John Burke and Marissa Román Griffith Named to Variety’s “Legal Impact Report”

(Los Angeles) – P. John Burke and Marissa Román Griffith—respectively the head of, and a partner in, the entertainment and media practice at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP—are featured in the transactional lawyers section of Variety’s 2013 Legal Impact Report.

Variety describes the transactional lawyers on the list as those who represent “the hottest names, the biggest properties, the funniest web series, and the most popular video games, and probably the next big thing.”

In the article “Transactional Lawyers Negotiate the Deals That Make Showbiz Grow,” Burke and Griffith are singled out for their roles in several high-profile representations in the past year. Among the spotlighted engagements is their representation of Bank of America and J.P. Morgan on a credit facility that financed Content Partners’ acquisition of 50 percent of the CSI television franchise from Goldman Sachs. Variety also notes the counsel they offered Trinity Opportunities and Shikumen Capital Management in a $275 million mezzanine debt and equity arrangement with Village Roadshow that won the Private Equity Deal of the Year award at the 2013 IFLR Asia Awards—a matter that Burke described as “the most challenging deal last year.”

Burke’s practice focuses on media finance, with an emphasis on motion picture transactions. Griffith also concentrates on media finance as well as entertainment transactional matters. Some of their other recent work recognized in the report are their representation of Media Rights Capital in financing Ted and the Netflix series House of Cards; counsel to Comerica Bank and Union Bank on various revolving credit facilities providing more than $200 million of entertainment financing; and representation of financiers on multiple, single-project loans in excess of $450 million.

Both Burke and Griffith were named “Legal Eagles” in Variety’s 2012 “Dealmakers Impact Report,” which recognized attorneys who played a role in significant showbiz deals of the past year.

Founded in 1945, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, a leading international law firm, numbers more than 850 lawyers in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

# # #