Prominent Entertainment Boutique Joins Davis Wright

JANUARY 8, 2015 – The lawyers of the boutique law firm Wyman & Isaacs LLP have joined Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, bringing expanded expertise and services to Davis Wright’s nationally renowned entertainment and media practice.

Bruce Isaacs and Bob Wyman come to the firm’s L.A. office as partners, and Cheryl Nelson has joined as counsel. The three lawyers have represented many of the largest motion picture production studios and TV networks, as well as many other leading players in the entertainment industry.

“We are thrilled to have this trio of seasoned attorneys further strengthen our outstanding media and entertainment team,” said Mary Haas, Los Angeles partner-in-charge at Davis Wright. “The Wyman & Isaacs group brings tremendous depth of experience and very sophisticated skills.”

“The opportunity to partner with Davis Wright’s exceptional lawyers, who are well-known for handling cutting-edge issues, was one we couldn’t resist,” said Isaacs. “After 26 years together, Bob and I are energized to be part of a practice that complements our past experience while allowing us to expand into related areas in which we are interested.”

“We will remain efficient and responsive to our clients,” said Wyman, “while working on challenging and interesting new matters in a collaborative, large firm environment.”

“We have always made the highest standards of service a priority,” said Nelson, who will supervise production legal services for current DWT (and former Wyman & Isaacs) clients as well as new film, television, and digital production company clients. “I am delighted to be able to contribute to this team and to help grow this area of practice”

The entertainment group at Davis Wright is regularly ranked among the best in the nation. The firm was named 2015 “Law Firm of the Year” in the area of Entertainment Law – Motion Pictures and Television by Best Lawyers and U.S. News, and the firm’s media practice was recognized last year with the Chambers USA Award for Excellence. Chambers also recognized 13 DWT partners individually in 2014 in various Media & Entertainment subcategories. 

Over his 33-year career in litigation, Bruce Isaacs has handled matters for motion picture studios, insurance companies, producers, directors, distributors, and many others in the entertainment industry. He has represented plaintiffs and defendants in major copyright, idea submission, trademark, right of publicity, and other intellectual property, contract, and business matters.

He also has considerable experience with profit participation disputes. He recently represented 40 game developers who were profit participants in the multi-billion dollar video game franchise “Call of Duty” – “Modern Warfare.” As reported in the Los Angeles Times, Wyman & Isaacs’ clients received a $42.3 million payment just weeks before the trial was scheduled to commence, and thereafter the case settled as to all plaintiffs in the $140 to $180 million range, as estimated by the Times.

Isaacs is rated AV Preeminent® (5 out of 5) by Martindale-Hubbell. He received his B.A. from Pomona College and his J.D. from Loyola Law School.

Bob Wyman has been practicing in the transactional entertainment area for 30 years. He has been involved in all aspects of motion picture and television development, production, financing, and distribution, including work in digital technology. He has been engaged as an expert witness in litigation concerning the entertainment industry, including lawsuits involving profit participation claims, the valuation of intellectual property rights, clearances procedures, motion picture industry guild agreements, and production insurance coverage issues.

Wyman is also rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell. Wyman received his B.S. from Northwestern University and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. He has been a lecturer at UCLA and USC.

Cheryl Nelson has handled production legal services for feature films and television productions (including unscripted television) for over 25 years. She has represented producers, independent production companies, studios, writers, and directors in matters pertaining to film, theatrical, television, and direct-to-DVD productions. Nelson received her B.A. and J.D. from the University of Minnesota. She too is rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell.

About Davis Wright Tremaine

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is a national law firm with nine offices and approximately 500 lawyers representing clients based throughout the United States and around the world. For more information, visit www.dwt.com.