THE ROTH LAW FIRM - Key Persons
Brian Levenson practices copyright and entertainment law in addition to civil litigation. Brian began his career in the Business and Legal Affairs department at Universal Music Group where he concentrated in digital rights and international licensing. In 2007, Brian left Universal to become General Counsel of Murder Inc. Records and its roster of platinum and gold artists. As General Counsel, Brian drafted and negotiated transactions covering the company's recording, production, management, endorsement, television and music publishing interests.
Prior to joining The Roth Law Firm, Brian was a partner at Schwartz, Ponterio & Levenson, PLLC, a preeminent boutique copyright litigation firm in New York. He has represented the estates of legendary composers in copyright litigations against big-tech companies. Brian continues to represent numerous record labels, artists, and music publishers in copyright and royalty litigations, as well as copyright termination matters.
Brian is admitted to practice before the Courts of the State of New York, the United States District Courts for Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. He has also been admitted pro hac vice in various other federal courts across the country. Brian is a graduate of Rutgers Business School (B.S. 2002) and Cardozo School of Law (J.D., 2005).
A 1986 graduate Magna Cum Laude from New York Law School, where he was a member of the Law Review and the Media Law Clinic, Mr. Zucker began his career as a litigator in New York City alongside Mr. Roth. In 1989, he moved to Los Angeles. After successful stints at ABC Television and Paramount Pictures as an executive in their respective Business & Legal Affairs departments, he joined Warner Bros. Television ("WBTV") in 2000, where he spent the next 22 years. In 2005 he was named the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Warner Bros. Television, and in 2019 he was elevated to Executive Vice President for the entire Warner Bros. Television Group. Throughout this tenure Mr. Zucker was responsible for addressing the myriad of legal issues faced by the worlds' largest and most prolific television studio, which regularly produced programming for more outlets than any studio in the world. During this time, Mr. Zucker was closely involved in the Legal and Business Affairs for such prominent shows as Friends, The West Wing, Gilmore Girls, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, The Flight Attendant, Ted Lasso and countless others. Mr. Zucker was responsible for handling numerous high-profile matters of first impression, such as the cast renegotiations for Friends and The West Wing as well as handling Charlie Sheen's highly public meltdown and subsequent firing from Two and a Half Men, where he was responsible for the strategy that resolved the matter quickly with minor legal costs and a single deposition by Mr.
Sheen's legal team - his own. Mr. Zucker also worked on many of the studio's unscripted "reality" shows, including the launch of the genre-defining The Bachelor and its numerous progenies and the launch of "The Voice". In all, Mr. Zucker has addressed all legal issues attendant to the development, production and distribution of thousands of hours of programming.
Because of WBTV's leading role as an unaffiliated independent producer that serviced all outlets, Mr. Zucker also had the singularly unique opportunity to negotiate and draft cutting edge license agreements with then-emerging SVOD services, including Netflix, Amazon and Apple, as well as with a wide variety of Cable and Broadcast networks. Mr. Zucker was also an instrumental player in navigating the studio through the 2007 WGA strike, as well as the complicated process of ensuring the continuation of production through the 2020 pandemic, when WBTV was one of the first major studios to safely recommence production. In addition, Mr. Zucker oversaw the overhaul and implementation of an updated "participation" definition for WB that addressed the rapidly emerging technologies redefining the industry, successfully negotiating this highly complex document with all of the major talent agencies and boutique law firms in Hollywood. In October 2022, Mr. Zucker retired from WB. As Of Counsel to The Roth Law Firm, he acts as its west coast office, specializing in providing services for virtually any and all types of entertainment transactions as well as all manner of contractual and employment disputes arising in the course of the acquisition, development, production and licensing of programming.
Job Titles:
- of Counsel
- Member of the American Bar Association 's Litigation Section
Michael D. Steger focuses on intellectual property, entertainment, litigation, and corporate and other business matters. Whether in business transactions, litigation and other disputes, or counseling behind the scenes, Mr. Steger strives to provide value and cost-effective services to the individuals, companies and other entities that he serves.
Mr. Steger's intellectual property practice includes trademark registration and prosecution, copyright registration, trade secrets and other intellectual property litigation, and counseling on corporate branding. He regularly handles copyright litigation matters involving the infringement of copyrights in the fashion and entertainment industries. In 2010, he was named "Best Intellectual Property Attorney for Growing Businesses" by New York Enterprise Report magazine. Mr. Steger has acted as the sole trial lawyer in several jury and non-jury trials, as well as arbitrations. In recent years, he has tried cases on copyright, breach of contract, fraud and insurance issues in federal and state court.
Mr. Steger's entertainment practice focuses on film, television, internet and music projects, and he represents producers, artists, writers, directors and production companies. Among other matters, he has handled film, television and online financing, production, distribution and syndication agreements.
Mr. Steger's corporate and business experience includes forming and dissolving corporations, limited liability companies and partnerships, as well as contract drafting and review, drafting buy-sell and other shareholder agreements, and handling investment transactions.
From 2000-2005, Mr. Steger was in-house counsel for STF Productions, Inc., the producer of Fox's "America's Most Wanted" and the syndicated "Final Justice," where he also handled business and legal affairs for other Fox entities. In these roles, his portfolio included handling entertainment, media, intellectual property, internet, litigation and employment matters for the programs, as well as union issues and other business negotiations.
From 1993 to 2000, Mr. Steger practiced law in Los Angeles, California, concentrating on litigation in state and federal court. He handled all aspects of litigation for clients ranging from individuals and partnerships to Fortune 500 companies. Mr. Steger was responsible for a wide range of commercial litigation matters, including entertainment, intellectual property, employment, bankruptcy, real estate, business and construction disputes.
Mr. Steger is a member of the American Bar Association's Litigation Section (Co-Chair Copyright Litigation Subcommittee 2014-present; Co-Chair Regional CLE Subcommittee 2010-2014), General Practice/Solo Section (Vice Chair, Intellectual Property Committee), Communications Law Forum and Entertainment and Sports Law Forum; and the New York City Bar, where he has been a member of the Copyright and Literary Property Committee and the Trademarks and Unfair Competition Committee. He is a member of the New York, California, Virginia and District of Columbia Bars.
Mr. Steger received his J.D., M.A. and B.A. from the University of Virginia.
Job Titles:
- Founding Partner
- Member of the Litigation and Entertainment Committees of the American Bar Association
Founder and partner Richard A. Roth is highly regarded by his colleagues, adversaries, judges, arbitrators and peers for his strong litigation experience, aggressive nature and innovative "out of the box" thinking. Earning a long string of successes on both a national and international level, Mr. Roth has represented and continues to represent a myriad of clients, from FORTUNE 100 publicly held corporations to small privately held businesses, C.E.O.'s and industry magnates. He also represents celebrities, nationally recognized artists, singers, actors, songwriters and Hall of Fame and all-star athletes, directors, producers and professional sports organizations.
He is featured in all media and is regularly on television commenting on civil and criminal trial and legal issues of national significance, particularly in the entertainment/sports and securities areas. He has also been asked to comment on various celebrities who experience legal troubles and was featured on a recent series Celebrity Damage Control, which was comprised of 27 episodes of celebrities who have come back from legal difficulties including Mike Tyson, Wesley Snipes, Mickey Rourke, Ray Lewis, Vanessa Williams and many others. His television appearances include CNBC, FOX News, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, CBS, MSNBC, TruTV, CNN, Bloomberg Television, Huff Live, I-24, The Blaze and several local televisions stations. In the print media, Mr. Roth is regularly quoted in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, the New York Post, the New York Daily News and other local, national and international newspapers and magazines. At least five of his cases were featured on the front page of those newspapers.
Throughout his career, Mr. Roth has been honored with numerous awards for his aggressive, powerful and successful litigation results and trial skills. Commencing in 2011 to date, he has been repeatedly selected as a "SuperLawyer" and was awarded the coveted "Most Versatile Attorney" award in the nation from Lawline. He has also won the "Top Attorneys in the New York Metropolitan Area" award annually. He and the firm also have the distinguished honor of being ranked first in the nation in bestattorneysonline.com for ‘Entertainment Litigation" and "Securities Litigation. He was also recently honored to have been named to the Furthered40, a recognition of the top 40 attorneys in the nation who dedicate their time, energy, and knowledge to further education among their peers and the public at large. Each of the nominees had a passion for teaching and have been described as "proven innovators in their methods of delivering educational content." His firm has also been recognized as a "Go To" Top 500 Law Firms in the nation.
Mr. Roth has litigated several hundred cases in his career, which includes both jury and non-jury trials in state and federal court and appeals from Anchorage to Miami. He is admitted to practice before the Courts of the State of New York, the United States District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of New York, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the Eleventh Circuit of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. He has also been admitted pro hac vice in various other state and federal courts and has arbitrated securities disputes across the country.
He also practices daily before numerous arbitration and mediation tribunals, including the American Arbitration Association ("AAA"), JAMS, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA") and has tried hundreds of hearings before the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. and the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. throughout the country. He serves as an arbitrator before FINRA. Mr. Roth travels across the country representing various entities and individuals, including public companies, in defending large commercial and securities litigations. His clients have ranged from large broker-dealers, clearing and custodial firms, and investment and financial institutions, to start-up ventures, investment bankers, venture capital institutions, closely held corporations and individuals.
Mr. Roth is a member of the Litigation and Entertainment Committees of the American Bar Association, a member of the Litigation and Legislation Committees of the New York State Bar Association and the New York County and a member of the Small Firm Committee of the New York City Bar Associations. Mr. Roth has also published articles on various aspects of litigation and has been quoted in magazines, periodicals, trade journals, and daily newspapers. Certain of his results have received regional prominence and have been cited and discussed in legal journals. He has also served as a judge at various law school moot court competitions and high school debate tournaments at Fordham, Princeton, Yale, Harvard, and Columbia Universities.
Mr. Roth received his B.A. degree, cum laude, from Union College in Schenectady, N.Y. and his J.D. degree from Hofstra University School of Law , where he graduated near the top of his class. While at Hofstra Law, Mr. Roth was selected to the prestigious Hofstra law Review where he served as Associate Editor of the Hofstra Law Review and published "The Essence of the Agent Orange Litigation: The Government Contract Defense."
Mr. Roth's prior experience includes working for the Office of the United States Attorney General, interning for a Judge of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and working for law firms both large and small. After graduating law school, Mr. Roth began his career at an internationally recognized law firm which, at the time, had over 1,000 attorneys. After that large firm experience, he went to a small, boutique litigation firm that specialized in entertainment litigation and sophisticated commercial/securities litigation. Thereafter, Mr. Roth joined Gordon Hurwitz Butowsky Weitzen Shalov & Wein P.C., a one hundred person law firm whose litigation department concentrated on comprehensive securities, entertainment, and commercial litigation. Upon leaving that firm in 1993, he formed Littman Krooks & Roth P.C., a small full service law firm. As head of the litigation department, Mr. Roth continued his innovative style and proceeded to develop a strong following among the corporate, financial and entertainment communities. He formed The Roth Law Firm in March 2003.
Stacie Handwerker runs The Firm's real estate practice. Stacie graduated from the State University of New York at Albany in 1989 with Dean's List Honors and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and English.
While in college, she also attended the Polytechnic Institute of North London. She received her J.D. degree in 1992 from Hofstra University School of Law. She was admitted in 1993 to the New York State Bar. While in law school she received the honor of being chosen and serving as a Notes and Comments Editor of The Hofstra Property Law Journal.
Stacie has extensive experience in all aspects of residential real estate transactions from contract negotiation to closing and financing. From 1998 to 2006, Stacie worked as a Vice President of Private Mortgage Banking at The New York Mortgage Company LLC where she was actively engaged in the mortgage banking business. Over the years, Stacie also has represented several lenders as their closing counsel. These lenders include Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Bank of America, N.A. for residential lending and Entertainment Financial for commercial lending.
Stacie's work has included representing purchasers and sellers of residential property in the five boroughs of New York City, Long Island and Westchester counties. The properties include single and multifamily homes, cooperatives and condominiums, for both existing and new construction. She also has worked with many foreign nationals and high profile clients, including celebrities and athletes.
Her reputation in the legal community and her extensive list of contacts enables her to serve her clients well, in making sure that their needs are met and that their transaction is handled efficiently. Stacie understands the importance of client service. Though working within a law firm; she has a "mom and pop" mentality. This assures her clients that they are receiving attention, responsiveness and thoroughness.
Today's legal advice must be well-rounded and consider all factors that affect the real estate purchaser and seller. She combines extensive legal and banking experience to provide her clients with the advantage of an attorney capable of understanding more than just the legal implications of a transaction. Clients are represented by a lawyer who understands the real world challenges and pragmatic decisions facing today's purchasers and sellers.
Her areas of specialty include:
Purchase and Sale of Real Estate
Due Diligence and Contract Negotiation
Financing
Condominiums & Cooperatives - both existing structures and new construction
Matters Related to Escrow, Title Insurance, Brokers and Other Real Estate Professionals