MARK LITWAK, Founder
Mark Litwak is a veteran entertainment attorney and founder of the Law Offices of Mark Litwak & Associates based in Los Angeles, California. His practice includes work in the areas of copyright, trademark, contract, multimedia law, intellectual property and book publishing. As a Producer’s Representative, he assists filmmakers in arranging financing, marketing and distribution of their films. He also serves as an expert witness in motion picture industry cases.
Mark has been a lawyer since 1977 and worked in New York and California. He has received an AV Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell for more than a decade. This is the highest rating given a lawyer and is indicator of a lawyer's high ethical standards and professional ability, generated from evaluations of lawyers by other members of the bar and the judiciary in the United States and Canada.
Mark has also been designated a Southern California Super Lawyer 14 times by Thomson Reuters. The selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. In 2004, Film Festival Today magazine named Mark as one of the "Twenty Five Most Influential People" in independent film.
Mark has packaged movie projects and served as executive producer on such feature films as “The Proposal,” “Out Of Line,” “Pressure,” and “Diamond Dog.” He has provided legal services or worked as a producer rep on more than 200 feature films including Forks Over Knives. He has served as production counsel for numerous television and new media series including the Netflix series The Babysitters Club, Brews Brothers and Wet Hot American Summer, as well as Yahoo Screen's Other Space, and seven seasons of the Warner Brothers/Cartoon Network's Emmy Award winning Childrens Hospital. Many of the projects he has provided legal services on are listed on IMDB.com.
Mark is the author of six books: Reel Power, The Struggle for Influence and Success in the New Hollywood (William Morrow, 1986), Courtroom Crusaders (William Morrow, 1989), Dealmaking in the Film & Television Industry (Silman-James Press, 4th Edition 2016) (winner of the 1996 Kraszna-Krausz award for best book in the world on the film business), Contracts for the Film & Television Industry (Silman-James Press, 3rd Ed. 2012), Litwak's Multimedia Producer's Handbook (Silman-James Press, 1998), and Risky Business: Financing and Distributing Independent Film (Silman-James Press, 2004).
He has contributed articles to The Los Angeles Times, The Business of Film, The Hollywood Reporter, Moviemaker and Daily Journal. He is the creator of the CD-ROM program Movie Magic Contracts. He also writes a blog for The Gotham pka Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP).
Mark has won numerous awards for independent filmmakers against distributors who have failed to pay them what they are due including nearly two million dollars against a major distributor.
Mark has been an adjunct professor at the U.S.C. Gould School of Law since 2013 where he teaches a course on movie industry dealmaking. He has also taught at Loyola Law School and the University of Puget Sound School of Law. He has taught entertainment law courses at U.C.L.A. Extension for more than 25 years and has has lectured for the American Bar Association as well as for the California and Texas state bar associations. A frequent speaker, he has presented seminars across the United States, and in England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada including presentations for Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, the American Film Institute, Harvard University, Columbia University, the University of British Columbia and the Royal College of Art in London.
Mark has represented clients in entertainment industry arbitrations. He has also served as an arbitrator on the AAA and IFTA entertainment panels.
His background includes stints as a television journalist, writing and producing news segments for Telepictures, and as a television producer with Marble Arch Productions. He is a former Vice President and General Counsel for a merchant banking and communications company.
In the Multimedia arena, Mark is the author of “Potholes on the Information Superhighway,” published in New Matter, the magazine of the Intellectual Property Section of the California Bar. He is also the author of a White Paper on licensing content, published by the Interactive Multimedia Association. Mark has co-chaired U.C.L.A. symposiums “Multimedia Marketing & Distribution” and “Legal Issues for Multimedia Entrepreneurs.”
Mark has a B.A. and M.A. degrees from Queens College of the City University of New York where he was elected student body president. He received his J.D. degree from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1977.
He has been interviewed on more than 100 television and radio shows including ABC News, “The Larry King Show,” National Public Radio's “All Things Considered,” and CNN. He has been the subject of articles in California Law Business, Australian Lawyer, Backstage and L.A. Weekly. He is the creator of the Magellan 4 Star site, Entertainment Law Resources at www.marklitwak.com.
Excerpts from his seminars and lectures can be watched here.
Mark's Super Lawyer Profile.
Mark Litwak is a veteran entertainment attorney and founder of the Law Offices of Mark Litwak & Associates based in Los Angeles, California. His practice includes work in the areas of copyright, trademark, contract, multimedia law, intellectual property and book publishing. As a Producer’s Representative, he assists filmmakers in arranging financing, marketing and distribution of their films. He also serves as an expert witness in motion picture industry cases.
Mark has been a lawyer since 1977 and worked in New York and California. He has received an AV Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell for more than a decade. This is the highest rating given a lawyer and is indicator of a lawyer's high ethical standards and professional ability, generated from evaluations of lawyers by other members of the bar and the judiciary in the United States and Canada.
Mark has also been designated a Southern California Super Lawyer 14 times by Thomson Reuters. The selection process includes independent research, peer nominations and peer evaluations. In 2004, Film Festival Today magazine named Mark as one of the "Twenty Five Most Influential People" in independent film.
Mark has packaged movie projects and served as executive producer on such feature films as “The Proposal,” “Out Of Line,” “Pressure,” and “Diamond Dog.” He has provided legal services or worked as a producer rep on more than 200 feature films including Forks Over Knives. He has served as production counsel for numerous television and new media series including the Netflix series The Babysitters Club, Brews Brothers and Wet Hot American Summer, as well as Yahoo Screen's Other Space, and seven seasons of the Warner Brothers/Cartoon Network's Emmy Award winning Childrens Hospital. Many of the projects he has provided legal services on are listed on IMDB.com.
Mark is the author of six books: Reel Power, The Struggle for Influence and Success in the New Hollywood (William Morrow, 1986), Courtroom Crusaders (William Morrow, 1989), Dealmaking in the Film & Television Industry (Silman-James Press, 4th Edition 2016) (winner of the 1996 Kraszna-Krausz award for best book in the world on the film business), Contracts for the Film & Television Industry (Silman-James Press, 3rd Ed. 2012), Litwak's Multimedia Producer's Handbook (Silman-James Press, 1998), and Risky Business: Financing and Distributing Independent Film (Silman-James Press, 2004).
He has contributed articles to The Los Angeles Times, The Business of Film, The Hollywood Reporter, Moviemaker and Daily Journal. He is the creator of the CD-ROM program Movie Magic Contracts. He also writes a blog for The Gotham pka Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP).
Mark has won numerous awards for independent filmmakers against distributors who have failed to pay them what they are due including nearly two million dollars against a major distributor.
Mark has been an adjunct professor at the U.S.C. Gould School of Law since 2013 where he teaches a course on movie industry dealmaking. He has also taught at Loyola Law School and the University of Puget Sound School of Law. He has taught entertainment law courses at U.C.L.A. Extension for more than 25 years and has has lectured for the American Bar Association as well as for the California and Texas state bar associations. A frequent speaker, he has presented seminars across the United States, and in England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada including presentations for Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, the American Film Institute, Harvard University, Columbia University, the University of British Columbia and the Royal College of Art in London.
Mark has represented clients in entertainment industry arbitrations. He has also served as an arbitrator on the AAA and IFTA entertainment panels.
His background includes stints as a television journalist, writing and producing news segments for Telepictures, and as a television producer with Marble Arch Productions. He is a former Vice President and General Counsel for a merchant banking and communications company.
In the Multimedia arena, Mark is the author of “Potholes on the Information Superhighway,” published in New Matter, the magazine of the Intellectual Property Section of the California Bar. He is also the author of a White Paper on licensing content, published by the Interactive Multimedia Association. Mark has co-chaired U.C.L.A. symposiums “Multimedia Marketing & Distribution” and “Legal Issues for Multimedia Entrepreneurs.”
Mark has a B.A. and M.A. degrees from Queens College of the City University of New York where he was elected student body president. He received his J.D. degree from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1977.
He has been interviewed on more than 100 television and radio shows including ABC News, “The Larry King Show,” National Public Radio's “All Things Considered,” and CNN. He has been the subject of articles in California Law Business, Australian Lawyer, Backstage and L.A. Weekly. He is the creator of the Magellan 4 Star site, Entertainment Law Resources at www.marklitwak.com.
Excerpts from his seminars and lectures can be watched here.
Mark's Super Lawyer Profile.
Lectures and Seminars by Mark Litwak
Universities & Institutes
The American Film Institute (AFI)
American University
The Boston Center for Adult Education
Columbia University
Cumnberland School of Law, Samford University
Florida State University
Harvard University
Hollywood Film Institute
Loyola Law School
The New School for Social Research
The Northwest Film and Video Center
NYU
Regents College, London
The Royal College of Art, London
San Diego State
San Francisco State
UCLA
University of British Columbia
University of California, Riverside
University of Colorado, Denver
University of Hawaii
University of Pennsylvania
University of Puget Sound, School of Law
U.S.C. Gould School of Law.
University of West Los Angeles School of Law
University of Wisconsin
Washington Film and Video Association
Movie Industry Organizations
911 Media Arts Center, Seattle
ARTSERVE Michigan
American Society of Journalists and Authors
Arizona Film Society
Assoc. of Independent Video and Filmmakers (AIVF)
The Authors Guild
Centro Cinematografico Del Caribe, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Creative Financing Conference
Digital Hollywood
FilmIt.com
Film Video Arts (New York)
Film Investment Seminar, Providence R.I.
The Independent Feature Project, West
Indie Film Group (Seattle)
International Film Financing Conference (IFFCON)
Latino Producers Academy
The National Film Board, Toronto
National Writers Association
Northwest Screenwriters Guild
The Oregon Media Producer's Assn.
Philadelphia Independent Film/Video Assoc.
SAG Indie Conference
Showbiz Expo
Screen Production and Development Association (SPADA), New Zealand
Tupelo Mississippi Film Commission
Video Software Dealers Assoc (VSDA)
Women in Film (Orlando & Los Angeles)
Film Festivals
Cannes Film Festival (Conference on Audiovisual Law)
Mill Valley Film Festival
Bermuda Film Festival
Seattle Film Festival
SXSW Film Festival
Hamptons International Film Festival
Vancouver Film Festival
Los Angeles Independent Film Festival
VC Film Festival
Hollywood Film Festival
Santa Barbara Film Festival
Palm Springs Film Festival
Austin Film Festival
Sundance (UCLA seminar for Japanese visitors)
Bar & Professional Associations
Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston (Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts).
Century City Bar Association
California Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB)
California Lawyers for the Arts
Entertainment Law Society
Texas Bar Association
Multimedia Law Institute
Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (New York)
Washington Lawyers for the Arts
New York County Lawyer’s Association
The American Film Institute (AFI)
American University
The Boston Center for Adult Education
Columbia University
Cumnberland School of Law, Samford University
Florida State University
Harvard University
Hollywood Film Institute
Loyola Law School
The New School for Social Research
The Northwest Film and Video Center
NYU
Regents College, London
The Royal College of Art, London
San Diego State
San Francisco State
UCLA
University of British Columbia
University of California, Riverside
University of Colorado, Denver
University of Hawaii
University of Pennsylvania
University of Puget Sound, School of Law
U.S.C. Gould School of Law.
University of West Los Angeles School of Law
University of Wisconsin
Washington Film and Video Association
Movie Industry Organizations
911 Media Arts Center, Seattle
ARTSERVE Michigan
American Society of Journalists and Authors
Arizona Film Society
Assoc. of Independent Video and Filmmakers (AIVF)
The Authors Guild
Centro Cinematografico Del Caribe, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Creative Financing Conference
Digital Hollywood
FilmIt.com
Film Video Arts (New York)
Film Investment Seminar, Providence R.I.
The Independent Feature Project, West
Indie Film Group (Seattle)
International Film Financing Conference (IFFCON)
Latino Producers Academy
The National Film Board, Toronto
National Writers Association
Northwest Screenwriters Guild
The Oregon Media Producer's Assn.
Philadelphia Independent Film/Video Assoc.
SAG Indie Conference
Showbiz Expo
Screen Production and Development Association (SPADA), New Zealand
Tupelo Mississippi Film Commission
Video Software Dealers Assoc (VSDA)
Women in Film (Orlando & Los Angeles)
Film Festivals
Cannes Film Festival (Conference on Audiovisual Law)
Mill Valley Film Festival
Bermuda Film Festival
Seattle Film Festival
SXSW Film Festival
Hamptons International Film Festival
Vancouver Film Festival
Los Angeles Independent Film Festival
VC Film Festival
Hollywood Film Festival
Santa Barbara Film Festival
Palm Springs Film Festival
Austin Film Festival
Sundance (UCLA seminar for Japanese visitors)
Bar & Professional Associations
Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston (Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts).
Century City Bar Association
California Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB)
California Lawyers for the Arts
Entertainment Law Society
Texas Bar Association
Multimedia Law Institute
Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (New York)
Washington Lawyers for the Arts
New York County Lawyer’s Association
