With more than 30 years of experience, Alan represents clients in the entertainment industry in complex contract matters that often raise issues of industry custom and practice, copyright and trademark disputes, and participation/royalty claims.

In addition to litigating these and other matters for his clients, Alan provides pre-litigation counseling and representation aimed at avoiding litigation or best positioning his clients to litigate aggressively if the matter is not resolved.

Alan regularly handles matters in state and federal courts in New York, California and other jurisdictions and before JAMS, AAA, IFTA, MPAA and other arbitration panels. His clients include motion picture and television production companies and distributors, music companies, C-Level executives and creative talent including writers and directors. He regularly provides advice on disputes involving:

• Copyright infringement
• Trademark infringement
• Breach of contract matters
• Participation and royalty accountings
• Pre-release review of scripts, film clips and marketing materials
• Right of publicity/privacy Issues
• Defamation
• Unfair competition

In addition to serving for most of his career as outside litigation counsel, Alan served as general counsel of Miramax Film Corp. from 1999 through 2005, when the company’s founders separated from the company. Through this experience, Alan provides his clients with a perspective that includes his assessment of the underlying legal issues and internal business issues that their disputes raise. He also provides his clients with the benefit of his specialized industry knowledge of the film production/distribution business and its customs and practices. Film, television and music properties that have been the subject of lawsuits and arbitrations Alan has handled include “Shakespeare in Love,” “Django Unchained,” “Bad Santa,” “Scream,” “The Biggest Loser,” and “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”  In addition to litigating matters for his clients, Alan has successfully disposed of numerous commercial and intellectual property claims asserted against his clients without litigation.

Beyond his entertainment law practice, Alan has represented clients in complex commercial litigation, including claims involving contract, fraud, fiduciary duty, federal securities law claims and other disputes for plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts and in arbitrations from their inception through their final appellate stages. Additionally, Alan has represented individuals and companies in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) regulatory investigations.