Ramela Ohanian

Ramela Ohanian is a partner in the Entertainment, Technology and Advertising Practice Group in the firm’s Century City office.

Areas of Practice

Recognized by The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, Ramela represents studios, media companies, tech companies, producers, streamers, podcast companies, and networks on a variety of transactional matters related to television (scripted and unscripted), digital media, short-form content, podcasts, and films (theatrical, SVOD, etc.). Her 6-year practice at Sheppard Mullin focuses on the development and production of projects in the United States and international projects, including the handling of major first look and overall agreements, rights acquisitions, and talent agreements.

She frequently negotiates agreements on behalf of Amazon Studios (including personal favorites Modern Love and Brittany Runs A Marathon), Wondery, Meta, and Nickelodeon Animation Studios, and also works with Focus Features (Voyagers), Gunpowder & Sky (69: The Saga of Danny Hernandez), Hemisphere Media Group, and more. Ramela has served as production counsel, and she has also facilitated the localization of multiple productions outside of the United States, such as in Germany, Italy, and Colombia.

Ramela frequently speaks on panels and is an active participant in multiple organizations. Ramela also authored the article “The Right To Do It For The ‘Gram’”, published by the American Bar Association’s Landslide magazine. And, she co-authored the article “Some Press is Bad Press: False Light in the Modeling Industry”, published by the Beverly Hills Bar Association’s Global Fashion Lawyer magazine.

Ramela has also been on the other side of the business, as in-house counsel at AwesomenessTV, a media and entertainment company, where she served as the Lead Production Attorney for the Awestruck programming division. In addition, Ramela managed agreements across multiple platforms, including YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, along with influencer marketing deals with brands, agencies and talent. Her work also focused on content acquisition, on-camera talent services and multi-channel network agreements, and company marketing campaigns, including contests and sweepstakes.

Ramela received her law degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles where she focused her studies on entertainment and was an active member of the Entertainment and Sports Law Society. During law school, Ramela interned for Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal LaViolette Feldman Schenkman & Goodman, LLP, Starz Entertainment, and Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP.

Honors

Women's Impact Report, Variety, 2024

Top 40 Under 40, Daily Journal, 2024

Top Women of Influence: Attorneys, Los Angeles Business Journal, 2024

Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Best Lawyers, 2024-2025

500 X – The Next Generation, Lawdragon, 2024

Southern California Rising Star, Super Lawyers, 2024

Variety’s Dealmakers of 2023: Hollywood’s Dealmakers Kept Industry on Course in a Turbulent Year, 2023

Top Entertainment Attorney, Variety's Legal Impact Report, 2023

Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Best Lawyers, 2023

500 X – The Next Generation, Lawdragon, 2023

Southern California Rising Star, Super Lawyers, 2023

Southern California Rising Star, Super Lawyers, 2022

Variety’s Dealmakers Impact Report: Tough Times Take Tough Negotiators, 2022

Next Gen 2021: The Hollywood Reporter’s 35 Rising Executives 35 and Under, 2021

Top Entertainment Attorney, Variety's Up Next, 2021

Articles

Speaking Engagements

• Panelist, “ALSA Professional Panel,” Loyola Law School, Armenian Law Students Association, 2024
• Panelist, “The Podcasting Gold Rush: Current Legal Issues Facing the Industry,” Beverly Hills Bar Association, 2023
• Speaker, “Speed Networking Event” – UCLA Entertainment Law Association, 2023
• Moderator, “How to Shape an Authentic Practice” – Sheppard Mullin, Women Lawyers Group Retreat, 2023
• Moderator, “The Inside Scoop: The In-House Counsel Experience with Guidance from Outside Counsel” – The Armenian Bar Association, 2023
• Panelist – Loyola Law School Entertainment Law Review Alumni Panel, 2022
• Co-Chair, “Hollywood and the Guilds” Panel – The Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel (AMEC), 2022
• Panelist – “Digital Media & The Law” – Loyola Law School Entertainment & Sports Law Society, 2022
• Judge – UCLA Law School Cybersecurity Moot Court Competition, 2022
• Panelist – Loyola Law School Entertainment Law Review Alumni Panel, 2021
• Co-Presenter, “Production Legal 101” – Portland Film Festival, 2021
• Co-Chair, “IP Issues in User-Generated Content” Panel – The Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel (AMEC), 2021
• Judge – UCLA Law School Cybersecurity Moot Court Competition, 2021
• Moderator, “Making Reality TV A Reality: Overcoming Legal Issues in Development & Production” Panel – AMEC, 2019
• Co-Presenter, “Endorsement Negotiations and Crisis Management” – The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), 2019

Memberships

Member of the 2024 Emerging Leaders Board of the Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel (AMEC)

Member of the Women Lawyers Group’s National Leadership Council (Sheppard Mullin)

Member of the 2023 Emerging Leaders Board of AMEC

Executive Committee Member of the Armenian Women’s Bar Association, (2022 – Present)

Chair of the 2022 Emerging Leaders Board of AMEC

Member of the 2021 Emerging Leaders Board of AMEC