Kendall K. Johnson

LOS ANGELES - As a partner focusing on entertainment and sports law at Latham & Watkins LLP, Kendall K. Johnson said she loves how two of her areas of legal expertise can converge in exciting new ways.

"I love that the industry is constantly changing and challenging us to break new ground," she said. "In particular, working at the intersection of sports and entertainment, I get the opportunity to draw on my crossover experience to come up with creative solutions to new problems by analogizing across the two industries."

With a broad transactional experience and sophisticated industry knowledge, Johnson regularly advises key stakeholders in the sports and entertainment business on issues including licensing and financing; broadcast and sponsorship rights; film and television content and other media-related assets. Johnson said she works hard to stay on top of an ever-changing industry.

"The rapid pace of change in the entertainment and sports industry requires us to stay abreast of many developments on a daily basis," she said. "For example, on the entertainment side, there's been a great deal of recent focus on M&A activity for companies involved in premium scripted content--involving both strategic investments and private capital--which is leading to significant investment in adjacent areas such as physical studio production locations, visual effects businesses and non-scripted production companies. On the sports side, we're seeing lots of activity around the changing landscape for name, image and likeness rights."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, much of her work revolved around helping her clients navigate the massive disruption to the sports and entertainment industry. Her efforts included guiding the NCAA and the International Olympic Committee on strategies to handle the pandemic's impact on two of the world's most-watched sporting events--the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship and the Summer Olympic Games.

Johnson said she particularly enjoys working with long-time client Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), which she has advised on numerous strategic transactions over the years, including leading the recent $8.45 billion acquisition of MGM by Amazon.

Her other entertainment deals include representing Spotify in various podcast and live audio content arrangements, including leading on the recent rollout of Greenroom, a mobile app that allows users to chat live in audio rooms. Johnson has also advised investors in the relaunch of Castle Rock Entertainment's film division, with a $175 million film fund announced in October 2021, and has advised Sony Pictures on its agreement for Sony's Funimation Global Group LLC to acquire AT&T Inc.'s Crunchyroll anime business for $1.175 billion, announced in December 2020.

In the sports arena, highlights for Johnson include advising Buzzer Media, a sports content app, on media rights deals with the NBA and NHL and working with the International Olympic Committee on matters relating to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and the 2020 summer Tokyo games' postponement to 2021 due to the pandemic. Johnson said one of the things she loves most about her job is the opportunity to work with inspirational people from different industries.

"I love working with smart and creative people who have a vision that I can help bring to fruition," she said.