Mark Litwak is an entertainment attorney based in Beverly Hills, California. His practice includes work in the areas of copyright, trademark, contract, multimedia law, intellectual property, and book publishing. As a Producer’s Representative, he assists filmmakers in arranging financing, marketing and distribution of their films.
Litwak is the author of six books: Reel Power, The Struggle for Influence and Success in the New Hollywood (William Morrow, 1986), Courtroom Crusaders (William Morrow, 1989), Dealmaking in the Film & Television Industry (Silman-James Press, 1994) (winner of the 1996 Krasna-Krausz award for best book in the world on the film business), Contracts for the Film & Television Industry (Silman-James Press, 2nd Ed. 1999), Litwak's Multimedia Producer's Handbook (Silman-James Press, 1998) and Risky Business: Financing and Distributing Independent Film (Silman-James Press, 2004).
He has contributed articles for The Los Angeles Times, The Business of Film, The Hollywood Reporter, Moviemaker and The Independent. He is the creator of the popular CD-ROM program Movie Magic Contracts.
Litwak has been a lawyer for 33 years. He has an AV Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell and has been named a Southern California Super Lawyer by Law & Politics magazine in 2006 and 2007.
As a law professor he has taught such subjects as entertainment law, copyright, torts and worker’s compensation at such institutions as U.W.L.A., Loyola Law School and the University of Puget Sound School of Law. He has taught entertainment law courses at U.C.L.A. extension for more than 20 years. Litwak has lectured for continuing legal educations programs of the American Bar Association as well as programs offered by the California and Texas state bar associations. A frequent speaker, he has presented seminars across the United States, and in England, Australia, South Africa and Canada including presentations for the American Film Institute, Columbia University, N.Y.U, U.S.C, the University of British Columbia and the Royal College of Art in London.
His background also includes stints as a television journalist, writing and producing news segments for Telepictures, and as a television producer, with Marble Arch Productions. He is a former Vice President and General Counsel for a bay area merchant banking and communications company. Litwak has packaged movie projects and served as executive producer on such feature films as “The Proposal,” “Out Of Line” and “Pressure.” He has provided legal services or worked as a rep on more than 200 feature films.
In the Multimedia arena, Litwak is the author of “Potholes on the Information Superhighway,” published in New Matter, the magazine of the Intellectual Property Section of the California Bar. He is also the author of a White Paper on licensing content, published by the Interactive Multimedia Association. Litwak has co-chaired the U.C.L.A. symposiums “Multimedia Marketing & Distribution” and “Legal Issues for Multimedia Entrepreneurs.”
Mark Litwak has a B.A. and M.A. degrees from Queens College of the City University of New York. He received his J.D. degree from the University of San Diego in 1977.
Litwak has been interviewed on more than 100 television and radio shows including ABC News, “The Larry King Show,” National Public Radio's “All Things Considered,” and CNN. He has been the subject of articles in California Law Business, Australian Lawyer and L.A. Weekly. He is the creator of the Magellan 4 Star site, Entertainment Law Resources, at marklitwak.com.
