Stanton “Larry” Stein and Diana A. Sanders were selected for inclusion in Billboard‘s ‘2021 Top Music Lawyers’ list, which was published on April 05, 2021. This issue of Billboard recognizes the biggest names and most prominent legal minds in the world of music and entertainment law. Click here to view Billboard’s ‘2021 Top Music Lawyers’ List.
Stanton “Larry” Stein is a partner and the head of Russ August & Kabat’s Media & Entertainment group. Larry’s clients include actors, writers, directors, producers, musicians, high-net-worth individuals, entertainment guilds, talent agencies, personal and business management companies, independent production companies, and interactive gaming companies. Larry is widely known in the entertainment industry for his work taking on Hollywood studios. Throughout the last decades, Larry 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. Larry 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, Larry has also fought to establish copyright protection for formats in reality television, bringing the seminal lawsuit in that area of law.
Throughout his career, Larry has been recognized by leading legal, business, and entertainment industry publications and organizations for the successes he has achieved on behalf of his clients. He is ranked as a “Top Media and Entertainment Litigator” by Chambers USA, regularly recognized as a “Power Lawyer” by The Hollywood Reporter and recently recognized as a Legal Legend, named to Billboard’s “Top Music Lawyers” in 2020 and 2021, rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, and has been named a “Southern California Super Lawyer” from 2004-2009 and 2011-2021 by the publishers of Los Angeles Magazine. In 2019, Larry was recognized as a Southern California Top 100 Super Lawyer. The Daily Journal named Larry one of the “100 Most Influential Lawyers in California,” while the Los Angeles Business Journal profiled him in “Who’s Who in LA Law,” and California Lawyer featured him as a top-five “A-list Entertainment Lawyers.” Nationally, Larry has been recognized as a “Best Lawyer” by The Best Lawyers in America and in “Lawdragon 500: Leading Lawyers in America.” Larry 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.” For additional information, https://www.raklaw.com/attorney/stanton-larry-stein/.
Diana Sanders is a senior associate at Russ August & Kabat. She represents clients in the media and entertainment industry, including songwriters, producers, musical artists, actors, production companies, and other high-profile individuals and executives. A classically trained singer with a depth of understanding of music, Diana advises clients on diverse music-related matters ranging from transactions to litigation. Her practice also includes matters involving copyright, trademark, breach of contract, and defamation.
Diana is a proud member of the Recording Academy and is admitted to practice law in both California and New York.
In 2020 and 2021, Diana was recognized among Billboard’s Top Music Lawyers.’ And in 2020, Diana was included in Billboard’s ‘Women in Music Executives’ list. From 2018-2021, Diana has been chosen as a SuperLawyers ‘Rising Star’ by the publishers of Los Angeles Magazine. She was also selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch (2021 Edition) for Entertainment and Sports Law. For additional information, https://www.raklaw.com/attorney/diana-sanders/