April 18, 2019 (LOS ANGELES) – Recognized among the top attorneys in the entertainment business, partners Sandy Crawshaw-Sparks and Tony Oncidi were named to Variety's 2019 Legal Impact Report.
As partner and chair of the Firm's Entertainment, Copyright & Media Practice Group, Sandy was recognized for her work with clients U2 and Island Records, winning an early motion to dismiss an infringement claim for the song "The Fly." She was also noted for her representation of BMG Rights Management, Daft Punk, Lady Gaga, Live Nation, Madonna, Sony Music, heirs of Jerry Garcia and the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.
Tony, partner and chair of the Firm's West Coast Labor & Employment Department, was recognized for representing media giant Viacom as well as leading interactive entertainment company, Activision-Blizzard, in separate actions involving employees who were hired away by Netflix. Additionally, he was noted for his work representing CAA in litigation over a much-publicized departure of some of its agents to UTA, which was recently resolved after four years of litigation and arbitration.
Variety's Legal Impact Report spotlights the top attorneys in the entertainment business. These are the litigators who fight for their high-profile clients in court, the transactional lawyers who cut the deals shaping modern Hollywood, and the in-house attorneys who manage the business affairs of agencies, studios, networks and streamers.