Joseph A. Calabrese

Joe Calabrese retired from the partnership in December 2021. Joe was Of Counsel in the Century City and Los Angeles offices of Latham & Watkins following his retirement from the partnership. He was former Chair of the firm’s Entertainment, Sports & Media Practice, providing clients around the globe with a uniquely experienced perspective on a full spectrum of film, television, sports, and content-related business transactions.

Joe advised clients in the ever-changing entertainment, sports, and media business for nearly four decades. He has drawn on exceptionally broad experience with the evolution of the industry — from the end of the first golden age of television to the advent of the second, through the era of cable television and home video, to innovations of streaming video on demand and over-the-top media services. Throughout his career, he has helped clients innovate, respond, and thrive amidst disruptive technologies, and expand into new territories that dramatically impact the industry.

Widely lauded in the legal and industry press as a leading Hollywood entertainment lawyer, Joe has helped clients:

• Create, operate, and finance entertainment and media companies
• Negotiate complex distribution, broadcasting, and licensing agreements for both traditional film and television companies as well as live event and sports organizations
• Navigate mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and structured finance transactions

At the time of his retirement, Joe served on the:

• Constitutional Rights Foundation Executive Committee (former chair)
• UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television Executive Committee
• Cornell Law School Advisory Committee
• UCLA Law School’s Ziffren Center Advisory Board
• Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
• International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
• Pacific Council on International Policy