Robert F. Levine graduated from Cornell University (B.S., 1960) and Harvard Law School (L.B., cum laude, 1963) and spent a year as a Knox Fellow at the London School of Economics.

Mr. Levine’s practice spans over 35 years, and he has represented clients in virtually all major areas of the media/entertainment industry. He has particular expertise in the publishing industry, where he acts both as an attorney and a literary agent for many celebrated authors and provides strategic counseling on the development, purchase and sale of literary and magazine properties. He also negotiates employment agreements for prominent media figures, many of whom have been clients of the firm for more than a decade.

Mr. Levine possesses an in-depth expertise in the film and television industry and produced the motion picture That Championship Season, based upon the Pulitzer Prize-winning play.

His practice is characterized by a humanistic approach to business and professional relationships.

• Named “New York Super Lawyer” in Entertainment and Sports, Intellectual Property, by “Law and Politics” (2010)
• Highest “AV” Professional Rating, Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory
• SAN MIGUEL WRITERS CONFERENCE (2013): Bob will lead a workshop entitled THE EBOOK REVOLUTION AND HOW E-PUBLISHING AFFECTS YOU which will focus on the ebook revolution and the rise of self-publishing as a viable alternative to traditional publishing.

Loren H. Plotkin graduated from Harpur College (A.B., 1963) and St. Johns University (J.D., 1966), where he served as the Notes and Comments Editor of the St. Johns Law Review.

Mr. Plotkin clerked in the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, First Department. He pursued specialized training in tax law at New York University, School of Law, Graduate Division, and also received a certificate in film production from New York University. He has been practicing law for over 30 years. He primarily represents individuals and entities involved in the arts, principally legitimate theater, photography/visual arts and fashion/modeling.

Mr. Plotkin’s expertise enables him to service the full range of a client’s legal and business needs and to counsel on matters of professional and personal development.

News and Articles

• Listed in “Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business,” in Media & Entertainment: Theatre, (2012)
• Named “New York Super Lawyer” in Entertainment and Sports, Intellectual Property, by “Law and Politics” (2011)
• Subject of an article in Super Lawyers magazine, September, 2010, “Let’s Put on a Show”
• Highest “AV” Professional Rating, Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory
• Named in Media and Entertainment Section, “The Legal 500,” United States, directory of leading law firms and lawyers (2009)
• Listed in Marquis’ “Who’s Who in America” and “Who’s Who in American Law”

Conrad M. Rippy has practiced entertainment law since 1995, and has been a partner of the firm since 2000. Although his practice encompasses a number of the principal entertainment industries, Mr. Rippy concentrates in the areas of book publishing, particularly for young readers, and Broadway and off-Broadway theater. He also works extensively in the music industry, in film and television as his clients’ projects develop across media platforms, and in media- and fashion-related executive employment transitions.

Mr. Rippy graduated from Brown University (A.B., magna cum laude, 1986) and the University of Virginia School of Law (J.D., 1992), where he served as Notes Editor of the Virginia Law Review. After graduation, Mr. Rippy clerked for Hon. John D. Butzner, Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Mr. Rippy’s clients include authors and illustrators working in picture books, middle grade and young adult fiction; composers, lyricists, and bookwriters in theater; both established and developing popular recording artists; film and television score composers; publishing and fashion executives; and theater producers.

Susan Mindell joined the firm in 2000 and has been a partner of the firm since 2008. Ms. Mindell practices in all areas of general entertainment law. She specializes in theater, advising clients on complex issues ranging from rights acquisitions to development and production on a world-wide basis. She has served as production counsel on numerous Broadway and Off-Broadway shows. Ms. Mindell advises commercial producers, major investors and regional theaters in their development of plays and musicals. Ms. Mindell was Executive Producer of the Tony nominated play Next Fall.

In addition to theater, Ms. Mindell represents a variety of senior executives, talent and authors in connection with their employment and intellectual property arrangements in television, film, publishing and new media. Ms. Mindell has significant legal experience in the labor and employment realm.

Ms. Mindell has lectured at Commercial Theatre Institute and served on other professional panels on the subject of entertainment, theater and employment. She has also been named in The Legal 500 Media and Entertainment Section.

Ms. Mindell graduated from Emory University (B.A., 1985) and Brooklyn Law School (J.D., 1995). She is a member of the Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law section of the New York State Bar Association. Ms. Mindell worked extensively in the arts and entertainment fields prior to practicing law and has served on the Board of Directors of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

Kim G. Schefler joined the firm in 2001 and became a partner in January 2009. She represents clients in the media and entertainment industry, with special expertise in the areas of literary publishing, licensing and celebrity endorsements, and executive employment.

In Ms. Schefler’s literary practice, she represents authors, literary agents, publishing executives, independent publishing companies and others in the publishing industry. Her counsel involves all aspects of the development and exploitation of literary properties across the media spectrum, including various aspects of digital and new media. She also negotiates employment agreements for many senior publishing and other media executives and advises literary agents in their own professional relationships and transitions within the literary agenting world.

Ms. Schefler’s licensing practice focuses on counseling prominent designers and other creative individuals in the fashion industry on general business and legal matters with an emphasis on the negotiation of licensing agreements, and on protecting and maximizing the value of intellectual property and the celebrity persona.

Ms. Schefler graduated from Barnard College (B.A. 1979, cum laude) and Georgetown University Law Center (J.D., 1982). She is a member of the Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law section of the New York State Bar Association, and has previous experience in media, sports and general corporate law. Immediately prior to joining the firm, Ms. Schefler took some time off from the practice of law to do non-profit work in support of autism and autism education.

Cris Criswell is a senior associate at Levine Plotkin & Menin, LLP. Prior to joining the firm in 2004, Cris worked for several years as a talent agent representing film and television actors. He currently practices in all aspects of general entertainment law, with an emphasis on high end theatrical ventures. Cris advises producers of Broadway and off-Broadway shows, providing legal services on theatrical projects from their inception through their actual runs. Cris has worked as production counsel on recent Broadway shows such as The Addams Family; In The Heights; Promises, Promises and Driving Miss Daisy. In addition, Cris represents playwrights, composers, lyricists, musicians, comic book creators, theatrical merchandising companies and even an actor or two. Cris also negotiates and drafts licensing agreements, employment agreements and film option agreements. When not practicing law, Cris is an avid entertainment junkie, ingesting copious amounts of television, film, theater and copies of Entertainment Weekly.

Cris grew up in one house in a small Oklahoma town and received his B.A., cum laude, from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas and received his J.D., with highest honors, from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. He has lived in New York since the day after he graduated back in 1995.

A graduate of Duke University (A.B., cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) with Honors for her senior thesis in Art History, Hailey Ferber completed her legal studies at the Northeastern University School of Law (J.D.). While at Duke, Hailey interned with four different Broadway production companies and subsequently, while in law school, completed internships in the recording and cable television industries. A member of the NUSL Law Journal, Hailey’s coursework focus was in intellectual property and entertainment law. Hailey is a member of the Entertainment Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association. Hailey joined the firm in 2012 with a practice specializing in theater law.

Dan represents clients across all of the firm’s practice areas, including book publishing, new media and legitimate theatre. Prior to joining the firm in 2013, Dan was an associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, focusing on middle market private equity deals and entertainment-related transactions. Before becoming a lawyer, Dan worked in theatrical general management and helped to develop, launch and manage a variety of Broadway, Off-Broadway and international stage projects.

Dan received his J.D., magna cum laude, from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where he served as the Managing Editor of the Cardozo Law Review, and holds a B.A. in Musical Theatre from the University of Northern Colorado. He has published papers on contract theory and dispute resolution in the Cardozo Law Review and the American Journal of Mediation.

dwatkins@lpmny.com

Geoffrey D. Menin graduated from Yale College (B.A., summa cum laude, 1974) and Harvard Law School (J.D., 1977) and has been practicing law for over 20 years.

Mr. Menin represents individual artists, entrepreneurs in the new media areas, prominent writers and independent producers in music and film/television, top models and business owners in the modeling and fashion industries, and high profile executives in transitions into and out of management positions across a range of industries. He has special expertise in the development and production of international multimedia projects.

As an accomplished performer of rock, jazz, and classical music, Mr. Menin brings to his practice the ability to understand the creative artist and to guide the development of the artist’s professional activities.

Stuart W. Goldstein graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School (B.S. in Economics, 1975), Villanova University School of Law (J.D., 1978) and New York University School of Law (LL.M. in Taxation, 1982).

Mr. Goldstein concentrates his practice in the areas of taxation, estate planning, administration of trusts and estates, planning and structuring commercial transactions for individuals, partnerships, limited liability companies and corporations, and handling the purchase, sale and leasing of real estate.

Mr. Goldstein is admitted to practice law in New York and Florida. His clients include closely-held corporations and high net worth individuals. Mr. Goldstein has published several articles on taxation.

Elizabeth Dambriunas started her lengthy in-house counsel career in 1985 at Warner Bros. Inc., handling worldwide business and legal affairs for Warner Bros. Consumer Products, primarily licensing the Looney Tunes characters and the DC Comics franchise properties, most notably the “Batman” motion pictures. She left Warner Bros. in 1994 to join the Viacom family at Paramount Pictures, as Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs of the studio’s Licensing Group, handling the “Star Trek” property, while also negotiating deals for the “Cheers” restaurant and pub in London, and the “Bubba Gump Shrimp Company” restaurants, based on the Oscar winning film “Forrest Gump.” In 1997 she relocated to New York to join Viacom’s MTV Networks division and became Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Nickelodeon and MTV’s global ancillary businesses. While at Viacom, Elizabeth handled master toy deals, master interactive software deals, theme park, hotel, and cruise ship licensing deals, and home video and digital media distribution deals for all of Nickelodeon’s successful television and motion picture properties, from “Blues Clues” to “Spongebob Squarepants” to “Dora the Explorer.” She left Viacom in June 2010 to start her own transactional practice and pursue some of her other interests, such as teaching. She currently teaches the Entertainment and Media Law Jobtrack seminar at New York Law School and also serves as the Faculty Tutor for student internships within the Entertainment and Intellectual Property fields. Her clients include production companies, publishers, licensing agencies, and IP owners.

Elizabeth is a graduate of the University of Toledo (BA in English Literature, 1982, cum laude) and New York Law School (JD 1985).