Leading Music Industry Attorney Joins Manatt

LOS ANGELES, (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, the national law and consulting firm, announced today that Gary L. Gilbert has joined the firm as a partner in the Entertainment Practice Group. Mr. Gilbert is former senior vice president of Capitol Records and is well known in the music industry for negotiating record, performance, publishing, and touring deals for top artists. He makes the move to Manatt from Baker Hostetler along with two associates on his team. Mr. Gilbert's prestigious music and entertainment practice will enhance Manatt's already strong position as a leading entertainment firm. He will also work closely with the Advertising, Marketing & Media Division. The addition of Mr. Gilbert is another important step in Manatt's strategic initiative to broaden the national scope of its entertainment and media transactional work and establish itself as the premier law firm to represent talent and business in the rapidly changing entertainment and media industries.

"I have known Gary for many years and am overjoyed that he has decided to join our firm," said Lee Phillips, name partner who established the firm's music and entertainment practice 30 years ago. Manatt's music clients include Barbra Streisand, The Eagles, Brian Wilson, and R. Kelly. "Gary is well respected in the music business, with a broad base of clients who are major recording and performing artists. Our corporate clients like AT&T and Cadbury Schweppes have a need for content. We plan to continue drawing from our expertise in entertainment to connect talent to our institutional clients. I look forward to working with Gary."

"I am thrilled to be bringing my practice to Manatt where my clients will benefit from the firm's knowledge and proficiency in, among other things, the delivery of entertainment content through new media," said Mr. Gilbert. "The talent side that I focus on is perfectly complemented by the firm's existing strength in this area, and its strength in working with distributors of content. We have a formula for success."

Mr. Gilbert's client list includes k.d. lang, George Benson, Kenny G, Lyle Lovett, Sara Evans, Megadeth, Sugarland, Death Cab for Cutie, Social Distortion, and many other established musical acts. As senior vice president for Capitol Records, Mr. Gilbert supervised the company's legal and business affairs division. Mr. Gilbert was a partner at the entertainment boutique law firm Bloom Dekom & Hergot. He was a name partner at Mason & Gilbert for ten years. Mr. Gilbert received his J.D. from University of California, Los Angeles, in 1971 and his B.A. from University of Southern California in 1968.

"We believe the combination of Gary's notable music practice with Manatt's already expanding Entertainment Group and our nationally recognized Advertising and Media practice, will result in Manatt being regarded as the leading legal advisor on the delivery of entertainment content via new media," said Alan Brunswick, Chair of Manatt's Entertainment Practice Group. In separate moves within the past year, George A. Cooke, Aydin S. Caginalp, and Renee Brissette – prominent entertainment attorneys who are legal authorities in the areas of motion picture and television distribution, new media, digital and Internet entertainment, and the convergence of entertainment, media and intellectual property – joined Manatt as partners in the firm's New York office. "We are clearly building momentum," added Mr. Brunswick.

Stephen Butler and Russell Lefferts join Mr. Gilbert in the move to Manatt. Both associates have a long working relationship with Mr. Gilbert specializing in entertainment law. Mr. Butler focuses his practice on the music industry and handles a variety of transactions. He received his J.D. from Loyola Law School in 1997 and B.A. from University of California, Los Angeles, in 1991. Mr. Lefferts concentrates his practice on intellectual property and transactions involving the music industry. He has previous experience in the legal departments at Universal Records and Motown Records. Mr. Lefferts received his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in 1993 and B.A. from Tufts University in 1990. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers