Contact: Mark Fefer, Marketing Communications, 206.757.8583 or markfefer@dwt.com
DEC. 10, 2020 – Two partners whose work reflects the breadth of Davis Wright Tremaine's market-leading media and entertainment practice have been named among New York's Top 20 Entertainment Lawyers by The Hollywood Reporter.
Gray Coleman has decades of experience handling financing for theater, film, and television, as well as music and publishing matters. He acts as production counsel for independent films, series, and specials; original productions for online/digital media; and theatrical productions on Broadway and elsewhere. The Hollywood Reporter described Coleman as "a dealmaker" who "specializes in helping companies expand beyond their core businesses and navigate new entertainment sectors."
Coleman's many high-profile deals in recent years include representing the renowned script publisher and licensor Samuel French Inc., in the sale by its owners to Concord Music; representing the owners of Blue Man Group in the sale of the company to Cirque du Soleil; and representing Emerson College in an innovative partnership with Ambassador Theatre Group to revive the historic Emerson Colonial Theatre.
Coleman's many clients include Annapurna Productions, the Associated Press, the BBC, and other media companies; prominent rights owners, including the Actors Studio, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization and the heirs of Harper Lee and Agatha Christie; and several institutional theaters, including the Public Theater, Manhattan Theatre Club, the Shed, and MCC Theater in New York; Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre, and the National Theatre in London. Coleman guides these and other clients in a wide variety of contractual arrangements, from the initial acquisition of rights through final distribution and other exploitation.
Elizabeth McNamara is described by the Hollywood Reporter as "a First Amendment guru." Her 3+ decades of experience include all areas of sophisticated IP, media, and entertainment litigation at the trial and appellate level of federal and state courts, in such areas as libel, privacy, copyright, trademark, prior restraint, and reporter's shield laws.
The past year alone, McNamara achieved an extraordinary record of success for her clients. She prevailed on behalf of Simon & Schuster in litigation over the explosive family memoir by President Trump's niece, "Too Much and Never Enough." She won dismissal of copyright and libel-in-fiction claims against the hit Showtime series, "Billions." She argued before the 11th Circuit on behalf of Gizmodo, seeking affirmance of dismissal of a $100 million defamation suit filed by a former Trump advisor. And she helped achieve a remarkably fast, initial victory for the book publishing industry in a high-stakes copyright dispute with the Internet Archive.
McNamara's many previous honors include being named New York "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers and U.S. News in three different media-related practice areas. She was also one of only four lawyers ranked in Band 1 nationwide in First Amendment Litigation by Chambers USA.
About Davis Wright Tremaine
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is a national, full-service law firm with approximately 550 lawyers. The firm's media and entertainment group is one of the largest in the nation and is widely recognized as an industry leader. The group’s client roster includes the country's most admired traditional media organizations as well as the world's leading tech companies and other innovative players in the worlds of digital media, esports, marketing, and more. The team was recently named a Law360 Practice Group of the Year for the fifth consecutive time. For more information, visit www.dwt.com.