Marissa Román Griffith concentrates on media finance and other entertainment transactional matters.
Ms. Griffith represents domestic and international financial institutions, hedge funds, equity investors and high-net-worth individuals with respect to their film and television financing transactions. She also advises borrowers, distributors, studios and others involved in various aspects of the production, financing and distribution of film and television projects. She has counseled clients with respect to numerous types of transactions, including negative pick-ups, lines of credit, slate facilities, distribution agreements, domestic and foreign tax incentives and co-production arrangements in various countries throughout the world.
In 2009, Ms. Griffith led the team that won the 2009 “Media, Entertainment or Telecom Deal of the Year” award at the fourth annual M&A Advisor Middle-Market Financing Awards. The firm was recognized for its advisory role on Media Rights Capital’s $350 million credit facility.
Ms. Griffith received her A.B. in art history in 1990 from Princeton University and her J.D. in 1993 from Stanford Law School. She is a member of the California and District of Columbia Bars, the Beverly Hills Bar Association and Women in Film. She co-chaired the Entertainment Law Section of the Beverly Hills Bar Association from 2004 to 2006, served as secretary of that organization from 2003 to 2004 and was a member of its executive committee from 2002 through 2008. She is also a trustee of the Mexican American Bar Foundation and the Neighborhood Youth Association.
In 2004, 2006 and 2012, Ms. Griffith was named in a survey of her peers as a Southern California “Super Lawyer” in arts and entertainment. She also was selected for inclusion in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business (2005 through 2011 editions) as a leading California transactional attorney practicing in media and entertainment, in the Guide to the World’s Leading Technology, Media & Telecommunications Lawyers (2005 and 2008 editions) as a leading U.S. attorney practicing in media. She is included in the inaugural edition (2010) and the second edition (2012) of the Expert Guides—Guide to the World’s Leading Women in Business Law as a leading attorney practicing in media. Ms. Griffith is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America (2007 through 2012 editions) as a leading practitioner in entertainment law, in Expert Guides—The Best of the Best USA (2006 and 2008 editions) as a leading practitioner in technology, media & telecommunications and in the Expert Guide to the World’s Leading Media Lawyers (2010 and 2011 editions). Ms. Griffith is a finalist for the inaugural Euromoney Legal Media Group Americas Women in Business Law Awards in the category of “Best in media & entertainment.” The awards ceremony will take place on May 24, 2012.
Ms. Griffith is the leader of the Los Angeles office diversity committee, and she also sits on the firm’s diversity committee.
Ms. Griffith is a 1995 recipient of a Wiley M. Manuel Pro Bono Services Award conferred by the State Bar of California, and a 1997 recipient of a Champion for Children Award conferred by the Alliance for Children’s Rights.