KAUFMAN ABDEL-AAL - Key Persons
Larry Verbit is of counsel to the firm and a principal of The Law Offices of Larry Verbit. He has over twenty-five years of combined corporate management and legal experience in the entertainment and media business. His legal skills have been recognized by his peers as he has been named a Super Lawyer in entertainment law in 2016. Larry Verbit was previously an attorney with the firm Heenan Blaikie and its successor firms, Berkowitz Black & Zolke and Berkowitz & Black. The firm was affiliated with Heenan Blaikie, Canada, which is one of Canada's largest law firms. Mr. Verbit has… read more
Larry Verbit is of counsel to the firm and a principal of The Law Offices of Larry Verbit. He has over twenty-five years of combined corporate management and legal experience in the entertainment and media business.
His legal skills have been recognized by his peers as he has been named a Super Lawyer in entertainment law in 2016.
Larry Verbit was previously an attorney with the firm Heenan Blaikie and its successor firms, Berkowitz Black & Zolke and Berkowitz & Black. The firm was affiliated with Heenan Blaikie, Canada, which is one of Canada's largest law firms. Mr. Verbit has worked on numerous movies and television series shot throughout Canada and is familiar with and has relationships with many of the Guilds north of the border. He has expertise as production counsel on more than 50 television series, specials, presentations and films. He also worked on numerous transactions involving talent and acquisitions related to radio networks and content libraries for Premiere Radio Networks, Jacor Communications and their subsequent acquirer, Clear Channel Communications.
Larry Verbit's legal career began in the contracts administration department at Paramount's Domestic Television division where he reviewed and analyzed contracts for many of Paramount's syndicated television programs, including Cheers and Star Trek, among others. He moved on to publicly held Westwood One, Inc., a NASDAQ listed company, serving as the number two lawyer for the publicly held corporation, where he advised the vertically integrated media corporation on everything from talent agreements to construction, leases, FCC matters, labor relations, and programming and distribution activities. While at Westwood One, he was involved in its expansion into radio station ownership and worked as part of a team with the company's investment bankers and outside counsel in both the acquisition and divestiture of various radio and publishing properties. He also served as the corporation's representative and was instrumental in the establishment of RADIO MAXIMUM, the first Americanized commercial radio station in the Soviet Union, a joint venture including Harris Corporation, StoryFirst Entertainment and Moscow News.
Subsequent to his tenure at Westwood One, he served as General Counsel for Landmark Entertainment Group, a diverse, privately held entertainment company involved in theme park and attraction design and development, live theatre, animated television programming, merchandising, program distribution and various other activities throughout the world. Landmark maintained an active merchandising division which involved monitoring licensee product development and production agreements and the oversight of quality control issues. During his tenure at Landmark, he was involved in the sale of 50% of the company to Saudi Prince Awaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz, one of the world's leading investors.
LarryVerbit has written articles published in several law reviews and other publications including Broadcast Law Reporter and Entertainment Law and Finance. He received the prestigious Ladas Award given by the United States Trademark Association for his article on Moral Rights. He is a former chairman of Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association and currently serves as an Advisory Committee Member of The Donald E. Biederman Entertainment and Media Law Institute, and as a Trustee of the Los Angeles Copyright Society.
Madonna Benson specializes in corporate and entertainment law. During law school, she was the president of the Media Law Forum, a research assistant to Professor Michael Epstein, and an intern for One, LLP, The Law Offices of Larry Verbit, and Kaufman Entertainment Law Group. After graduating from law school, she worked as an attorney with Kaufman Entertainment Law Group and subsequently, Kaufman Abdel-Aal LLP.
Ms. Benson received her Juris Doctor from Southwestern Law School in which she completed the two year accelerated SCALE program. She received her B.A. from the University of California at Los Angeles (U.C.L.A) with a degree in linguistics.
Job Titles:
- Entertainment Lawyer and Partner
Peter Kaufman is an entertainment lawyer and partner at Kaufman Abdel-Aal LLP. He specializes in finance, production and distribution of film, television, music, publishing, digital and internet-based matters. His practice includes the representation of international and domestic distributors, financiers, content libraries, sales agents, producers, directors, writers and actors.
Mr. Kaufman serves on the arbitration panels for the Independent Film and Television Alliance ("IFTA") and the American Arbitration Association. He is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the Producers Guild of America, and Film Independent. Mr. Kaufman is also a former chair of the Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law Section of the Los Angeles County Bar Association.
He received an "AV Preeminent" rating from Martindale-Hubbell, a "Superb" rating from Avvo, and Thomson Reuters named him a "Super Lawyer" in 2017 and 2018. These are the highest awards these organizations accord to lawyers.
Mr. Kaufman previously served as General Counsel and Vice-President of Business Affairs for ComedyWorld.com; as Vice-President of Business and Legal Affairs for Film Roman; and as Director of Business and Legal Affairs for the independent production and distribution company, LIVE Entertainment Inc. through its transition to Artisan Entertainment Inc. (subsequently acquired by Lions Gate Entertainment).
Mr. Kaufman has written about entertainment law for "Los Angeles Lawyer Magazine" and blogs at dealfatigue.com. He was a contributor to "The Complete Film Production Handbook", 4 th Ed., and the co‑editor of two syllabi on entertainment law. He previously served on IFTA's drafting committee overseeing one of the revisions to the Model International Licensing Agreement.
Peter Kaufman is an entertainment lawyer and partner at Kaufman Abdel-Aal LLP. He specializes in finance, production and distribution of film, television, music, publishing, digital and internet-based matters. His practice includes the representation of international and domestic distributors, financiers, content libraries, sales agents, producers, directors, writers and actors. Mr. Kaufman serves on the arbitration panels for the Independent Film and Television Alliance ("IFTA") and the American Arbitration Association. He is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the Producers Guild of America, and Film Independent. Mr. Kaufman is also a former chair of the Intellectual Property and… read more
Job Titles:
- Partner at Kaufman Abdel - Aal LLP
Yasmine O. Abdel-Aal is a partner at Kaufman Abdel-Aal LLP focusing on trademark, copyright, internet, and transactional entertainment law.
She has been named one of the American Bar Association's "On the Rise- Top 40 Young Lawyers" (2016). Yasmine has also been selected to the California Super Lawyers Rising Stars lists (2015-2018), and was awarded the "Outstanding Young Alumni" award by Whittier Law School (2013).
Previously, Yasmine was principal of Markah Legal, General Counsel for the Doha Film Institute, In-House Legal Counsel for Qatar Foundation, Adjunct Professor of Law at Whittier Law School, and Associate at Fulwider Patton in Los Angeles.
Yasmine currently serves on the board of the New Horizon School Irvine Educational Foundation, and previously served on the boards of the New Horizon School Irvine, Whittier Law School Alumni Association, and the Los Angeles Intellectual Property Inns of Court.
She received her Juris Doctorate from Whittier Law School with a Certificate in Intellectual Property Law, and her Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences with a minor in Management from the University of California, Irvine. Yasmine speaks Arabic and Spanish.