Stanton (“Larry”) Stein is a partner and the head of Russ August & Kabat’s media & entertainment group. Mr. Stein’s clients include actors, writers, directors, producers, music artists, high-net-worth individuals, entertainment guilds, talent agencies, personal and business management companies, independent production companies, and video game companies.
Mr. Stein is widely known in the entertainment industry for his work taking on Hollywood studios. Throughout the last decades, Mr. Stein created legal theories for challenging the film and television accounting practices of vertically integrated studios and media conglomerates through litigation. He is literally the father of vertical integration accounting lawsuits. His efforts have changed the face of talent and rights holders’ contract negotiations with studios, networks, and their affiliated production companies, seeking to more evenly allocate revenue to profit participants, including actors, directors, writers, and producers.
Mr. Stein has brought countless lawsuits on behalf of his clients against companies that were self-dealing on licensing fees and a variety of other revenue streams. In addition to his groundbreaking litigation in the profit participation space, he has also fought to establish copyright protection for formats in reality television, bringing the seminal lawsuit in that area of law.
Mr. Stein also has a long history of bringing defamation, right of privacy, and right of publicity actions against publications and private individuals while dealing with the media and governmental agencies. He has secured dozens of confidential settlements and retractions.
Mr. Stein is a frequent author and lecturer in the field of entertainment law. He served as an adjunct Professor of Entertainment Law at USC Gould School of Law and Stanford Law School and has lectured at Yale Law School, Harvard Law School, and UC Berkeley School of Law.
Regularly called on by journalists and legal scholars for comment regarding legal issues facing the entertainment industry, he has been quoted in such publications as: The Hollywood Reporter, Buzzfeed News, Law360, IPWatchdog, USA Today, Los Angeles Daily Journal, Deadline, Variety, Billboard, and many more.
Throughout his career, Mr. Stein has been recognized by leading legal, business, and entertainment industry publications and organizations for the successes he has achieved on behalf of his clients.
Mr. Stein is ranked as a “Top Media and Entertainment Litigator” by Chambers USA, named a “Legal Legend” by The Hollywood Reporter, was honored in Variety’s 2023, 2024, and 2025 Legal Impact report and 2025 Music Legal Elite report, recognized as one of Billboard’s “Top Music Lawyers” since 2020, and has repeatedly been named a “Southern California Super Lawyer” since 2004. The Daily Journal named him one of the “100 Most Influential Lawyers in California” while the Los Angeles Business Journal profiled him in “Who’s Who in LA Law.” California Lawyer featured him as a top five “A-list Entertainment Lawyers” and Los Angeles Times‘ The Envelope Magazine named him a 2024 and 2025 “Business of Entertainment Visionary.” Nationally, he has been recognized as a “Best Lawyer” by The Best Lawyers in America and in “Lawdragon 500: Leading Lawyers in America.” Mr. Stein has received the “Entertainment Lawyer of the Year” awards from both the Beverly Hills and Century City Bar Associations, as well as the ACLU Foundation’s “Pro Bono Civil Liberties Award.”
Recent Matters
The following is just a sample of his ongoing and recently resolved matters:
- Mr. Stein represents Drake in several litigation matters, including the recently resolved trademark infringement claim brought against him by Condé Nast in connection with his parody cover of Vogue magazine and a series of other parodies he released ahead of Her Loss, his album with 21 Savage. Mr. Stein is also advising and defending Drake in numerous lawsuits filed against him in connection with his guest appearance at Travis Scott’s 2021 Astroworld concert. He defended Drake in an interference case regarding the documentary Black Ice and advised in connection with cases stemming from a shooting at the Muzik nightclub after the 2015 OVO Fest.
- Mr. Stein represents and provides ongoing advice to Simon Cowell and Syco Entertainment on a variety of matters related to his television program America’s Got Talent and new television formats currently in development. An AGT Live show in Las Vegas was successfully launched in late 2021.
- Mr. Stein represents Trancas International Films, the producers of the highly successful Halloween motion picture franchise, in connection with contractual and profit participation issues.
- Mr. Stein is representing Jeff Franklin, the creator of the classic sitcom Full House and Fuller House in litigation against his former co-executive producer for interference with his business relationship with Warner Brothers.
- Mr. Stein represents artist and musician Post Malone in various litigation and confidential matters.
- Mr. Stein is defending Laguna Beach plastic surgeon Dr. Arian Mowlavi in a civil case against social media personality Chalene Johnson related to statements by Johnson on various social media platforms. Johnson filed an anti-SLAPP motion that Larry defeated. The matter is on appeal.
- Mr. Stein represents the Trustees of The Carroll Hall Shelby Trust in a number of litigation matters, including a recently resolved a dispute against a trust beneficiary regarding asset valuation. He assists the Trustees with an array of matters that pertain to protecting Shelby intellectual property and continuing Mr. Shelby’s legacy.
- Mr. Stein represented Harry Shearer, Rob Reiner, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean, co-creators of the iconic “mockumentary” film This is Spinal Tap, in litigation against Vivendi and its subsidiaries Universal Music Group and StudioCanal. The case involved complicated copyright termination and accounting issues as well as cutting-edge legal issues regarding co-creators’ rights to terminate their copyright grants and regain ownership of their trademarks and other intellectual property rights.
- Mr. Stein represented music industry icon Scott (“Scooter”) Braun and his companies, including a high profile litigation case involving a former business venture with claims for, among others, breach of contract, fraud, and misappropriation of trade secrets.
- Mr. Stein advised artists Roddy Ricch, Smilez and Donis Winter in public and personal matters including real property and copyright infringement, respectively.
- On behalf of Todd Moscowitz, Mr. Stein filed a lawsuit against Theory Entertainment, LLC d/b/a 300 Entertainment for breach of contract and a judicial declaration regarding Moscowitz’s ownership of stock in the company he co-founded.
- Mr. Stein defended Little White Dog, Inc. and Cristina Ehrlich, a world-renowned stylist for some of Hollywood’s most recognized celebrities, in a civil action brought by a former employee.
- Mr. Stein successfully defended TV producer Brian Graden and his production company, Brian Graden Media, in a case brought by Rovier Carrington, a man claiming sexual misconduct and theft of ideas against Graden, the late Bray Grey, Paramount and Viacom. He helped establish that the allegations were supported by fabricated evidence, leading to the court’s dismissal of the action with prejudice and an award of attorneys’ fees and costs. Carrington was found to be a vexatious litigant and the U.S. Attorney successfully prosecuted him for perjury in the case.
- On behalf of famed plastic surgeon and television reality star Dr. Terry Dubrow, he filed a defamation action against Dr. Dubrow’s former patient’s lawyer for various false statements made in the press. Stein defeated the defendant’s anti- SLAPP motion and then their appeal.
- Mr. Stein represented comedian Iliza Shlesinger in a class action suit brought by men for allegedly being turned away from Shlesinger’s interactive Girls Night In show that occurred in LA in late 2017, in alleged violation of the Unruh Act.
Recent Matters
