Marcia B. Paul
Partner
IN MEMORIAM
The attorneys and staff of Davis Wright Tremaine mourn the loss of our cherished colleague, Marcia Paul, who passed away February 12, 2020.
One of the few female members of her Columbia Law School class when she graduated in 1972, Ms. Paul went on to become a national leader in media and entertainment law, handling some of the most high-profile copyright, trademark, and First Amendment matters of the past forty years. Along the way she mentored and inspired countless young lawyers, many of whom went on to become leaders in their own right.
In the face of a prolonged illness, Ms. Paul continued to perform at an extremely high level, securing numerous recent victories for Davis Wright Tremaine clients. She was named New York's 2019 "Lawyer of the Year" in Entertainment Law by Best Lawyers and a 2019 "Notable Woman in Law" by Crain's New York.
Ms. Paul began her legal career at age 23, practicing on Wall Street with Sullivan & Cromwell. But she soon moved to a firm that focused on First Amendment law. Over the ensuing years she built a reputation for excellence that drew clients that included large media companies, such as Viacom, NBC, and Getty Images, celebrities such as Mel Brooks and Justin Timberlake, and the estates of J.R.R. Tolkien and Ayn Rand. She gained particular fame for her successful representation of J.D. Salinger in cases that affirmed his right to privacy and protected his literary rights.
Ms. Paul practiced with Davis Wright Tremaine's nationally recognized media and entertainment team starting in 2003, representing clients that ranged from the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization to Playtext to Skidmore Owings & Merrell. She had success in federal and circuit courts around the country and before numerous arbitral tribunals.
Ms. Paul was widely honored for excellence. She was the first recipient of the American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the 2nd Circuit and was highly ranked by all the leading lawyer directories. Her recent litigation experience included new technologies and digital media. "The law doesn't change as fast as the technology, so you are constantly trying to work the law in a way to adapt it to changing technologies," Ms. Paul told Super Lawyers magazine in a 2011 interview. "It's a challenge, but it's an intellectual challenge. An interesting challenge."
We extend our heartfelt condolences to Ms. Paul's family, friends, clients, and everyone who was touched by her extraordinary life and career.
Admitted to Practice
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New York, 1973
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U.S. Supreme Court, 1980
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U.S. Court of Appeals Federal Circuit, 2013
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U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit, 1975
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U.S. Court of Appeals 10th Circuit, 1981
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U.S. Court of Appeals D.C. Circuit, 1985
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U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 1989
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U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit, 1997
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U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit, 2000
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U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, 1973
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U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York, 1973
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U.S. District Court District of Columbia, 1985
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U.S. District Court Northern District of New York, 1998
Education
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J.D., Columbia Law School, 1972
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B.A., Barnard College, 1969
Memberships & Affiliations
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- The Copyright Society of the United States
- Planning Committee, 2nd Circuit Judicial Conference, 2007-2010
- Member; Former Trustee; The Federal Courts Committee – The Federal Bar Council
- Member, The Entertainment Law Committee, 2015-2018; Member, Former Member, Copyright Committee; Former Member, Communications Committee; Former Member, State Courts of Superior Jurisdiction Committee – Association of the Bar of the City of New York
Professional Recognition
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- First annual recipient, American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the 2nd Circuit, 2002
- Named one of "America's Leading Lawyers for Business" by Chambers USA in Media & Entertainment: Copyright & Contract Disputes (New York), 2004-2016; Intellectual Property: Trademark & Copyright (New York), 2010-2019; Media & Entertainment: Litigation (New York), 2017-2019
- Named one of the "Best Lawyers in America" in Commercial Litigation, in Intellectual Property Law, in First Amendment Law, and in Media Law by Best Lawyers, 2007-present; named in Bet-the-Company Litigation and in Entertainment Law, 2010-present
- Named to Managing IP’s Top 250 Women in IP, 2013
- Selected by Best Lawyers as New York City's "Lawyer of the Year" in Media Law, 2012; selected in Entertainment Law, 2019
- Selected to "New York Super Lawyers," Thomson Reuters, 2006-2019
