To view the full feature in Lawdragon, click here.

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Lisa was recognized for her impactful and influential legal work in the area of intellectual property law. With an established practice focused on fair use, copyright, and clearance issues, Lisa has cemented her reputation as a leading legal practitioner in the independent and documentary film sectors.

To view the full list in Forbes, visit here.

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Isabelle highlights how the firm effectively delegates foundational assignments, allowing interns to contribute meaningfully from day one, sharing with Cal Lawyer, “I do think they did a good job of consciously giving kind of entry-level assignments to get you in the flow of things, so case briefs and research assignments that don’t require anything too intense. You can just get the lay of the land and see what the partners and associates like.” She continues to emphasize the collaborative nature of the internship, particularly the opportunity to review attorneys’ redlines on contracts, opinion letters, or fair use analysis drafts, as well as their willingness to explain the reasoning behind each revision. Isabelle further outlines the benefits of the program’s broad exposure to matters spanning fair use, copyright, IP-focused analysis, and contracts for talent and music licenses.

The interview continues to encourage rising legal interns to lean into informal moments, whether grabbing a quick coffee with superiors or asking why a task was approached in a specific manner. Isabelle reflects, “Understanding that the learning comes from those little things, reading email chains, and asking an attorney for two seconds, what was your thought on this or why did you think this way or that, is where the learning is going to happen, so don’t shy away from those, and if you can try and foster them.”

Watch the full interview on Cal Lawyer here.

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In Lisa’s profile, the edition highlights her renowned legal practice in which she advises scripted and documentary filmmakers on an array of intellectual property areas, including copyright, fair use, clearance, artificial intelligence, and personal rights. Drawn to the entertainment industry at a young age, through self-assessment, she came to realize she fits into the industry as an entertainment attorney. The feature continues to spotlight notable and impactful projects not only shaping her career but the legal field, citing the 2006 documentary “The Film Is Not Yet Rated,” which was the first film to comprise an estimated 154 clips from independent and studio productions under the fair use doctrine. She also worked on the documentary limited series “Pee-Wee as Himself” and the film “Blue Moon,” each with its own respective legal challenges. To conclude her feature with the Daily Journal, Lisa shares a common structural problem creatives encounter while relying on fair use, explaining, “We see too many meritless claims, and such claims make it harder to obtain comprehensive E&O insurance and impede distribution opportunities.” 

In Chris’s feature, the Daily Journal emphasizes his operation at the junction of IP law and the film and television industries, and shares his desired outcome for clients: “A successful outcome is that a client makes and releases the film or TV program that they set out to make.” Highlighted in his profile, a film that propelled Chris’s career was “Escape from Tomorrow.” The project originally seemed unreleasable as it was filmed entirely at Disney with no prior authorization. However, through limited changes, it could be opined as a parody and, therefore, legally distributable regardless of Disney’s lack of permission. As for recent films, the profile highlights Chris providing counsel on “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie” and advising “Deepfaking Sam Altman,” helping both with rights clearance opinion letters. To conclude his profile, Chris shares his thoughts on how AI will legally exist in the entertainment industry, stating, “The challenge will be on the courts and legislators to strike a good balance between allowing the technology to blossom and develop as a useful tool for optimizing virtually every major industry while protecting consumers and the rights of IP holders.”

To read Lisa and Chris’s full profiles, visit here (subscription required). 

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When producing a film, many incidents can occur, ranging from a person falling ill to equipment malfunctions; proper insurance helps account for and absorb such risks, ensuring a production doesn’t collapse. One major policy the article highlights is DICE, short for documentary, industrial, commercial, and educational insurance, which Jamie and Mark refer to as “the heart of production insurance.” They emphasize that this policy, unlike liability insurance, “is primarily concerned with damage, delay, and disruption to the project.” They continue to provide practical insights into other coverages vital to production, warning producers to be mindful of the standard 12-month policy term to avoid coverage lapses. Jamie and Mark caution, “Coverage should ideally extend through delivery, as abandonment claims can arise in postproduction.” 

The article further delves into the claims submission and determination process, should these policies become applicable, encouraging productions to seek production legal counsel. They explain, “Unfortunately, we’ve all heard too many horror stories about how long producers and filmmakers spent quibbling over an insurance claim that was ostensibly not controversial. This often occurs because of a misunderstanding in the policy language or in what was needed to support the claim. The aid of counsel instantly mitigates those pitfalls.” Concluding the primer, Jamie and Mark advise filmmakers, “Film production insurance isn’t about disaster expectation—it’s about disaster preparation. These policies exist so that when something inevitably goes wrong, the project doesn’t end.”

Read the full article featured in IDA’s Documentary Magazine.

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In Lisa’s profile, the Los Angeles Business Journal highlights her reputation as a “go-to legal advisor for award-winning independent filmmakers,” whose expertise in copyright, fair use, and clearance law is recognized across the United States. The profile underlines Lisa’s legal practice as it intersects with copyright, AI, and personal rights, helping filmmakers create bold, legally sound, and acclaimed documentaries and scripted projects. Lisa’s representation ranges from providing legal guidance to XTR, a leading nonfiction entertainment studio, and their generative AI animation studio Asteria, in a range of responsibilities, to serving as production and clearance counsel on projects such as HBO’s “Pee-wee as Himself.”

In Dale’s profile, she is featured for her extensive experience, having spent 25 years as an in-house intellectual property counsel at Warner Bros. and now championing free speech rights for independent filmmakers. The Los Angeles Business Journal emphasizes Dale’s practice in which she helps creatives express their stories in their own powerful way through supplying legal expertise in areas including copyright, trademarks, personal rights, and clearance. The feature recognizes Dale’s love for a challenge, as her clients bring her unusual projects and she presents them with the legal resources needed to tell their stories. 

To view Lisa and Dale’s full profiles in the feature, click here.

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On May 5, 2026, Q’orianka Kilcher filed a lawsuit alleging that the Defendants extracted, replicated, and commercially used her facial likeness for a character in the 2009 film ”Avatar” without her consent or knowledge. While the complaint points out that Cameron and the other Defendants have publicly acknowledged that Kilcher served as the inspiration for the character Neytiri, Dale highlights several potential areas of weakness in the Plaintiff’s argument. One concerns the statute of limitations for the rights of publicity claim, which traditionally relies on a viewer’s recognition of a celebrity in a work. As Kilcher only recently made the connection herself, Dale contends, “Did anybody recognize the ‘Avatar’ character as the plaintiff?” continuing to share how this critical element appears to be missing in the claim.

Dale continues to spotlight further issues that may arise over what California’s right-of-publicity laws define as transformative use of a person’s image. The Plaintiff argues that Kilcher’s facial features amount to “functional anatomical data inputs within the character-design pipeline for humanoid characters.” However, Dale explains that the Defendants have a possible argument on transformativeness. She tells Law360 that there are various “philosophical questions” regarding what should be legally protected under intellectual property law, including facial features.

While the first “Avatar” was released in 2009, before modern AI advancements, the case opens the door to broader critical questions for the entertainment industry regarding the extent to which individuals are protected against unauthorized AI-generated use of their facial features and voices.

Read the full article in Law360 (subscription required).

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In her article, Dale highlights specific protections that are already in place to protect against AI misuse, including Screen Actors Guild agreements, the Copyright Act, rights of publicity protections, Lanham Act §43(a) Protections, and privacy protections. Trademarks, which have recently been filed by Matthew McConaughey and Taylor Swift, could serve as a supplemental layer of protection for commercial activity. Dale notes that trademarks, in theory, could offer celebrities broad protection, noting, “…the infringing use need not be an exact match; if a trademark owner can show that the use of mark that is confusingly similar to one’s trademark, and is used on goods or services that are sufficiently related to those in the registration, then infringement can be found.”

However, limitations on what constitutes infringement would vary case by case. For example, Dale explains “…if someone decides to recreate Matthew McConaughey’s voice saying “ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT” and use it to sell self-help or spirituality services, that would seem to infringe his trademark, since the mark matches the one covered by the registration, the services are the same as those covered by the registration, and the use is a trademark use.” However, use of the same trademark to promote legal services could be a gray area if the “trademark doesn’t match any of the registrations, and the services do not match those covered by any of the registrations.” Still, the legal validity of consumer confusion arising from similarities in deepfakes and AI-generated content remains unknown. While only time will tell the effectiveness of trademarks, for public figures who rely heavily on the economic value of their persona, Dale notes there is no harm in proactive protection.

Read Dale’s full article in Forbes, here.

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As Hollywood’s interest in true crime stories continues to rise, many wonder whether Peres Magalhães will ultimately be able to profit from the project. Virginia’s ‘Son of Sam’ law is meant to prohibit criminals from profiting off their crimes in movie deals, typically allocating the funds to the victims’ families. However, Peres Magalhães may be able to argue that her deal would be protected under the First Amendment right to free speech, which courts have upheld in similar cases.

This deal comes as the true crime genre continues to rise in popularity. Lise shares with NBC Washington, “These stories have become so valuable, and people really want them.” She continues to highlight, “If this would have been 10 years ago, I would have said, ‘There’s zero chance she’s getting paid. There’s zero chance she’s getting any approval.’ But now the landscape has changed.”

Lisa reveals that in addition to potentially making a profit, Peres Magalhães may also gain some control over the project. She tells NBC Washington, “Usually a compromise will be ‘You have an opportunity to review the cuts and maybe sometimes there’s an approval for factual accuracy. Like, if we got something really wrong here, we’ll correct it.” From her past experience working on true crime projects, including “Making a Murderer” and “Burden of Proof,” Lisa concludes by noting that, given these terms and the high monetary offer, this deal might be worth Peres Magalhães’s consideration.

To view the NBC Washington segment and read the full article, click here.

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Donaldson Callif Perez is passionate about giving back to the filmmaking community and empowering aspiring creatives by equipping them with the information and resources needed to tell their stories their way. Dale and the Firm remain committed to advancing the industry and are grateful for the opportunity to connect with the next generation of creators.

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This panel was a part of a broader lineup at the 2026 Sundance Institute’s Catalyst Forum, a multi-day event featuring insightful sessions, project presentations, and social events aimed at strengthening partnerships between filmmakers and funders. The annual retreat, which took place at the Sundance Resort in Utah from April 26th to 29th, connected approximately 50 financiers with nearly 10 feature fiction and documentary films seeking production financing. 

Chris has long participated as a mentor in the Catalyst program, contributing to its commitment to bolstering the independent film ecosystem in ways that reflect the firm’s core values.

To learn more about Sundance Institute’s Catalyst Forum, click here.

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4000 Days

10 Lives Studios

ChikaBOOM

Asteria

Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass

Likely Story

General Admission

Kind Spirit, LLC

The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony

Akelo Media

The Haunting of Pennhurst

School Project Films

How to Feed a Dictator

Co Created Media / SeeThink Films

Frampton

10 Lives Studios

Iconoclast

Iconoclast Productions

Jail Time Records

Artist Equity

Kingston

Kingston Film Productions / Carlos Key

The Lion Queen

Elara Pictures

The Lorraine

Submarine Entertainment

Mario

Kunhardt Film Foundation

They Fight

They Fight, LLC

threeASFOUR: Full Circle

Sweet Relief / Beth Levison / Hazel Pictures

TikTok Never Dies

Tripod Media

Time Warp

Allison Berg

Trinity: The Story of the LOX

Mass Appeal

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