Elsa Ramo

Entertainment attorney Elsa Ramo began her law firm on the Universal Studios backlot 17 years ago with the entrepreneurial ambition to usher projects from start to finish.

"There's always a different problem to solve," said Ramo, managing partner of Ramo Law PC. "You can't take anything about the business for granted. Stagnation is bad."

Her boutique law firm has grown to 18 full-time attorneys in Beverly Hills and New York City, with a packaging and sales department that produces and distributes movies, TV shows, and digital content. Her clients are producers, financiers, and production entities.

Ramo and her colleagues represent Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment, Kevin Hart's HartBeat Productions and Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine..

"What we do is very interesting. Otherwise, we wouldn't be doing it," she said.

Ramo's filmography boasts over 400 credits, including legal services for the musical film "tick, tick... BOOM!" and documentaries about Lucille Ball and Julia Child.

Her recent executive producer projects include "Joyland," a Pakistan-made film about sexual rebellion inside a patriarchal family, to premiere at the 75th Cannes Film Festival in May 2022.

Ramo said she gravitates toward independent projects that are sometimes difficult to finance and underserved by traditional film studios.

Similarly, Ramo hopes to promote greater diversity and inclusivity in the entertainment law field. In addition to her charitable support of organizations like Women in Media and Women Creating Change, she founded the Professional Entertainment Female Attorneys organization to bring together women in entertainment law for education and mentorship. Initially a networking group, PEFA now has more than 200 members and received 501(c)(3) status this year to issue grants to recent law school graduates as they pursue careers in entertainment law. The first grants will be awarded this summer.

- JenniferMcEntee