Master Class: Filmmaker's Legal Toolkit: From Protecting IP Through Negotiating Distribution with Janis Nelson, Cory Field, Victoria Cook, Michael Donaldson, Chris Perez, and Raymond Tambe

Janis Nelson is General Counsel of Sundance Institute. Prior to joining Sundance Institute, Janis worked for more than 30 years as an entertainment attorney representing, among others, producers, directors, screenwriters, authors, financiers, studios, production companies and distributors in the motion picture and television industries, as well as in theatre and publishing.

Corey Field is the founder of the Los Angeles based boutique law firm Corey Field Law Group, P.C. offering a broad range of entertainment, media, copyright, and trademark legal services. The firm’s clients include a broad range of companies and individuals, from billion dollar international corporations to individual creative artists in film, television, music, publishing advertising, social media, and sports. Prior to becoming an attorney, Corey was an executive in the international music publishing industry and he also holds advanced degrees in music composition. He has served as a President of the Copyright Society of the USA, an Adjunct Professor teaching entertainment and music law at USC Gould School of Law, and is the author of the leading entertainment law textbook and guide “Entertainment Law: Fundamentals and Practice” used in law schools nationwide and soon to be translated into Chinese. Among his firm’s clients are The Sundance Institute and Sundance Film Festival for whom his firm serves as Outside Counsel.

Victoria S. Cook is a partner at Frankfurt Kurnit and a member of the Entertainment Group. She focuses on motion picture and television work, representing award-winning filmmakers, writers, directors, actors, television producers, film financiers, and television networks.

She is immersed in both the independent and Hollywood worlds, and her clients often work in all aspects of the entertainment business -- from major studio films to cutting-edge political documentaries. Crain’s New York Business included her on their 2022 Notable Women in Law list. She is recognized by Variety in its 2021 Dealmakers Impact Report. She was recently recognized by Variety in its 2020 Legal Impact Report and it’s 2020 New York Women’s Impact Report. She appeared in Variety’s 2019 Dealmakers Elite NY Issue and it’s 2019 Legal Impact Report as one of the country’s top 50 “game changing” entertainment lawyers. Crain’s New York Business named her a NYC “Leading Woman Lawyer,” and the New York Law Journal included her in its inaugural “Top Women in the Law” list. She has been named a “Super Lawyer” for the New York area by Super Lawyers magazine and a top lawyer in entertainment law by Best Lawyers. She also was recognized in the 2020 edition of The Legal 500 for her expertise in entertainment law matters, and in the 2013 edition of The Legal 500 for her expertise in copyright law matters. She received the “Women Who Dared” award by The National Council of Jewish Women in 2017.

Ms. Cook is also a frequent public speaker who lectures regularly on film and television finance and production at film schools, law schools, and producer conferences, including NYU/TISCH, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania Law School, the Independent Feature Project, and the Producers Guild of America. She has appeared on numerous panels at all the major film festivals and markets, including Cannes and Sundance. She is a regular mentor at the Sundance Institute Creative Producing Conference as well as the Sundance Institute Catalyst Conference for film investors. She has moderated the State of the Union panel at the Sundance Summit for the last several years and in 2013 was one of the keynote speakers. Ms. Cook is a founding board member of the Jewish Story Partners film foundation and a member of the Advisory Board for the Hamptons Film Festival.

Outside of her law career, Ms. Cook has worn many hats in the industry. She co-produced Screwed, a feature-length documentary about New York pornographer Al Goldstein, co-founded the New York Underground Film Festival, worked at CourtTV, and was the head of domestic sales at Cinetic Media. Ms. Cook is a graduate of Columbia University (BA, 1991), Tisch School of the Arts (MA Cinema Studies, 1995) and University of Pennsylvania (JD, cum laude, 1998). She is admitted to practice in New York.

Michael Donaldson founded Donaldson & Callif with Lisa Callif in 2008. The firm focuses on independent films, specializing in fair use opinions and other clearance issues in scripted and documentary films. In 2007, Donaldson negotiated with insurance companies to provide errors and omissions policies to cover material used pursuant to fair use. Beginning in 2009, Donaldson successfully argued to the Copyright Office at the Triennial DMCA Exemption Hearing that documentary filmmakers be exempted from criminal portions of DMCA, relating to ripping DVD’s, Blue-Ray and streaming services to obtain material to be used pursuant to fair use.

Partner, Donaldson Callif Perez

Chris specializes in all aspects of the firm’s practice, including representing independent producers and production companies through development, financing, production, rights clearance and distribution. He has helped hundreds of productions secure the E&O insurance necessary to distribute their films and has established himself as an advocate for artists’ rights. In addition to representing filmmakers, Chris serves as counsel to writers, podcast producers, radio personalities, museums and foundations.

Chris regularly lectures on production, distribution, financing, and clearance issues at various law schools and producing programs around the world and regularly contributes op-ed pieces for publications including the Daily Journal, LA Lawyer and Realscreen. Chris is also co-author of the 5th Edition of Clearance & Copyright, the industry’s leading book on rights clearances in film and television. He is often asked to provide expert authority on to entertainment law, copyright, artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge legal issues by various podcasts and publications, including The Hollywood Reporter, Variety and Forbes.

Chris has also been a leader on several of the firm’s advocacy projects since 2008, including the landmark Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) exemptions secured for filmmakers, for which he was recognized as one of California Lawyer’s “Attorneys of the Year.” He has been recognized for several other prestigious awards by Variety, California Lawyer and U.S. News.

Chris graduated from the University of Michigan, where he produced, directed, and wrote several student films. He earned his JD at the USC Gould School of Law, where he remains actively engaged with the Latino Law Students Association.

Prior to working with Donaldson Callif Perez, Chris worked for California Lawyers for the Arts, Technicolor, and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School.

Chris serves as a board member for the International Documentary Association and on the Advisory Board for the Generative AI Initiative of the Archival Producers Alliance.

Chris lives in Los Angeles with his wife Maria, his two children Emery and Jack, and their dog Bill Paxton.

Raymond Tambe is an attorney in Ziffren Brittenham LLP’s film and television group. Raymond represents actors, writers, directors, producers, production companies, distributors and financiers in all phases of motion picture and television financing, development, production, licensing/acquisition, promotion and distribution. Raymond’s practice also includes helping clients navigate the quickly evolving landscapes of branded and digital content. Prior to joining Ziffren Brittenham, Raymond was an associate at Cohen Gardner LLP.

Raymond was born in Austin, TX and raised in Plano, TX. He studied Marketing, Sociology, and Business Administration at the University of Texas at Austin and graduated with honors before studying law at Stanford Law School with a focus on entertainment and intellectual property.

Raymond currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Funto.

Patty West is a producer and educator based in California. She led the Directing Workshop for Women and the Thesis Program at the American Film Institute prior to joining the Sundance Institute. She came to Sundance Collab in December of 2019 and now serves as its Director. 

West is a Chicago native and holds a B.S. from Northwestern University, an M.F.A. from the AFI Conservatory and an Executive M.B.A. from Quantic School of Business & Technology. She is a member of the Producer's Council of the Producers Guild of America.