Atty. Jill L. Smith
Actors, producers, directors, screenwriters, authors and production companies frequently seek Jill Smith’s strategic counsel in all facets of sophisticated and complex entertainment transactions. From Academy Award-winning celebrities to rising entertainment industry stars, Ms.
Profile Summary
About Jill L. Smith at a glance
Jill L. Smith is a Member based in Los Angeles, California, practicing at Kleinberg Lange Cuddy Carlo Llp. They have 40+ years of legal experience, licensed to practice since 1986. Their practice focuses on entertainment. Admitted to practice in California (1986) and U.S. District Court, Central District of California (1986). Educated at University of Pennsylvania Law School (J.D., 1986) and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (B.A., 1983). Recognitions include AV Preeminent. Serands clients in Los Angeles, CA and the surrounding metropolitan area.
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About
- Actors, producers, directors, screenwriters, authors and production companies frequently seek Jill Smith’s strategic counsel in all facets of sophisticated and complex entertainment transactions
- From Academy Award-winning celebrities to rising entertainment industry stars, Ms. Smith’s clients recognize and benefit from her attentive personal service and vast knowledge of the development, production and monetization of media.A true industry veteran, Ms. Smith is a strong advocate for her clients when handling elaborate acquisition of rights agreements, first-look contracts and all forms of talent agreements
- She combines her extensive private practice experience with in-house experiences at Jim Henson Pictures and Dustin Hoffman’s Punch Productions, Inc. to provide a 360° industry perspective
- She structures, negotiates and documents all forms of agreements relating to the development, production, financing, distribution and exploitation of motion pictures and television series.While representing many individuals, including actor-director Dustin Hoffman and writers of theatrical productions, she also handles entertainment matters for companies such as Heirs of Rube Goldberg and Toho Co., Ltd. (the owner of Godzilla)
- Ms. Smith has an acute understanding of production, making her sensitive to its demands and unique business and legal challenges
- Among other projects, she recently handled production legal work on “Hell or High Water.”Ms
- Smith also has an in-depth knowledge in the world of unscripted (“reality”) television
- She has negotiated deals for creators and production companies of series for a wide array of networks including A&E, Amazon Studios, Discovery Channel, History, Lifetime, Netflix, Spike, and SyFy for shows such as “The Rap Game” and the upcoming “American Beauty Star.” Ms. Smith transitioned her depth of knowledge and experience in the entertainment arena to represent a professional motorcycle rider in the negotiations of his agreement with a MotoGP team further demonstrating Ms. Smith’s breadth of experience.Ms
- Smith began her career in 1986 in Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger LLP’s Entertainment Department, where she became the youngest partner in the firm’s history
- After leaving private practice to serve as in-house counsel at Henson and then Punch, she returned to her private practice roots in 2003 to start Barkin Smith LLP. After a successful 10-year run with Barkin Smith, she accepted Kleinberg Lange’s offer in 2013 to incorporate her practice into a larger, complementary firm.A 2015-2017 “Southern California Super Lawyer,” Ms. Smith was also selected for inclusion in the 2016, 2017, and 2018 editions of “The Best Lawyers in America,” which ranks her among the top lawyers in the country, and was named one of American Lawyer Media’s “Women Leaders of Law” in 2015
- She has also earned the highest rating (“AV Preeminent”) for legal ability and ethics by Martindale-Hubbell
- She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School
- From 2011-2012, she was an Adjunct Professor at University of Southern California Gould School of Law, where she and Gary Barkin taught the upper level law school class “Legal Issues in the Motion Picture Industry.” She lives in Los Angeles with her two children
Practice Areas Explained
Jill L. Smith's Areas of Practice
Each practice area below reflects the types of cases Jill L. Smith handles, with a brief overview of what that area of law covers.
Entertainment lawyers for music, film, sports contracts, talent representation, and IP licensing.
Jill L. Smith is one of 45,946 entertainment attorneys indexed nationally. Browse entertainment attorneys in California →
Jurisdictional Context
Why local counsel matters in California
Practicing law in California. Legal matters in California are governed by state-specific rules of civil and criminal procedure, statutes of limitations, and substantive law. Cases originating in Los Angeles are typically filed in the local municipal court or the appropriate California state district court, depending on subject matter and amount in controversy. An attorney licensed in California brings working knowledge of local procedural deadlines, judicial practices in this andnue, and the substantive law that applies to cases brought here. Out-of-state attorneys generally cannot represent clients in California courts without local counsel or pro hac vice admission.
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