General practice law office
Leopold Petrich & Smith
Litigation has long accounted for a significant portion of the firm's practice. LP&S litigates in virtually every area of entertainment, general business and insurance law, in both state and federal trial and appellate courts. Although its litigation cases vary greatly in subject matter and size, LP&S specializes in the defense of motion picture studios, television networks, production companies, record companies, publishers, writers, agents and performers in matters involving the production and distribution of motion pictures, television shows, books, magazines, sound recordings and commercials. These actions generally involve issues such as copyright and trademark infringement, unfair competition, right of publicity, defamation, invasion of privacy, breach of contract, and the First Amendment. LP&S has an extensive appellate practice, having handled dozens of reported cases in the California and Federal Appellate Courts. In one of those, LP&S represented Universal Studios, actor Jimmy Stewart, and the estate of the late director Alfred Hitchcock before the United States Supreme Court in the 1990's leading copyright case, Stewart v. Abend, 495 U.S. 207 ( 1990 1990 ). LP&S represents a wide variety of institutional clients and individuals. These clients include television and motion picture production companies and distributors, producers and investors, merchandise producers and licensors, and completion bond companies. The firm's work for these clients has included negotiating, drafting and reviewing agreements for the acquisition, production, and distribution of motion pictures, television programming and related merchandise. The firm's practice also includes extensive work in the areas of copyright, trademark, character merchandising and other licensing activities. The firm has filed amicus briefs on behalf of the Motion Picture Association of America ( MPAA ) and Recording Industry of America Association ( RIAA ).