Ronald J. Nessim

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

Name partner Ron Nessim is a top trial attorney in each of his three main litigation practice areas: commercial civil litigation; media & entertainment litigation; and white collar criminal defense. With over 40 years of experience, Mr. Nessim has been lead counsel in over fifty federal and state trials and arbitrations, including several groundbreaking cases. He has also argued numerous appeals, including in the United States Supreme Court. The recording of his oral argument before the Supreme Court can be heard at https://www.oyez.org/cases/1999/98-1037. Mr. Nessim’s strengths include his attention to detail, tenacity, devotion to his clients, strategic planning and trial skills. In addition to his litigation practice, Mr. Nessim recently became an arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

In Mr. Nessim’s general commercial civil litigation practice, he represents clients in breach of contract, partnership, real estate, employment and business tort cases in a variety of industries and settings. He has long been recognized as a top commercial civil litigation and real estate litigation by Best Lawyers in America® and other publications.

In the entertainment area, Mr. Nessim usually represents talent, but sometimes represents independent studios. Mr. Nessim was honored in 2024 as a “Legal Legend” by The Hollywood Reporter, which noted his “enduring impact on both the entertainment industry and the law.” He has also long been ranked as a leading entertainment litigator in Chambers USA, Best Lawyers in America®, and other publications.

In the criminal arena, Mr. Nessim was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Major Frauds Section of the United States Attorneys’ Office in Los Angeles prior to joining Bird Marella. Over his career, Mr. Nessim has persuaded many prosecutors not to charge individuals and entities whom they had originally planned to charge. Mr. Nessim was selected as the 2015 Criminal Defense: White Collar “Lawyer of the Year” for the Los Angeles area by Best Lawyers in America® and is regularly ranked as a top criminal defense attorney by several publications. Mr. Nessim is a past co-chair of the National ABA White Collar Crime Committee.

Utilizing his civil and criminal defense experience, Mr. Nessim often represents clients facing parallel civil and criminal proceedings.

Board of Directors, Constitutional Rights Foundation, 2020-present

Media & Entertainment Industry:

“Profit Participation Claims,” Entertainment Law & Litigation, Chapter 7, LexisNexis, (Author, 2017-18 and 2019-21 editions; Co-Author, 2023-24 edition)

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. 33 (2021)

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

White Collar including Health Care Fraud Defense:

Co-Author, “Recent Trials: Kilpatrick, Newman, and Nosal,” American Bar Association’s National Institute on White Collar Crime, March 2014

Author, “Taking the Fifth,” California Lawyer, November 2013

Co-Author, “Major Fraud Cases of 2012: Blagojevich, Edwards, and Gupta,” American Bar Association’s National Institute on White Collar Crime, March 2013

Former Assistant United States Attorney