Roman M. Silberfeld

Intellectual property and business litigation

Silberfeld may have spent part of the past year as lead counsel in a price-fixing lawsuit involving major chocolate candy manufacturers, but it was his first foray into the entertainment industry that proved to be the sweetest thing about 2010 for the managing partner. Silberfeld won a $269 million jury award for Celador International, the production company that sold the U.S. rights to the massively popular game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." The company, which sold the rights to the show to the Walt Disney Co. in 1999 for a mix of upfront payments and back end compensation, claimed that Disney cut sweetheart licensing deals with its television subsidiaries, shortchanging Celador out of potential profits. The award, which Disney is expected to appeal, was the largest entertainment industry verdict of the year. It followed a month-long federal court trial in Riverside that Silberfeld oversaw and argued before the jury.