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Variety has released this year’s Legal Impact Report, naming the most prominent entertainment attorneys. The top Hollywood lawyers who earned a spot on the list also gathered at the Variety Power of Law Breakfast, which was recently held in LA. The event was headlined by Will Packer, Lynette Howell Taylor, and Sanford Panitch (Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group president).
Like previous annual lists, the 2025 Variety Legal Impact Report honored Hollywood’s top entertainment attorneys for their work. This year’s list included names like Lesly Freeman (AGBO chief legal officer), Grace Del Val (Bad Robot COO), Carolyn Hunt (partner at Barnes & Thornburg), and numerous other celebrated personalities.
Read on to learn more about the list compiled by Variety for this year’s Legal Impact Report.
Hollywood’s top entertainment attorneys and legal teams honored in the 2025 Variety Legal Impact Report
Hundreds of entertainment attorneys, including solo practitioners, partners, and legal teams, were listed among the 123 spots in the trade magazine’s yearly report. Here’s a look at some of the prominent names from the 2025 Variety Legal Impact Report:
Lesley Freeman - AGBO
During her decades-long career in the entertainment and media industry, Lesley Freeman has worked for prominent organizations. She held executive roles at companies like HBO, MGM, and Amazon before joining the Russo Brothers’ AGBO to serve as chief legal officer.
Freeman is also a board member at Beloit College and the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity. Previously, Lesley Freeman also worked at the law firm O'Melveny & Myers LLP for a decade as senior counsel.
Grace Del Val - Bad Robot
The New York University and University of Chicago Law School alumnus also found a spot on this year’s Variety Legal Impact Report. Grace Del Val has experience working at Sony Pictures Entertainment, A&E Television, and Alcon Television Group.
The top Hollywood lawyer and executive is currently associated with Katie McGrath and J.J. Abrams’s Bad Robot. She started as the production company’s head of business affairs and later served as general counsel. In October, she also assumed the duties of COO at Bad Robot.
Carolyn Hunt - Barnes & Thornburg
Carolyn Hunt has been a partner at Barnes & Thornburg for almost a decade. She works in the firm’s “Entertainment, Media and Sports Practice Group” at its LA office. According to the firm's official website, Hunt’s practice focuses on “media finance and entertainment transactional matters.”
The San Diego State University and Georgetown University Law Center alumnus had previously worked for different firms. She was an entertainment partner at Loeb & Loeb LLP and an associate at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and Rosenfeld Meyer & Susman.
Stephen Weizenecker - Barnes & Thornburg
Carolyn Hunt’s colleague at Barnes & Thornburg, Stephen Weizenecker, was also honored with a spot on the 2025 Variety Legal Impact Report. The entertainment attorney has been a partner at the firm’s Atlanta office.
His work primarily involves advising on “tax incentives and financing for film, television, and video game clients.” Weizenecker earned his JD from Western Michigan University’s Cooley Law School and his BA from Emory University.
Jacki Granet - Blaker & Granet
The next one to appear on the 2025 Variety Legal Impact Report is Jacki Granet. She is the co-founder and partner at Blaker & Granet, and her area of expertise is immigration law. According to Variety, her clients also include actors and production companies.
Jacki Granet graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a BA and later attended New York Law School to earn a JD (Juris Doctor) degree. Before co-founding Blaker & Granet, the entertainment attorney worked with Ungerlaw PC and Daryanani Law Group PC (as Of Counsel).
Blair Berk and Andrew Brettler - Berk Brettler
The Berk Brettler partner duo is among Hollywood’s most reputed entertainment attorneys. Andrew Brettler specializes in criminal law, including expertise in litigation, privacy rights, defamation, and more. Per Variety, Blair Berk complements her colleague’s expertise with a better grip on the “civil side.”
According to Andrew Brettler (via Variety), who teamed up with Blair Berk in 2023,
“Her [Berk’s] bedside manner with clients is second to none. I’ve never seen such a fantastic attorney also be able to speak with such empathy and compassion.”
Benjamin Mulcahy - DLA Piper
DLA Piper's Benjamin Mulcahy is the next entertainment attorney to make it to the 2025 Variety Legal Impact Report. The LA-based lawyer has spent more than seven years as a partner and its National Advertising Team co-chair at the law firm.
Mulcahy’s practice at DLA Piper is focused on “Intellectual Property and Technology.” According to the official website of the law firm, the experienced Hollywood lawyer has
“A deep focus on the sports media, sports marketing, interactive marketing, and entertainment marketing industries, handling both day-to-day and once-in-a-lifetime transactions”
Howard Meyers - Focus Features
The Harvard Law School alumnus is another famed lawyer named in this year’s Legal Impact Report. Howard Meyer’s career as an entertainment attorney and Hollywood executive spans more than three decades.
After initially working at law firms, Meyers transitioned into executive roles at WB, MGM, and USA Films. Since 2002, Howard has been associated with Focus Features, serving as the company’s executive vice president and global head of business affairs.
In 2020, he also became a faculty member at the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television.
Darrell D. Miller - Fox Rothschild
Like Howard Meyers, the next Hollywood lawyer has been active for decades. Darell D. Miller is the founding chair of Fox Rothschild’s Entertainment & Sports Law Department and has worked for the firm for over 16 years.
According to the official website of Fox Rothschild,
“Darrell's clients include diverse and visionary individuals and entities, reflecting his commitment to developing multimedia opportunities within the convergent climate of today's entertainment industry.”
His clients have been associated with projects such as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, 9-1-1, Fast X, The Idol, Black Mafia Family, Spider-man: No Way Home, and many more. At the April 9 event, Darrell D. Miller also received the Variety Power of Law Award 2025.
Robert Lister - IMAX
Robert Lister is known for his longstanding association with IMAX Corporation. The lawyer joined the company in 1999 as senior VP and legal affairs and general counsel. Over the years, Lister grew within the organization and served in different positions.
Robert is Executive-in-Charge (since 2015) at IMAX China’s legal department. In 2018, the New York-based lawyer-executive assumed the global chief legal officer position at IMAX.
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Other than the executives and Hollywood lawyers, the entertainment attorneys and partners from many prominent firms made it to the Legal Impact Report 2025. The firms include “Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld,” “Gendler, Kelly & Cunningham,” “Blank Rome,” “Cohen Gardner,” “Covington & Burling,” and many more.
At the same time, the likes of Marc Simon (Fox Rothschild), Marcie Cleary (Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz), “Christopher Frost, John D. Maatta, and Ben Kassis (Frost),” and more are some of the top Hollywood lawyers honored by Variety. Readers can find all the names in the 2025 Legal Impact Report.
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