NEW YORK, December 7, 2022 – Proskauer, a leading international law firm, is delighted to announce that partners Robert Freeman, Lauren Boglivi and Wai Choy have been named to Variety Magazine’s “2022 Dealmakers Impact Report,” which “recognizes entertainment and media players who know how to fight for their clients and their companies – and generate growth against the odds.”
Rob, a five-time recipient of this recognition, is co-head of the Firm’s Technology, Media & Telecommunications Group, where he leads a team of corporate transactions attorneys focused on media, sports, entertainment and technology. He represents clients such as Warner Bros. Discovery, Cox Communications, AMC Networks, The Big Ten Conference, TMRW Sports, ForgeLight, DISH/Sling, Hulu, NBA Media and NFL Media, among many others.
Lauren is the co-head of Proskauer’s global Mergers & Acquisitions Group and is at the forefront of some of the most industry-defining M&A matters in the media and entertainment sectors. In her work with influential and high-profile media giants, Lauren has dealt extensively with transactions that structure and shape the way media content is viewed and accessed around the world. For more than 10 years, Lauren has represented Discovery on strategic acquisitions, sales, joint ventures and other critical matters as it has grown into one of the world’s biggest and most influential media companies. She also routinely advises Hearst Magazines in cross-border transactions, including its sale of the U.S.-edition of Marie Claire to a British publisher.
Rob and Lauren recently served as counsel to longtime client Warner Bros. Discovery in connection with its sale of the cable network known as “Great American Country” and restructuring its partnership with Chip and Joanna Gaines for the Magnolia Network.
Wai, a partner in Proskauer’s Technology, Media & Telecommunications Group with a background in film and television acting and production, leads a multi-disciplinary team that has advised on some of the most significant transactions, joint ventures and product launches that have defined and evolved the entertainment, media and technology industries. Wai leverages the breadth and depth of his expertise to counsel a wide range of dynamic companies, including rights holders, content licensors, distributors and technology platform, Web3 and metaverse innovators, at the intersection of tech and media.
In 2021, Rob and Wai advised Discovery in connection with its $43 billion combination with AT&T’s WarnerMedia assets to create Warner Bros. Discovery, a premier, standalone global entertainment company.
Rob, Lauren and Wai were selected by Variety editors out of hundreds of attorneys, business leaders, entrepreneurs and financiers who helped their clients generate growth against soaring interest rates and economic contractions. Variety also recognized Lauren and Rob in 2018 naming them to their Dealmakers Elite New York list, which recognized the leading attorneys and executives behind some of the most significant transactions in the entertainment industry.
Read more about their work here: Variety’s Dealmakers Impact Report 2022: Tough Times Take Tough Negotiators
About Proskauer
We are 800+ lawyers serving clients from 12 offices located in the leading financial and business centers in the Americas, Europe and Asia. The world’s leading organizations, companies and corporations choose us to be their representatives in their most critical situations. But more, they consider Proskauer a strategic partner to drive their business forward. We work with asset managers, major sports leagues, Fortune 500 companies, entertainment industry legends and other industry-redefining companies.
Our Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) Group serves as commercial and strategic advisors on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, financings, content production and distribution, media rights and licensing arrangements, and sports betting and gaming. We offer commercial and strategic advice across the full range of legal and business issues facing the TMT industry, from groundbreaking transactions to bet-the-company litigations and collective bargaining negotiations.