INDIVIDUAL - ENTERTAINMENT LAWYER OF THE YEAR IN NEW YORK, US Sotto Legal, LLC
Nicole Sotto, Esq. Founder & Principal Attorney Tel: +1 212 655 0554 nicole@sottolegal.com www.sottolegal.com
Nicole Sotto is the Principal Attorney at Sotto Legal, LLC, a progressive New York City based law firm focused on Entertainment, Media, Intellectual Property and Business law. Sotto Legal is an innovative leader in the entertainment and media industries, as well as an industry leader for creative entrepreneurs. The firm is at the forefront of the creative revolution, meeting the needs of visionaries, storytellers and tech-savvy entrepreneurs who create inspiring new content daily. It is renowned for its expertise in independent film and television, as well as social media advertising and marketing. Sotto Legal also provides a full range of legal services for traditional creatives – actors, writers, directors, visual artists, musicians, and fashion designers – stemming in large part from Nicole’s active involvement in the industry and specialized understanding of the challenges faced by performers. With over 20 years of experience in the entertainment business and community, it was the pull of precisely that industry that guided
Nicole’s path through law school and propelled her into a career focused on transactional and intellectual property work for creative clients. At Sotto Legal, Nicole works to build a personalized experience with each individual client and focuses on transparent communication while contract drafting, negotiating terms and advising on intellectual property. In response to the ever-growing development of new streaming services and the rise of influencers, Nicole represents both traditional artists and a new wave of creatives. Her practice embodies an understanding of the legal obstacles that independent film and television producers, social media influencers, and other creative entrepreneurs and online business owners face. As a result, she represents a diverse group of clients, covering all types of creatives from a Netflix indie film producer, to a Broadway musical producer, to a social media star or emerging beauty brand. As an attorney of Cuban descent who is fluent in Spanish, Nicole is especially sought after in the Latino creative community. This has led her legal practice to not only focus on the
protection of diverse clients by properly setting up their transactional and Intellectual Property needs, but also drawing in Latino artists and creative entrepreneurs, through a modern understanding of Latino culture and language that better serves and protects these clients in their artistic endeavors. Nicole remains an active member of both the SAG-AFTRA Foundation and the Professional Skaters Association. She also serves as a member of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and New York City Bar Association. In the wake of receiving both the MartindaleHubbell Client Champion Gold 2018 and Avvo Clients’ Choice Award 2018, Nicole continues to focus on the future of her firm’s position in the entertainment marketplace. She remains heavily involved in the entertainment community and is expanding her reach by way of her new podcast – a medium which allows listeners to get a sense of what it would be like to work with her, as well as why her firm is different than others in the marketplace.
INDIVIDUAL - IP LITIGATION LAWYER OF THE YEAR IN NEW YORK, US Alfred R. Fabricant Partner
Brown Rudnick LLP
Tel: +1.212.209.4800 afabricant@brownrudnick.com www.brownrudnick.com
Throw out the old paradigm. In fact, throw out the word paradigm – and anything else tired, trite, sluggish or slow. Powered by over 250 lawyers in key financial centers, including New York, London, Paris, Boston, California, and Washington, DC, Brown Rudnick is a law firm designed for speed and performance. Our advice is practical and business-driven – not abstract or opaque. And our progressive operating model takes collaboration to a new level – benefiting like-minded clients who want muscular, integrated service, timely delivered. From major corporate restructurings, class actions and cross-border mergers, to exotic asset-class securitizations and the front lines of global climate initiatives, we are committed to your business and passionate about results. Alfred Fabricant (Fred) brings more than 30 years of litigation experience to Brown Rudnick, where he heads the intellectual property litigation practice in the United States. Fred is an experienced first chair trial lawyer and focuses his practice on patent, copyright, trademark, unfair competition, entertainment, antitrust, and other commercial litigation matters.
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Global Awards 2019
Fred has first chair experience in district courts throughout the United States litigating patents including the most active courts in Delaware, E.D. Texas, California, Illinois and Florida. His cases have involved a large variety of technologies including digital audio and video watermarking, electronic ratings systems, consumer electronics, copy protection and anti-piracy technology, NFC and radio frequency identification systems, robotics and pneumatic systems, automated storage and retrieval systems, memory and storage devices, software, internet-related method and system patents, digital signal processing encoders and decoders, universal remote control devices, optical systems for cinematography lenses, methods and systems for the manufacture of flooring materials, and automotive parts. He has successfully handled dozens of high-stakes patent litigation cases and resolved disputes across the gamut of contentious IP issues including copyright and trademark infringement, trade secret and unfair competition disputes. According to The World’s Leading Patent Practitioners 2013 & 2014 published by iam 1000, “clients say they cannot imagine working with anyone better, hailing [Fabricant’s] outstanding skills of presentation and
persuasion in the courtroom.” Fred has also tried many arbitration matters and represented clients in mediations. He has represented clients in matters before the International Trade Commission and the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Fred has also argued numerous appeals before the US Courts of Appeal for the Federal, Second and Fourth Circuits where he has represented both appellants and appellees in a variety of matters, including patent, copyright, breach of contract, antitrust, entertainment, and First Amendment issues. In addition to his litigation experience, Fred routinely acts a legal counselor and advisor in the negotiation and drafting of patent, trademark and copyright license agreements, joint venture and funding agreements, partnership agreements and other business contracts. Fred also specializes in IP due diligence; freedom to operate analyses and the management and monetization of IP portfolios, a topic on which he has lectured extensively over the past decade. He advises clients on portfolio development, licensing strategies and other intellectual property protection.