Ronald J. Nessim

Entertainment Litigation, Profit Participation Cases, White Collar Criminal Defense, Complex Civil Litigation

Ron Nessim has been lead trial counsel in numerous civil and criminal trials and arbitrations. He has argued numerous appeals in both federal and state courts, including in the United States Supreme Court, and has been at the center of numerous precedent-setting, high-profile entertainment, commercial and white-collar criminal law cases. In the entertainment arena, Mr. Nessim often represents talent in disputes with major television studios. His current and past representations include SAG-AFTRA in connection with employment restraints in actor contracts, Eric Kripke (Supernatural), several of the participants in The Walking Dead series, Dick Wolf (Law & Order), Shonda Rhimes (Grey’s Anatomy), J.J. Abrams (Lost), and David Kohan and Max Mutchnick (Will & Grace).

Board of Directors, Constitutional Rights Foundation, 2020-present

Co-Author, “The Application Of Sales Comparison Affiliate Transaction Provisions To New, In-House Streaming Transactions Involving Historical Television Programs, And Their Impact On Profit Participants” 28 UCLA Ent. L. Rev. (2021)

Author, “Profit Participation Claims,” Entertainment Law & Litigation, Chapter 7, LexisNexis, 2017-2018

Co-Author, “Mandatory Arbitration Provisions in Talent-Studio Contracts and Proposed Areas for Improvement,” 22 UCLA Ent. L. Rev. 233 (2015)

Former Assistant United States Attorney