Cozen lawyer builds entertainment-law practice

Justin Wineburgh likes to say he built his entertainment-law practice at Cozen O'Connor "one handshake at a time."

He diligently studied the trade press, tracked the movement of executives, had lunch and drinks with Hollywood power brokers, and over the years, learned the business.

But the tipping point came in 2003 and 2004, when he defended makers of the film The Ring in a Los Angeles lawsuit brought by another film company alleging it alone had the right to make the picture.

Wineburgh won that case, and that opened doors.

Spending 10 days a month in Los Angeles has led Wineburgh, 37, to contacts that now form the heart of his entertainment-law practice.

Wineburgh, a partner at Cozen, and his colleague, Lori Landew, represent writers, filmmakers, musicians, actors, and producers among other entertainment interests. Their clients include the Food Network, Biography Channel, and A&E.

His best-known deal to date was the acquisition of North American distribution rights by Rainbow Media, owner of IFC Films, for the heralded Barnes Foundation documentary The Art of the Steal, which won accolades at the Toronto film festival three weeks ago.

Wineburgh represented the director, Don Argott, and producer, Sheena Joyce.

Up to eight lawyers at the firm now work full time on entertainment law.

"There is no one in this town who does the movie and television work that we do, at least at our level," said Wineburgh, a graduate of Lafayette College and Widener University Law School.

That there would even be an entertainment-law practice in the Philadelphia region might seem a bit improbable. After all, most of the deals and action are in Hollywood and New York.

Location was deemed important to Ballard, Spahr, Andrews & Ingersoll L.L.P. when it sought to forge an entertainment-law practice with the opening of an office in Century City in Los Angeles. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius L.L.P. also represents some entertainment-industry clients in Los Angeles. And Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads L.L.P. in Philadelphia has a locally based entertainment practice.

More than anything, though, the practice is built on relationships. Once those are created, geography can be less important. Philadelphia also has its own indigenous cast of artists, writers, and musicians, and they need representation.

For years, Wineburgh's practice was a mix of entertainment law and more ordinary business litigation. The firm itself long had involvement with the movie business through its insurance practice; in 2001, it litigated a dispute between a movie producer and an insurer over profits from films including The Truman Show, Runaway Bride, and The General's Daughter.

But Wineburgh's effort to penetrate Hollywood represented something new for the firm.

It began with old school ties.

One of Wineburgh's close friends, JC Spinks, is a Hollywood producer. The two have known each other since they attended William Penn Charter School together.

Spinks had gone to Hollywood to become a screenwriter but quickly moved into the management end of the business, organizing a stable of writers involved in the production of the films The Hangover, Red Eye, A History of Violence, and others.

Wineburgh, of Huntingdon Valley, did much of the legal work for Spinks' company, deepening his knowledge of the industry and broadening his contacts.

Even with such contacts, though, getting a toehold is tricky.

If Wineburgh's path is in any way representative, robust business development seems to be in part serendipitous and does not necessarily emerge from a calculated strategy.

That certainly characterized the business that developed out of his friendship with Spinks. But it also played a role in his taking over as the lawyer for the group that made The Art of the Steal. Wineburgh first met the husband-and-wife team of Argott and Joyce on a panel at Temple University several years ago.

From that meeting, and ensuing contacts, he came to represent them, not only negotiating the deal, but also handling day-to-day legal work involved in the making of the film.

"I tell everyone when I lecture and teach that you have to be as good as you say you are," Wineburgh said. "You have to have the ability to deliver the product."