San Mateo County Entertainment & Sports Lawyers

David L. Axelrod began work as a teenager, selling scorecards in Dodger Stadium. After attending college, David L. Axelrod entered a career as Park Ranger and Fire Fighter, at the East Bay Regional Park District of Northern California. In 1988, David L. Axelrod graduated law school at the University of California, Berkeley, California, passed the bar, and commenced the practice of law. David L. Axelrod worked as Deputy Attorney for CALTRANS Legal Division in Los Angeles, California, and then as Deputy Tuolumne County Counsel in Sonora, California. Mr....

Daniel J. Morse represents creative artists from his offices in the Los Angeles area. Mr. Morse excelled in his studies of contracts, intellectual property, and entertainment law at the Pepperdine University School of Law. After graduating in 2001, Mr. Morse worked as a civil litigator while assisting various visual artist clients. Upon moving to Tennessee, Mr. Morse worked with the firm of Wise & Reeves, representing a variety of individuals and business with transactional and litigation matters. Mr. Morse also represented musicians and literary authors. With licenses to practice in two of America's...

Jason provides transactional business and legal affairs services to content creators across a wide spectrum of the creative community. Specializing in the new media, entertainment and business space, Jason frequently works with scripted/unscripted TV producers, social media influencers, and business entities to review, draft and negotiate deal terms on a wide range of production-related projects. Jason also provides business development strategy and corporate counsel to a variety of emerging players in the digital space. If you’re an influencer looking to monetize your content, a new business looking to establish your legal entity or register a trademark, or a digital...

BIG FIRM EXPERIENCE…SMALL FIRM SERVICE® Melvin N.A. Avanzado is the principal of The Avanzado Law Firm, APLC. Mel is a trial lawyer and outside general counsel, representing clients in complex matters in entertainment, media, intellectual property, sports and employment. Mel has extensive experience practicing with big law firms but now practices in his own small firm so he has the ability to provide personalized service to his clients. Mel is extensively involved in his community. Mel is active with numerous non-profit organizations, serving as general counsel to the Chinese American Museum of Los Angeles and the UCLA Alumni Association...

I focus on the area of family law, including divorce and related matters such as child custody, child support, paternity, spousal support and property division. I also represent clients in matters involving guardianship and dissolution of domestic partnerships. I will take time to learn about you, your family, and your goals. When taking your case, I want to learn what you hope to accomplish and what your family needs in order to get back on track. I will then develop a detailed case management plan designed to achieve realistic goals for you and your family. Throughout the legal process, I will keep...

Sean S. Varner, Managing Partner of Varner & Brandt, is a corporate and transactional attorney focusing his practice on corporate and business law, real estate, transactional law, contracts and mergers & acquisitions. With over 20 years of legal and business experience Sean takes time to know his clients and their goals and objectives. He handles numerous critical issues, including complicated transactions, facing many different industries and clients including the technology sector, retail/food & beverage industry, real estate developers, restaurants, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, officers and directors of corporations, and a variety of family-owned businesses.

A distinguished Southern California attorney, Bruce Jeffer is dedicated to providing exceptional representation for Corporate Law matters. With an emphasis on Mergers & Acquisitions, Energy and Securities transactions, his practice areas include Entertainment & Sports, International, Investment Management, Natural Resources and Real Estate law matters.

A Founding Member of Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell, Bruce has 50 years of experience and legal knowledge. He is recognized by peers for both his leadership and business law acumen. Always results-oriented, he is dedicated to outstanding service, legal expertise, and cost-effective representation. Bruce is committed to helping his clients achieve their business goals.

Brandon Anand is a seasoned business and real estate attorney and Court-appointed Referee. Brandon has advised as to countless matters at each stage of the business life cycle—from formation—to operations (partnerships/joint ventures, IP protection, licensing/sales, and litigation/conflict resolution)—to reorganization, sales, and mergers, with a focus on two primary areas: real estate and entertainment/sports. Brandon's real estate practice centers around the sale, financing, and lease of real property. In addition to private representation, he serves as a Court-appointed Partition Referee throughout California, where he is called upon to streamline sales, accounting, and distribution of proceeds from real property (e.g....

Russell Sommers is a seasoned transactional attorney who helps individuals and businesses maximize the value of their Intellectual Property (IP) through the strategic application of copyright, trademark, trade secret, patent, and other IP laws. The Law Office of Russell Sommers offers quality legal services tailored to meet the specific IP needs of businesses and individuals in the spheres of business, technology & entertainment. The Law Office of Russell Sommers: Creative Legal Practices for Creative Legal Minds. TM

I have extensive experience in legal, finance, management and company-building.

As an attorney, my focus has been on transactional drafting and negotiation and providing ongoing legal counsel and contract interpretation to numerous private individuals as well as companies in varied fields such as media and entertainment, oil and gas, mining and exploration, virtual reality technologies, private health care, cannabis, and mortgage lending and real estate.

As an entertainment professional, I have acquired, or produced, and distributed dozens of feature films, while usually being active in managing the business and legal affairs of most the companies I have worked for or founded. My...

Neama is a prestigious California personal injury attorney. He is the President and co-founder of West Coast Trial Lawyers. Neama graduated from UCLA at the age of 19 and Harvard Law School at the age of 22, making him one of the youngest graduates in the 200-year history of the law school. Upon graduation, Neama was hired by O’Melveny & Myers, the largest law firm in Los Angeles at the time, where he represented companies such as Disney, Marriott, and the Roman Catholic Church. But Neama wanted to help ordinary people, not corporations, so he joined the United States Attorney’s Office, where...

5 years experience with a personal injury firm. Solo practice so I will have plenty of time to provide individualized focus to each of my clients. Entertainment contract review and drafting experience. Cannabis brand business formation experience and trademark filings.

Adam T. Carralejo is a trial attorney with broad expertise and a strong, ethical reputation. Adam started his career handling estate and trust work in Santa Barbara – his first client matter was the infamous case of Butler v. LeBouef, involving an unethical estate planning attorney and successful trust contest in Santa Barbara Superior Court. Adam would go on to spend several years with a Los Angeles firm advising HOA boards and representing HOA homeowners. During this time, he gained invaluable experience understanding the needs of community managers, boards of directors, and, most importantly, individual homeowners. He’s drafted CC&Rs, provided education...

Ginam Lee has been a California licensed attorney since 1999. He is also admitted to practice in the United States District Court, Central District of California as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. His areas of practice are litigation, real estate, entertainment, intellectual property, alcoholic beverages, franchises, and business affairs. Mr. Lee began his legal career as a legal assistant at a boutique criminal defense firm of Beck & DeCorso in downtown Los Angeles. Since then, he has worked in various legal capacities at major firms such as O'Melveny & Myers in...

Mr. Carucci was born and raised in San Diego, California. He obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of San Diego where he graduated from the Honors program with a degree in Business Administration. Mr. Carucci then attended law school at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington D.C. During law school, Mr. Carucci interned for the Honorable Frederick H. Bysshe of the Ventura County Superior Court and externed with the Department of Justice in their Fraud Department. At Georgetown, Mr. Carucci was also a Senior Articles Editor on the American Criminal Law Review and a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution...

For four decades, I have successfully represented clients in the Media & Entertainment industries with Antitrust, Business and Appellate law needs. Licensed in New York and California, I have extensive experience in both domestic and international matters.

As a former Executive Vice President at Paramount Pictures, I am often called as an expert witness for media and entertainment industry disputes. I bring a unique set of skills and understanding to each and every case. I am dedicated to helping clients create strategies and solutions in a quick and efficient manner.

I hold a LL.M. in Trade Regulation, a J.D., and a M.S....

Ori Blumenfeld is a senior associate with Margulies Faith LLP. Mr. Blumenfeld focuses his practice in all areas of complex bankruptcy and insolvency, corporate restructuring, distressed assets, acquisition and disposition, and related litigation matters. In terms of his corporate bankruptcy expertise, Mr. Blumenfeld has represented debtors, trustees, and both secured and unsecured creditors in bankruptcy courts. In addition, a substantial portion of his work consists of serving as general or special counsel to federal and state receivers appointed to general equity, Family Code, rents and profits, Health and Safety Code, and regulatory receiverships, as well as bankruptcy trustees, and...

Attorney since 1998

Legal Expertise Brian Fu works closely with major production studios, talent and management agencies, and multinational corporations to devise creative immigration strategies for executives, on-screen talent in film and television, production teams, musicians, athletes, and artists to work on multi-million dollar projects in the United States. As a trusted advisor on global mobility matters for leading companies in such sectors as entertainment, fashion, design, cosmetics, and videogames, Brian counsels on complex labor and employment issues for foreign nationals. Brian has studied law at top schools in the United States, Australia, and Japan – on the prestigious Monbukagakusho Scholarship awarded by the...

Navid handles business litigation and employment litigation for individual and corporate clients in a wide range of industries, from small businesses to large publicly-traded corporations. As a seasoned Los Angeles entertainment lawyer, Navid has extensive experience in the media and entertainment industries, representing clients such as recording artists, managers and agents, production companies and content providers. Navid has litigated numerous intellectual property claims involving, among other things, copyright and trademark infringement, cyber-squatting, defamation, right of publicity, and trade secret misappropriation. Navid handles sexual harassment, wrongful termination, disability discrimination and pregnancy discrimination. Since 2002, Navid Soleymani has been litigating complex business, entertainment,...

Ms. Slaughter has over 20 years of trial and litigation experience in Employment and Labor Law, Civil/Business Law, Trademark Infringement, and Personal Injury. Ms. Slaughter is also a mediator and has successfully bridged the gap to resolution of hundreds of cases. Ms. Slaughter is an adjunct Professor, teaching English, English to Foreign Learners, and Paralegal instruction.

Michael Molfetta is former prosecutor and a renowned litigation attorney who has been practicing for almost 30 years.
1. Mr. Molfetta has been lead counsel in hundreds of criminal jury trials.
2. Mr. Molfetta has been lead counsel in several civil jury trials, and has conducted hundreds of depositions.
2. He has represented individuals and multinational corporations in both State and Federal Court.
3. Mr. Molfetta has handled cases in California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Florida, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Canada, Mexico, and Italy.
3. Mr. Molfetta also has extensive experience representing professional athletes and “high profile” clients. He...

Ethan D. Kirschner is an experienced litigator with clients in California, throughout the United States, and overseas. Originally from Wisconsin, Mr. Kirschner was a champion high school and college debater. He has a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Michigan, graduated cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School, and received an LL.M. in intellectual property law from the University of California, Berkeley.


Mr. Kirschner has been practicing law since 2005. He is licensed to practice law in California.

Attorney Bryan Freedman has a practice dedicated to entertainment, business, copyright, employment, Internet, real estate, and sports law. Bryan represents clients locally in Southern California, as well as throughout the United States and around the world.

Recognized as a renowned entertainment litigator, the Hollywood Reporter named Mr. Freedman one of the “most influential entertainment litigators in the country” for over 10 years in a row. He has also been featured on the publication’s “Top 100 Power Lawyers” list and has been listed in Variety magazine’s 2015 Legal Impact Report, a selective list comprised of only 22 chosen individuals.

Recognized as a renowned...

Mike Arias is the senior and managing partner of the firm. He handles matters throughout the United States. Mr. Arias has litigated and tried matters from New York to Texas to California, in both state and federal court. He has resolved hundreds of matters, either by trial, arbitration, mediation or negotiated settlement, resulting in millions of dollars in recovery for the firm's clients. His most recent trial victory resulted in a judgment and subsequent settlement in excess of $19 million. His most recent settlements total well in excess of $50 million. Mr. Arias has also successfully defended and counseled many...

Sindee Levin, ESQ is a veteran entertainment a1orney whose creden7als include business affairs at major film
studios, music publishing, mechanical collec7on and extensive private prac7ce with invaluable contacts with
music publishers and record labels.
• As former owner and past president of American Mechanical Rights Agency, Inc. she handled licensing of
copyrights with record companies: issuing licenses, monitoring accoun7ng and payments; issues
synchroniza7on licenses to film, television, radio, and adver7sing agencies specifying the scope of permission
granted. She offered expert guidance through all emerging technologies and new media formats: website
exploita7ons, digital downloading, ring tones and ring backs before selling AMRA to Kobalt Music Publishing.
• She is...

I am a California Business transactional, corporate and real estate attorney. My practice focuses on Corporate, Business and Commercial Law and Real Estate Law, including Purchase and Sale and Leasing transactions. I was born and raised in Oceanside, California, and attended Oceanside High School. I received my B.A. in Economics/Accounting from Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, CA. I received my J.D. from Santa Clara University Law School in 1987. I practiced law for 8 years with Crosby, Heafey, Roach & May (now Reed Smith) in Oakland, CA. I was General Counsel with The Upper Deck Company from 1997-2000. I was Chief Operting Officer...

I practice transactional entertainment and technology law and was a also a journalist at The Hollywood Reporter from 2010-20, where I covered entertainment labor, law and business. A former computer scientist, I was also active in local politics for over a decade. A preeminent expert on Hollywood unions and guilds, I'm the author of several books on the subject. I'm also an adjunct professor at USC and Southwestern law schools, and previously at UCLA Law School, and a non-resident research fellow at Rutgers University. I've worked as a talent lawyer; guild attorney; and as a litigator. I've been a member of the...