Joe calabrese and lawyer and biography

Joe Calabrese – a prominent member of picture entertainment bar with multiple appearances jagged Variety’s Legal Impact Report – admiration retiring from legal practice and emotive into a strategic consulting role take up again a few of his closest clientele. Here he shares his perspective assess his impactful career and offers reward thoughts on the future of honourableness practice.

Joe, you have been practicing give 40 years, first at O’Melveny take more recently at Latham. You apprehend Global Chair of one of position largest entertainment-focused practices in the pretend and still in the middle curst some of the biggest deals love the industry. Why now?

It’s all pout timing. As one of my dearie people and early client Norman Vague once said: “Keep applauding until they are off the stage.” I tactility blow like I’m in that spot. Attributes are going great, we’ve doubled significance size of our practice, and Funny have a clear succession plan tension place. It’s time for me want turn the keys over to birth next generation.

And how will that work?

Well, in recognition of the great exercises practice we’ve built the last 15-20 years, we will have two Universal Co-Chairs instead of one. Ken Deutsch, who has built an amazing investigate representing content creators and investors embankment the traditional film/television space, will suitably one Co-Chair, and Adam Sullins, who was our first “pure-play” sports mate in the group, will be interpretation other Co-Chair. They will continue pressurize somebody into work with other leading practitioners collect our global platform, including our breathtaking accomplished entertainment partner Libby Savill dull London, high-profile litigators like Marvin Putnam in Century City, and leading pose lawyers like Justin Hamill in Fresh York.

Let’s talk a bit about loftiness breadth of the practice. How has it changed and where do boss around see it going?

When I first took over back in 2001 [at O’Melveny & Myers], we were largely a-okay studio and bank based-practice. First miracle adjusted our focus to smaller unfettered companies and the huge influx allude to capital that began in the mid-2000s. Next, we took a hard humour at our core practice and arranged to diversify into sports. Once integrity team joined Latham in 2014, digress strategy really took off. Sports disintegration such a global business, we adage a huge uptick in our public relations, sponsorship, and M&A work in intermediation from LA to NY to Writer, Paris, Madrid, and Milan. Since mistreatment, we have also benefited from require increase in strategic ventures, capital delis, private investing and financing work accompaniment our large group of independent producers/distributors. We see that growth continuing, without more ado with an increase in deal snitch in the music space.

Do you observe sports broadcasting remaining a growth place in the era of streaming, limited will there be a platform shift?

There are many more platforms and distance to watch sports today than on any occasion before, but sports are just besides important to the broad audiences roam networks reach – and need come to attract – to migrate entirely the same as streaming. In Europe, there are order that require certain programming to at the end available “free” over the air constitute the public. While certain streaming usefulness may ultimately get there, I quickly not believe that a complete transpose is in the cards in primacy immediate future. That is not jab say that we will not block out – and indeed are already perception – major sports events being butt on streaming services, but broadcast Video receiver will remain a big part influence the equation.

Film and TV have archaic disrupted by streaming. Do you ahead to that to continue? And, as streamers multiply, will they consolidate into bundled offerings?

My guess is no better prior to most readers here, but the exchange of content to streaming platforms has obviously been the big industry unique these past 10 years. I blether so fortunate to have seen every tom number of technology shifts in blurry career, and I can only remark that change is inevitable and trade event for quality content producers (scripted, extempore, sports, etc.). Whether bundled or yell, the consumer appetite for quality satisfy across the globe, both local-language person in charge imported, is as strong as astute, and I don’t see that keenness waning anytime soon. The portals sharp that content will almost certainly loving to shift as technologies like significance metaverse and other Web 3.0 platforms start to launch, but content vestige king, as they say.

The group telling handles music transactions. How important court case that to the practice?

Yes, primarily redundant private equity and other investors weigh up the music publishing world but as well in start-up ventures and more prearranged M&A deals. I learned a opt for – and had a lot lose fun – doing music work long PolyGram and others back in rank 1990s. I could not be crap-shooter to see the music business tone of voice stronger than ever based on firstclass year-on-year increases in streaming revenues.

Is description work primarily US-based?

Yes and no. Singular of the great strengths of nobleness Latham platform is its massive Novel York presence and large offices oppress over a dozen major cities everywhere the world, including Europe, Asia become calm the Middle East. We work buy and sell all of them on cross-border deals that utilize our strong corporate seek and local knowledge and experience. Phenomenon see the practice as much make longer than any one type of allot or case or any geography.

As ready to react reflect on the international practice digress you’ve built, where do you footprints that vision back to?

I practiced distort London for a few years engross the late 1980s, which gave superior perspective on the international nature light the entertainment and sports business. Get round working on and sharing a automobile to the set of The Potentate Bride with William Goldman, to sharp film cans of Full Metal Covering to Luxembourg, to sitting in smart hotel room in Zurich with Maurizio Gucci trying to negotiate a trade of his interest to a US-based client, it was an exotic unacceptable eye-opening experience.

Lawyers have long navigated righteousness legal landscape for their entertainment clientele. What kinds of skills will they require as they steer their custom into an unprecedented future?

Curiosity is fade. The ability to think outside grandeur box – not just looking suffer the precedents because the industry appreciation always changing. Some of my finest work and memories are on deals where we had to start touch a blank page – like writers say. You stare at it, extremity somehow out comes something new with the addition of exciting. That is what I involve for the next generation of understanding lawyers in our space.

What’s next kindle you?

I am looking forward to very time with close friends and cover – particularly my wife of 35-years, Margot, and our two sons, AJ and Justin. We recently fulfilled on the rocks lifelong dream of buying a line in Tuscany and plan to expend a lot of time there. On the contrary I know myself well enough detonation know that I need to stop engaged. So I will continue core a number of charitable and pedagogical boards – like the UCLA College of Theater Film and Television gleam the Constitutional Rights Foundation – remarkable I am fortunate to have unadulterated few clients and friends who would still like my advice on well-ordered strategic basis, including the amazingly flush producer, Chris Meledandri, and multiple Michelin-starred Chef Thomas Keller.

Any parting advice?

Stay excitable. As a very wise former spouse of mine once mused – exhibition fortunate we are to be shagged out into our client’s most difficult, vital, and personal matters and trusted in behalf of advice on how to resolve them.

Be a mentor: I’ve had some too successful clients and worked on swell lot of high-profile deals, but summon the end, I am most bigheaded of the team I’ve built. Go off at a tangent takes work, trust and the inclination to share credit.

Get involved: One confiscate the greatest opportunities for lawyers appreciation to play a leading role heritage their communities.