Ruth Fisher

As co-chair of Gibson Dunn's media, entertainment and technology group, Fisher helped steer Madison Square Garden Co.'s $23.5 million acquisition of the once marquee but now faded Forum in Inglewood this summer.

She and the firm's land use specialist, Amy R. Forbes, hammered out the deal for the East Coast-based company's ambitious first venture in the West: turning the sports and entertainment arena into a world-class concert venue to compete with Staples Center and LA Live.

It wasn't the biggest deal Fisher has done recently in terms of dollars, but its impact on the community may be considerable.

"The Forum is a historic building, and it was important for the City of Inglewood that it be renovated." Fisher said, "We wanted to make sure it could be effectively renovated with the support of the city."

While Forbes navigated the hurdles and roadblocks they say Inglewood placed in their path, Fisher dealt with entertainment issues - how the Forum would operate and how MSG would transition the venue from its previous owner, the Faithful Central Bible Church. The church sometimes used the building for services and also leased it out for concerts and sporting events.

"As it turns out, the concerns were making sure the concerts already booked are adequately supported by the new owner," Fisher said. "By the end, it went very, very smoothly."

Fisher said she is working on a number of other deals that have yet to be made public, including representing a financier in a film project and a co-production cooperation agreement for a TV series. One common thread in her work is that companies whose primary business is outside of the entertainment industry often look to her as the inside expert, she said.

Still, it's become harder to get deals done recently.

"Deals are very fragile," she said. "They seem to take longer, and people are more hesitant to go forward for all sorts of reasons."

Market uncertainty related to the recession, concerns over where tax policy is headed and euro-zone concerns cast a cloud over valuation, financing and the IPO market.

Still, opportunities to do big acquisition or financing deals for or with Asian clients present a silver lining in the gloom.

"It takes everybody longer to have that familiarity and comfort in these transactions," and Asian clients don't feel at home with the public nature of business in America, Fisher said. "But there's continued interest on both sides."

- JEAN YUNG