Associate, Entertainment

Responsibilities

• drafting agreements
• negotiating transactions
• advising clients

Requirements

• Approximately 4–6 years of transactional legal experience

• Strong drafting

• Negotiation

• Analytical

• Organizational, and communication skills, and active California Bar membership in good standing

• Who We Are

• Manatt’s Entertainment team is a leading multidisciplinary practice advising the companies, financiers, investors, creators, talent, brands, and entrepreneurs shaping the future of entertainment and media. We are a collaborative, entrepreneurial team that believes exceptional lawyers are developed through meaningful responsibility, close mentorship, and exposure to sophisticated matters. Associates work closely with multiple partners, gaining broad experience across the legal, business, and strategic issues driving the industry. Our culture is supportive, team-oriented, and built around developing talented lawyers who demonstrate initiative, intellectual curiosity, sound judgment, and a commitment to long-term growth.

• The Opportunity

• This role offers the opportunity to work across a broad range of entertainment matters, including film and television deals, corporate and finance transactions, M&A, intellectual property, digital media, gaming, talent and creator representation, licensing, brand partnerships, and emerging business models. As associates demonstrate strong judgment, responsiveness, and excellence in their work, they earn increasing responsibility, client exposure, leadership opportunities, and a clear path to building a long-term career, trusted advisor relationships, and a thriving practice within the Firm.

What You’ll Do

• Draft, negotiate, and manage sophisticated entertainment, intellectual property, finance, and corporate agreements.
• Support financing, investment, M&A, production, licensing, distribution, and commercial transactions.
• Advise clients across film, television, digital media, gaming, immersive and live entertainment, technology, and emerging entertainment businesses.
• Work with multiple partners and clients on strategic legal and business matters.
• Have opportunities to shadow and learn directly from experienced partners, including through participation in client meetings, negotiations, and substantive discussions.
• Build practical legal judgment, commercial instincts, client relationships, and increasing matter responsibility.
• Collaborate across Manatt's multidisciplinary platform.

Representative areas of exposure include:

• Film and television financing, production, distribution, and co-productions.
• Independent studios, production companies, financiers, investors, and emerging entertainment businesses.
• Corporate structuring, M&A, joint ventures, and strategic investments.
• Talent, executive, producer, and creator-side transactions.
• Digital media, creator economy, gaming, interactive entertainment, and technology-driven businesses.
• Intellectual property acquisition, licensing, merchandising, commercialization, and brand partnerships.

Qualifications

• The ideal candidate will have:
• Approximately four to six years of relevant transactional legal experience, preferably in entertainment, media, technology, corporate, finance, or mergers and acquisitions.
• Prior experience at a large law firm is a plus.
• Prior in-house experience or experience working in another role within the entertainment industry is also valued.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to be responsive while effectively balancing multiple short- and long-term projects.
• Strong drafting, negotiation, analytical, and communication skills.
• Excellent business judgment and attention to detail.
• The confidence to exercise judgment and the humility to ask questions and continue learning.
• An entrepreneurial mindset and a genuine interest in developing long-term client relationships.
• A desire to contribute to business development efforts and, over time, cultivate your own book of business.
• The ambition to build a long-term career at Manatt with the goal of growing into a partner within the Firm.
• Experience working with guilds or on guild-related matters is a plus.
• Experience with MS Excel is preferred.
• Active California Bar membership in good standing.

Successful associates on our team share many of the following qualities:

• Intellectual curiosity and a genuine interest in learning new industries, business models, and areas of law.
• A proactive mindset, taking ownership, anticipating challenges, solving problems thoughtfully, and seeking opportunities to add value.
• The ability to manage multiple complex matters simultaneously while maintaining exceptional attention to detail and strong organizational skills.
• An eagerness to learn from a diverse group of accomplished partners, each offering unique pers