Sheppard Mullin Expands Entertainment Partner Line-Up
Sheppard Mullin is pleased to announce that Leif Cervantes de Reinstein has joined the firm’s Entertainment and Digital Media practice group as a partner in Century City. Cervantes de Reinstein was most recently a partner at Reed Smith, where he was head of the global television practice.
“Our multidisciplinary entertainment practice represents some of the industry’s most successful and innovative companies,” said Jon Newby, Sheppard Mullin’s Vice Chairman. “We continue to attract some of the best legal talent in the country and Leif is the latest great addition, following on Sid Fohrman who joined us in March.”
Commenting on Cervantes de Reinstein joining the firm, practice group leader Robb Klein said, “We’re thrilled to welcome Leif to the team. His in-house and scripted television experience brings an outstanding and complementary skill set to the firm. In addition, some of Leif’s current clients are long-standing Sheppard Mullin clients, so there will be immediate synergy and opportunities to work together.”
Focused on the institutional side of the industry, Cervantes de Reinstein has deep experience representing studios, exhibitors, and financiers in all stages of television and streamed programming. Among his clients are Viacom Media Networks, Participant Media, BBC, MGM-EPIX, Pearl Studio in China and Fremantle, where he ran the scripted TV business affairs unit. He also acts as an outside strategist to advertisers, content libraries, publishing companies and foreign investors in U.S. media. His recent projects include The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and Central Park Five at Netflix; Yellowstone for Paramount Network, The Rookie on ABC, and America to Me on Starz. Cervantes de Reinstein received his J.D. from Duke University School of Law and a B.A., summa cum laude, from Duke University, where he was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He has been an active volunteer with The Trevor Project, a national not-for-profit that works with and supports LGBTQ youth by providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services. He is also a dual citizen of the United States and Finland, has lived on four continents, and is fluent in Spanish.
“Sheppard Mullin is a great professional – and personal – fit for me; I’ve known and had dealings with my new colleagues for most of my career and, in a way, I feel like I’m coming home,” said Cervantes de Reinstein. “The Entertainment and Digital Media group’s deep experience in every segment of the industry - from corporate and finance, to IP, tech, litigation and film - means I can now service all of my clients’ needs. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
The firm’s Century City office opened in 2001 has currently has 84 attorneys serving a variety of local and national clients. The firm’s multidisciplinary Entertainment and Digital Media practice has 60 attorneys and is consistently recognized among the top practices in the world. Legal 500 U.S. ranked the entertainment practice in the top tier and has recognized the firm’s advertising and technology practices as among the best in the country. In addition, Chambers USA, Lawdragon, the National Law Journal, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Interactive Age, and other national and international publications and organizations have recognized the group and its individual members as leading lawyers in their fields.