Reed Smith Adds to Entertainment & Media Group

CENTURY CITY, CALIF. (April 12, 2016) – Reed Smith LLP today announced the addition of Leif Reinstein as a partner in its global Entertainment & Media Industry Group, working from the firm’s Century City office.  Most recently a partner at Rosenfeld, Meyer & Susman, Reinstein was previously Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs at British international television content and production/distribution company FremantleMedia.

“Leif’s international experience is an ideal match for our global footprint,” said Stephen Sessa, co-chair of Reed Smith’s Entertainment & Media Industry Group.  “Leif is one of the leading television lawyers in the business who represents A-list, sophisticated clients that are pioneers in delivering content across all media platforms.”

Focused on the network, studio, finance and production side of the industry, Reinstein has deep experience in all stages of television, series and similar programming, including shows for premium subscription video on demand (SVOD), as well as content for digital, mobile and over-the-top (OTT).  Among his best-known clients are Miramax, Viacom Media Networks, Endemol Shine Studios, FremantleMedia, Wildside (Italy), A+E Networks (including Lifetime and History), Marvel Studios, AMC Networks, El Rey Network, and The Weinstein Company.  Leif also represents high net worth individuals’ companies and equity funds like Black Bear Pictures (Teddy Schwarzman), Slingshot Media (TPG) and Covert Media (Media Content Capital).  Some of his current projects include the international co-production The Young Pope for HBO/Sky/Canal+; the cinematic series Twin Peaks for Showtime; the ultra-premium, cross-border SVOD show Marco Polo; and the Fox comedy hit Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

“Reed Smith provides me with boundless resources to support my increasingly complex small-screen transactions and all accompanying deals and legal issues,” said Reinstein.  “My clients now require legal experts in all fields around the world, from traditional corporate work to equity and debt arrangements as well as high-stakes IP litigation, and Reed Smith has the best a law firm has to offer.  Plus, I get to work with such a business-savvy and dynamic group led by Steve and Gregor Pryor, co-chair in London.”

Client Jennifer Ortega, Senior Vice President & Deputy General Counsel at Viacom Media Networks, commented, “Leif has been our outside right-hand man for our network programming for years.  We highly value his fast, business-driven counsel and consider him a core member of our team.”

Reinstein has an established track record for negotiating and drafting successful U.S. and overseas television license and distribution agreements, co-production and investment deals, the myriad original programming agreements, and second-run SVOD and syndication deals.  He is an authority on entertainment finance, and prides himself on advising clients starting from creative inception and the financing stage, into content development and production, and then in how best to monetize programming and libraries to increase company value.

“As a Hollywood insider with a significant array of important relationships, Leif is a fantastic addition to our office,” said Cisca Mok, managing partner of Reed Smith’s Century City office. “Beyond the excellent legal services that he and our entertainment and media team provide, our clients will certainly benefit from Leif’s ability to create connections with other leading industry players.”

Reinstein received his J.D. from Duke University School of Law and a B.S., summa cum laude, from Duke University, where he was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa.  He is board member of the Brave Trails charity, a leadership camp for LGBTQ youth, and has been an active volunteer with The Trevor Project, a national not-for-profit that works with and supports LGBTQ youth by providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services.  He is also a dual citizen of the United States and Finland, has lived on four continents, and is fluent in Spanish.

Reed Smith’s film and television practice has been recognized as an industry leader for the past quarter century.  Our global film and television team comprises more than 50 entertainment and media lawyers worldwide, including those located in Los Angeles/Century City, London, New York, Munich, Shanghai, Hong Kong and the UAE.  The team advises clients on all aspects of project and asset financing, and development, production and distribution of films and television programs.  We act for financiers, motion picture and television studios, production companies, distributors, sales agencies, broadcasters, television networks, cable networks, over-the-top platforms, talent and other content creators, owners and exploiters.  On the film side, one measure of the primary position we hold is that our film financing agreements are used as precedents across the industry.  We advise financiers, studios, independent film producers, distributors, state-funded bodies and completion guarantors.  These clients come to us for their most complex international financings and productions, and for transaction after transaction.  We also have a highly regarded team of film specialists in our London office that provides a dimension to our practice that few firms can match.  On the television side, we are known for representing both public service and commercial broadcasters, plus a wide array of linear networks, cable channels, video on demand exhibitors and other small-screen content creators.  We also counsel and strategize for major and mini-major studios, production and distribution companies, financiers, and industry bodies across all areas of their business.  Some of our entertainment and media clients include NBC Universal, HBO, Sony Television, MTV, Paramount Pictures Corp., BBC and BBC Worldwide, Lionsgate Entertainment, Dreamworks Animation and Discovery.

About Reed Smith

Reed Smith is a global relationship law firm with more than 1,800 lawyers in 26 offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Founded in 1877, the firm represents leading international businesses, from Fortune 100 corporations to mid-market and emerging enterprises. Its lawyers provide litigation and other dispute-resolution services in multi-jurisdictional and other high-stakes matters; deliver regulatory counsel; and execute the full range of strategic domestic and cross-border transactions. Reed Smith is a preeminent advisor to industries including financial services, life sciences, health care, advertising, entertainment and media, shipping and transport, energy and natural resources, real estate, manufacturing, technology, and education. For more information, visit reedsmith.com.