Variety's 2017 Legal Impact Report
Stephen Fronk, Richard Petretti, Skip Stern, Matthew Thompson, and Russell Weiss
Sidley Austin
E-sports represents a small part of the quintet’s practice, but a big chunk of enthusiasm. Thompson says the emerging videogame team competition will blossom into a major sport. “What will happen is that e-sports, like other maturing industries, will have capital needs, intellectual-property issues, distribution, commercial arrangements, consolidation and M&A,” he says. Weiss says videogame publishers are profiting the most. “In order to unlock the potential revenue streams, we are going to have to see more collaboration among stakeholders” including team owners, players and tie-in sponsors, Weiss says. The Silicon Valley-based Fronk reps Amazon for content deals and Jason Kilar’s Vessel Group. Petretti worked for JP Morgan on its Content Media Corp., Legendary Pictures and Regency Entertainment lending, and City National Bank. Chicago-based Stern repped Bank of America for entertainment lending to Warner Bros. and Weinstein Co., plus private equity film-slate financier Lone Star Funds. Thompson advised private equity Alliance Holdings, Entertainment One investments in Amblin Partners and Renegade83, 44 Blue Prods. and its principals in a sale, and television producer Orion Entertainment. Weiss handles Daybreak Games on its TwitchCon e-sports competition, Deluxe Entertainment Services, the Los Angeles Olympic bid committee, and Siris Capital buying content-sharer Polycom.
Fronk: UC Berkeley Law, 1996
Petretti: NYU Law, 1980
Stern: Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, 1982
Thompson: UC Hastings College of Law, 1991
Weiss: Loyola Law School, 1994
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