Sheppard Mullin

Entertainment can no longer be disassociated from the technology that enables it and delivers it to our computer desktops, living rooms, and handheld devices. We regularly work with the world’s leading Internet portals, Web publishers, content providers and e-commerce companies in the production, distribution and monetization of digital content, including long and short form video, online, mobile and console games, and user-generated content.

Getting Online

Our attorneys advise clients in all aspects of doing business on the Internet, including the creation of a Web site, development of Web site terms and conditions and privacy policies, DMCA compliance and the negotiation of back-end hosting agreements, third-party development agreements and related technology licensing agreements. For early stage companies and entrepreneurs seeking venture capital financing, we negotiate and document investment terms and assist in corporate formation and restructuring. For select early stage companies, we will make introductions to our broad network of investors.

Making Money

Generating revenue online continues to pose the greatest challenge for any Web-based enterprise. Our attorneys have unparalleled knowledge and experience representing clients in the monetization of online content, including via display advertising, paid search, third-party ad networks and exchanges, direct sales, subscription services, affiliation relationships and other revenue sharing arrangements. We have been involved in many of the most significant transactions in the field and are regularly consulted in connection with the development of new and sophisticated business models.

Content Production and Licensing

Our extensive experience in the production of traditional entertainment translates directly to the production of online content. We regularly advise clients on all aspects of producing content directly for the Internet including negotiating agreements with talent, rights clearance and acquisition and advising on union and guild rules specifically applicable to the production of Web-based content. We also regularly advise clients regarding the licensing and syndication of existing content to the Web as well as mobile platforms.

Protecting IP

Doing business online requires careful protection of a company’s intellectual property rights as well as careful navigation of third-party rights. We provide patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret counseling, prosecution, enforcement and defense and we regularly litigate related matters arising from online activity such as rights of publicity, defamation, rights of privacy and antitrust. We also advise clients on antipiracy enforcement and related technologies.

The Technology of Entertainment

Traditional film and television production and distribution depend to an ever-greater degree on digital technology, from the creation of computer-generated animation and special effects in production and post-production to the digital distribution and exhibition of films on multiple VOD, EST and other types of mobile and online digital distribution platforms. Our attorneys regularly advise clients in the licensing of these innovative technologies and provide legal advice to industry associations and standards bodies.

"As Sheppard Mullin continues to grow, it is important that we not lose sight of the need to recruit women, attorneys of color and others of diverse backgrounds."
-Guy Halgren, Chairman of the Executive Committee

At Sheppard Mullin, we make every effort to recruit the finest lawyers and nurture their talents. The firm recognizes the importance of diversity and the need to create a workplace of inclusion. We need ¿ and our clients demand ¿ a team of attorneys that is as diverse as our increasingly global client base. Achieving and maintaining diversity is key to great client service ¿ a core value of our firm. What distinguishes good intentions from results is a commitment by senior management to find the best attorneys possible coupled with the sincere belief that people with diverse backgrounds bring valuable attributes to the firm. At Sheppard Mullin, the Executive Committee, Diversity Committee, and the lawyers in each of our offices work hard to ensure that all attorneys who join our firm fit in seamlessly and are encouraged to succeed.

Members of our Diversity Committee include ethnically diverse attorneys and a representative from the firm's Executive Committee. Diversity Committee members have served on the Boards of the Anti-Defamation League, the Black Women Lawyers Foundation (Los Angeles), and the Charles Houston Bar Association (northern California). Women and minority attorneys participate on key committees of the Firm (Executive Committee; Compensation Committee; Diversity Committee; Recruiting Committee; Professional Personnel Committee; Associate Issues Committee). Four of the Firm's nine Office Administrative Partners are women, one of whom is African-American and another is multi-racial.

"Serving on the firm's Diversity Committee is one of the most important things I do. I firmly believe that we must be vigilant in our efforts to recruit talented women attorneys and attorneys of color. Our success in this area has a positive effect our firm's culture, practice and client relationships."
-Joan Story, Member Executive Committee and Diversity Committee

Below is a description of just some of our outreach efforts.

• The firm participates in and financially supports the California Minority Counsel Program and the ABA Minority Counsel Program, as well as several minority bar associations. These groups are dedicated to increasing access for and promoting and retaining minorities in the legal profession.
• The firm actively recruits law students of color, e.g., we participated in the National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA) of the Western Region job fair held at UCLA School of Law.
• Sheppard Mullin contributes to the Minority Corporate Counsel Association; California Women Lawyers; Queen's Bench; Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles; and the National Black Law Students Association, among others.
• We actively participate with other major Los Angeles law firms in the Diversity Directors Roundtable, a group that is committed to promoting diversity in the legal profession and in our firms.
• The firm received the Law Firm Award from the Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles Foundation for its strong commitment to the promotion of community and pro bono activities.
• Multicultural Law magazine named Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as one of "The 2011 Top 100 Law Firms for Diversity."
• Sheppard Mullin helped underwrite the production of a motion picture project entitled "Soul of Justice: The Life and Times of Thelton Henderson." The film chronicles the life of respected African-American jurist Thelton Henderson, a crusading civil rights litigator and role model.
• The firm signed the Bar Association of San Francisco's "No Glass Ceiling Initiative," BASF's "Minority Goals and Timetables," the New York County Lawyers' Association Diversity Statement, and the Los Angeles County Bar Association's Diversity Statement.

Much of our pro bono work relates to the diversity of the communities in which we practice; sample clients include:

• Constitutional Rights Foundation
• Domestic Violence Project, Los Angeles Bar Association
• Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights
• Task Force for the Women's Resource Fair, City of San Diego
• Tolerance Through Education Program, Beverly Hills Barristers Associations
• Violence Against Women Act Program, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles

Awareness of diversity enables us to understand the value of differences. At Sheppard Mullin, we are committed to hiring top tier attorneys, without regard to race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.