Alonzo Wickers IV
Partner
Content creators enjoy a broad range of First Amendment and fair use rights. Al Wickers works with production companies, networks, streaming services, studios, print and digital publishers, and other content creators to exercise those rights without undue fear of claims. Al strives to learn each client's creative and editorial goals, as well as its legal and business risk tolerances.
In practice, that means that he provides 24/7 counseling to his clients as they acquire, develop, produce, distribute, and promote a range of content, from scripted and unscripted television series to feature films, and from investigative reporting to video games. In the rare instances when his clients' content is challenged, he vigorously and effectively defends their rights, responding to claims and litigating cases across the country. He also taps into DWT's full service platform to assist his clients with production legal, employment, advertising, business formation, trademark, chain of title and many other issues, and collaborates with counsel across the globe to ensure that his clients don't run afoul of international laws and customs.
Practice Highlights
Day to day counseling
Litigation
Public access
Copyright and Trademark
Right of Publicity
Idea Submission
Defamation and Invasion of Privacy
Prior Restraints
Other Litigation Experience
Development, Production, and Pre-broadcast Counseling, and Other IP Advice
Admitted to Practice
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California, 1993
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U.S. Supreme Court, 2005
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U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, 2005
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U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit, 2011
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U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 2014
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U.S. District Court Central District of California, 1994
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U.S. District Court Southern District of California, 1999
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U.S. District Court Eastern District of California, 2000
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U.S. District Court Western District of Wisconsin, 2001
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U.S. District Court Northern District of California, 2002
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U.S. District Court Eastern District of Wisconsin, 2011
Education
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J.D., University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, 1993
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A.B., History, Harvard College, 1989, magna cum laude
Memberships & Affiliations
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- Instructor, "Law of Mass Communications," Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California, Fall 2000-2007
- Founding Co-Chair, Media Law Resource Center, California Chapter
- Board of Trustees, Hollywood United Methodist Church
- ABA Forum on Communications Law
Professional Recognition
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- Named "Lawyer of the Year" in First Amendment Law (Los Angeles), Best Lawyers, 2022
- Named as one of "America's Leading Lawyers for Business" by Chambers USA in Media & Entertainment: First Amendment Litigation (California), 2009-2021; Received "Band 1" ranking in Media & Entertainment: First Amendment Litigation (California), 2019-2021
- Received the "H. Stewart Tremaine Award for Exemplary Teamwork," Davis Wright Tremaine, 2018
- Named One of the "50 Top Entertainment Attorneys" by The Daily Journal, 2014-present
- Named as one of the "Top 75 Intellectual Property Litigators in California" by the Los Angeles Daily Journal, 2013-2014
- Named by the Hollywood Reporter as one of the "Top 100 Power Lawyers-Litigation," 2011-2017
- Named one of "America's Leading Lawyers for Business" in Media & Entertainment: Litigation (California) by Chambers USA, 2006-2018; Received "Band 1" ranking, 2012-2018
- Selected by Best Lawyers as Los Angeles' "Lawyer of the Year" in Litigation–First Amendment, 2013, 2018; Media Law, 2017
- Named one of the "Best Lawyers in America" in Media Law by Best Lawyers, 2007-present; named in First Amendment Law, 2010-present
- Selected to "Southern California Super Lawyers" in Intellectual Property Litigation, Media and Advertising, Entertainment & Sports, Thomson Reuters, 2004-2021
- Named one of Lawdragon's "500 New Stars, New Worlds," 2006
- Named as one of California Law Business' "20 Under 40," 2000
