+Welcome To Raskin Peter

RPRS & ATAS Team Up to Give Intern Experience of a Lifetime

Jody Simon says Play Ball

Gary S. Raskin is This Season's Must Watch

Jody Simon Client Seeks American Inventor

Barbara M. Rubin Negotiates with the Biggest Loser

Jody Simon Gets into The Thick of It”

RPRS Hosts a Tell All

Arnold Peter Sits Down to Tea

Barbara M. Rubin Covers her Assets

Barbara M. Rubin Analyzes for E-Women Network

Arnold Peter To Address Labor and Employment Law Symposium

RPRS Co-Hosts Vintage Tasting

INTRODUCTION

When Gary S.Raskin, Arnold Peter, Barbara M. Rubin and Jody Simon decided to form Raskin Peter Rubin & Simon LLP, they had a specific goal in mind. The founding partners had known each other for many years and worked together on various industry projects. The most unique aspect of their individual backgrounds was that they all had significant practical experience as business executives in major entertainment companies. They decided to build the firm on their collective background as entertainment industry experts who are sought out by clients as much for their business acumen as for their legal expertise.

With deep experience in complex entertainment litigation in Federal and State courts on both coasts, and with significant experience in transactional matters, Gary Raskin represents a variety of businesses in the entertainment and new media industries. His primary focus is on motion picture development and finance.

Arnold Peter, prior to serving as the Chair of the Entertainment & Media Practice at the international law firm of Lord Bissell & Brook LLP, was Director of Labor Relations and Vice President of Legal and Business Affairs for Universal Studios. He is also the former Chair of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the California State Bar. Mr. Peter currently represents a variety of entertainment industry clients in litigation and transactional matters including in television and cable, new media, location-based entertainment, hospitality, real estate and franchising.

Barbara M. Rubin is the former Head of Business and Legal Affairs for the A&E Network (West Coast), Rysher Entertainment and Spelling Television. She has worked in the business and legal affairs departments of major cable and broadcast networks and studios. Ms. Rubin brings a considerable amount of practical expertise to service a broad slate of her clients, including several major production companies, writers, producers, directors and prominent actors in film and television.

Jody Simon is a former business affairs executive at NBC and has worked in every aspect of the entertainment business. His current practice includes overall representation of production companies, networks and executive producers in all aspects of development, production and distribution, including in the area of music. Mr. Simon handles licensing and sponsorship matters for major educational and nonprofit organizations and for corporate clients in the video game and auto industries among others.

Quickly after the launch of the new firm, the entertainment community discovered that the unique appeal of the new firm and practice was that the partners bridged the gap between being lawyers and serving their clients as strategic business advisors. The distinctive identity of Raskin Peter Rubin & Simon is based on the reputation of the partners as industry insiders.

Mr. Raskin is a leading authority on the business of the entertainment industry, having served as Co-Chair of the annual Entertainment Law Issue of Los Angeles Lawyer. Mr. Simon and Ms. Rubin both have served as members of the Board of Governors and Executive Committee of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS). Mr. Simon is currently Chair of the ATAS Runaway Production Committee and serves on Governor Schwarznegger’s Entertainment Industry Advisory Council. Ms. Rubin currently Co-Chairs the ATAS Next Act Committee, serves on the USC Entertainment Law and Business Institute Planning Committee and teaches “Making the Writer’s Deal” at UCLA. Mr. Peter currently serves as outside general counsel to the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) and previously was General Counsel to the National Sports Marketing Network. He also will continue to lead the Association of Entertainment and Media Counsel which last year inaugurated the Media and Entertainment Counsel of the Year Awards, with presentations to the general counsel of Sony Pictures Entertainment and Commissioner of the Arena Football League.

Through a key strategic partnership with the Global Entertainment and Media Practices of Korn Ferry International and PricewaterhouseCoopers, Raskin Peter Rubin & Simon will continue to publish Media and Entertainment Insights, a leading newsletter covering business and legal issues and distributed quarterly to more than 10,000 executives in the entertainment industry.

We formed RPRS in part to become the kind of law firm we each hoped to be working for. Our focus is on quality of the services we provide for our clients and a healthy work/life balance. While we believe in training and mentoring law clerks and interns, we typically only hire attorneys who have had a few years of experience to hone their craft in the real world. Many of our support staff aspire to become law students and we are pleased to provide a valuable opportunity for them to work in a law firm environment.

The firm will focus primarily on entertainment law on behalf of production companies and distributors, financial entities, corporations seeking sponsorship deals, new media firms, trade associations and individual talent. In addition, Raskin Peter Rubin & Simon will be involved in other areas including real estate, labor and employment and general business practice.