Worldwide Traditional and Digital Distribution Agreements
• Negative Pick-Up Deals
• Promotional Agreements
• Marketing Review and Advice
• Social Media Promotions Review and Advice
MUSIC
Even as distribution platforms evolve, music remains a central component of successful entertainment projects, and our music team possesses the knowledge, experience, and contacts to assist clients in this specialized area. We are well-equipped to handle composer, artist, producer, songwriter, supervisor, and license agreements for new projects as well as analyze and secure music rights in new media for existing assets.
• Talent Agreements for Theatrical, Television, Online, and Animation Projects
• Music Clearances
• Music Rights Analysis for Legacy Productions
• Soundtrack Album Agreements
• Publishing Administration
• Performing Rights Administration
• Royalty Collections and Distributions
LICENSING
Opportunities to monetize content do not stop once the film is “in the can.” Like our clients, we take a 360° approach and believe the effective exploitation of ancillary rights through merchandising, publishing, videogames, mobile apps, and even theatrical stage productions is more vital than ever. Our lawyers have practical experience advising clients on the extent of their rights, how to protect the integrity of their work, potential obligations, and ultimately drafting agreements that maximize revenue.
• Separated Rights Analysis
• Merchandising
• Publishing
• Video Games
• Mobile Apps
• Stage Plays
TALENT REPRESENTATION
Our clients are as varied as the issues they bring to us, but what they share is a need for sound legal counsel. From the perspective of television and feature productions, we have institutional and firsthand knowledge in negotiating and drafting personal services agreements for writers, directors, producers, and actors of all levels. With art and entertainment taking so many forms today, we are fortunate to be able to advise clients across a wide spectrum of media and disciplines including musicians, artists, and social media influencers.
• Writers
• Directors
• Producers
• Actors
• Unscripted TV Participants
• Radio and TV Hosts
• Musicians
• Graphic Artists
• Social Media Influencers
GENERAL COUNSEL
We offer general counsel services to growing businesses to advise senior management on legal issues, draft and negotiate documents with their partners, clients, or third party service providers, and to handle general day-to-day legal needs. Our versatile attorneys have diverse backgrounds representing clients in many fields and are prepared to help clients conduct their activities legally, mitigate risk with compliant policies and procedures, and resolve issues in a cost-effective manner.
• Counsel Senior Management on Legal Issues and Risk
• Legal and Regulatory Compliance
• Agreements with Partners, Clients, and Third Party Service Providers, Including Vendors
• Employment Law Guidance
• Pre-Litigation Dispute Resolution
• Outside Attorney Referral and Management for Specialized Legal Matters
DATA PRIVACY
Our clients recognize data privacy as not only a serious challenge, but also a potential opportunity to enhance their brands by keeping their promise to protect customers’ personal data. Our attorneys help clients comply with the rapidly changing patchwork of federal and state laws, industry standards and far-reaching rules and regulations from various off-shore jurisdictions. We work with our clients on creating and implementing best practices for managing private information, preparing privacy policies and programs for online content and services, properly structuring vendor agreements and other IT transactions, addressing data subject rights and mitigating other privacy-related concerns faced by businesses today.
• Development of Privacy Strategies and Risk Management
• Compliance with Industry and Regulatory Standards, Including GDPR
• Preparation of Privacy Policies and Programs
• Management of Data Subject Rights
