The Need For An Entertainment Lawyer In Film Production: Written By New York Entertainment Attorney And Film Lawyer John J. Tormey III, Esq.

Does the film producer really need a film lawyer or entertainment attorney as a matter of professional motion picture practice? An entertainment lawyer’s own bias and my stacking of the question notwithstanding, which might naturally indicate a “yes” answer 100% of the time - the forthright answer is, “it depends”. A number of motion picture producers these days are themselves film lawyers, entertainment attorneys, or other types of lawyers, and so, often can take care of themselves. But the filmed motion picture producers to worry about, are the ones who act as if they are entertainment lawyers - but without a license or entertainment attorney legal experience to back it up. Filmmaking and motion picture practice comprise an industry wherein these days, unfortunately, “bluff” and “bluster” sometimes serve as substitutes for actual knowledge and experience. But “bluffed” documents and motion picture production procedures will never escape the trained eye of entertainment attorneys working for the studios, the distributors, the banks, or the errors-and-omissions (E&O) insurance carriers. For this reason alone, I suppose, the job function of film production counsel and entertainment lawyer is still secure.