Dessler, P.C. is a law firm focusing on entertainment and media, new technology, the arts, and on related corporate and intellectual property matters. We deliver effective legal counsel, strategic guidance, and sound business judgment to clients globally.

Our work routinely includes matters at the intersection of intellectual property rights and new technology, and we regularly advise clients on issues relating to the ongoing convergence of technology and content, including new technologies for distributing and monetizing assets.

We blend a small firm practice with deep industry experience to provide clients with an invaluable insider's perspective, credibility at the negotiating table, practical solutions, and a small firm's 24/7 attention to each client's goals, needs, and priorities.

The firm represents companies and individuals, established and emerging, including, for example: recording artists, songwriters, DJs, producers, and other entertainers and creative talent; personal managers; promoters of live events; the “major” recorded music companies; music publishers; cable television networks; software developers and publishers; filmmakers; and galleries.  Our clients range from global corporations and other established businesses, to small, entrepreneurial startups, to investors. We also often serve as outside general counsel for many of our clients.

What Sets Us Apart?

Getting the Deal Done – and Getting It Done Right

The best negotiating and legal skills don’t mean much if the deal doesn’t get done, and done right – in terms of achieving your goals and protecting your interests. That’s why we successfully focus on getting our client’s deals done, and getting them done right.

Doing so requires more than legal knowledge and negotiating skills. We also bring to the table a command of the deal-making process and of the latest industry deal points and industry practice; an ability to manage the big picture while mastering the deal’s details and nuances; practical, commercial solutions to roadblocks; and a drive to get the deal done, and done right for each client.

We've Been There Before

Although each situation is unique, it’s very likely that we've closed a deal or resolved a problem that’s the same, or very similar, to what you need done. In the past 20+ years we have structured, negotiated, and closed hundreds of deals. Along the way we have also helped resolve hundreds of crises and business challenges, including contract breaches, financial disputes, talent refusing to promote a new release, and a client’s licensee going bankrupt. Whatever the nature of the deal, crisis, or challenge, we leverage our experience to deliver the right legal and commercial outcome.

Success on Both Sides of the Table

We have closed hundreds of deals from both sides of the table, for instance representing major record labels, production companies, and cable television networks, as well as recording artists, screenwriters, composers, and copyright holders. Doing so has given us a deep understanding of the expectations, strengths, needs, and legal objectives of the parties on both sides of the table and a comprehensive understanding of standard industry deal terms and of customary industry practices, a reservoir of long standing relationships and credibility with key industry players, and a strong insight into how to reach common ground.

Practical Business-Oriented Advice

In many or most deals, legal advice offers only a partial answer to what must be done – it’s almost always also a business decision. Our work therefore blends a deep understanding of industry practices with a commercial perspective and practical business-oriented advice, with the goal of adding value by helping each client understand the business implications of their choices, balance the deal’s benefits against its legal implications and risks, capture the maximum benefits from contract terms, and achieve the full value of their entertainment and other assets.

Find out more about Derek Dessler.