Mark C. Holscher

LOS ANGELES - Mark C. Holscher is a Kirkland & Ellis LLP partner who represents companies and individuals in high-exposure commercial litigation and white collar criminal defense. He's been with the firm since 2007. He has obtained more than $1.4 billion in verdicts and settlements for his clients. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.

Earlier, he practiced at O'Melveny & Myers LLP and worked as an assistant U.S. attorney, notably as the prosecutor of Heidi Fleiss, the so-called Hollywood Madam.

Holscher is busy despite efforts to slow down. "I go in the office three days a week now for mentoring the younger lawyers and to maintain morale," he said. "In my home office, I have more time to think."

Among the cases he's pondered recently is his work for Toll Brothers Inc., the luxury homes builder, whose Porter Ranch Development Co. was the largest single plaintiff in the massive Aliso Canyon gas leak matter. Holscher cut a deal separate from the massive $2 billion settlement attorneys achieved for other plaintiffs; he declined to supply details. Toll Bros. Inc. v. Sempra Energy et al., BC674622 (Los Angeles Super. Ct., filed Sept. 1, 2017).

His show business work has expanded from representing individual clients to a current case involving the entertainment industry's inner workings. In 2010, he won a $53 million jury award for actor Don Johnson's complaints over ownership and pay for his performance in the 66-episode "Nash Bridges" franchise. Now he's in a fight worth billions over how studios release, showcase and market movies.

The mega-case involves Holscher's suit for client Village Roadshow Films Ltd., a longtime Warner Bros. cofinancing partner that has invested more than $2 billion in some 91 films, over claims protesting the studio's highly divisive move in 2021 to release its slate of movies simultaneously on a streaming service and in theatres. Holscher's complaint called it "the deliberate and consistent coordinated efforts of WB to eviscerate the significant value of village Roadshow's intellectual property in order to prop up the new HBO Max streaming service," which Warner Bros. owns.

That sabotaged the theatrical release of "The Matrix Resurrections" and served to drive subscribers to HBO Max, depriving Village Roadshow of its share of box office grosses, the complaint alleged. Village Roadshow Films (BVI) Ltd. et al. v. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., 22STCV04606 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Feb. 7, 2022).

The case has moved to arbitration. "I'm facing off with Dan Petrocelli of O'Melveny," Holscher said, emphasizing the magnitude of the case. "This is looking at industry standards for distribution, and this case has become the talk of the town. Participants get paid as a percent of box office, and the talent and the stars want to make a splash when movies open."

The case has significance beyond the box office. "WarnerMedia benefits by driving up the value of its subsidiary [HBO Max] just as it prepares to spin off and merge with Discovery, all while providing zero benefit to Village Roadshow, talent and other partners," the complaint alleges.

"We've been involved in many slate financing deals," Holscher said, referring to the way investors fund movie productions. "Most take place in a JAMS conference room and you never hear about them."

Holscher said his efforts to slow down a bit are aided by the younger partners he's brought along at his firm, including Diana M. Torres, David A. Klein, Saghar Esfandiarifard and Ashley E. Neglia. "I like to leave some of the plumbing to them these days," he said. "They really know their stuff."