Daniel M. Petrocelli

Los Angeles

Litigation, Trials, Entertainment & Media

Daniel M. Petrocelli chairs O'Melveny's trial practice group and, as his firm bio states, he represents clients in a wide variety of fields, including antitrust, business torts, insurance, securities, employment, entertainment, sports and media.

"I've tried my entire career to have a broad-based practice, and sometimes I bristle when I'm described as a Hollywood lawyer," Petrocelli said. Still, he is particularly known for representing major studios and other entertainment clients. Lately, those have included Disney, Warner Bros., NBC Universal and the singer-songwriter Kesha.

On the other hand, he also represented clients ensnared in the recent banking crisis. He advised an independent committee of First Republic Bank's board of directors regarding the bank's collapse and acquisition.

"That was an intensive experience," Petrocelli said. "The market conditions were changing not only by the day, but by the hour, as some of these regional institutions were experiencing runs on the bank. ... We were on Zooms with [the clients] for hours every single day to help them navigate through unchartered waters."

Early last year, he led a trial team that won a directed verdict in favor of a Chubb Insurance unit in two-decade-old litigation over environmental remediation between the insurer and a New York utility. Brooklyn Union Gas Co. v. Century Indemnity Co., 603405/2001 (N.Y. Suprm. Ct., refiled May 19, 2014).

Early this year, Petrocelli represented the CEO of the Baltimore Orioles to resolve litigation over ownership of the team and the mid-Atlantic Sports Network. He continues to work with the client on other business matters. Angelos v. Angelos, C-03-CV-22-002262 (Baltimore Cnty. Circ. Ct., filed June 9, 2022).

Still, many of his high-profile matters are for entertainment industry clients. For instance, he is representing Disney in its First Amendment lawsuit against Florida and the DeSantis administration to protect the company's land use and development rights. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S. Inc. v. DeSantis, 4:23-cv-00163 (N.D. Fla., filed April 26, 2023).

The company retained him again last month to defend a subsidiary in a dispute over film financing. TSG Entertainment Finance LLC v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., 23STCV19433 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed Aug. 15, 2023).

In the spring, he litigated two significant arbitrations back-to-back for Warner Bros. Discovery, he said.

He also has several trials coming up next year, including defending rap star Travis Scott in the first of many lawsuits filed by people claiming they were injured at The Astroworld Festival 2021.

Petrocelli is also representing Marvel in litigation over whether Spiderman co-creator Steve Ditko can recapture copyright to the web-slinger or whether the comics were works for hire. And he is representing NBC Universal in a potential retrial over profits from the "Columbo" mystery TV series.

"I have the pleasure and privilege of practicing at a law firm that has a long and rich history of representing clients in the entertainment and media industries, among, of course, many, many others," he said. "And it's made for a fascinating practice."

-- Don DeBenedictis