The Daily Journal interviewed Manatt corporate partner T. Hale Boggs and Manatt Digital Media Ventures chief executive Peter Csathy for a front page story on the firm's launch of Manatt Digital Media, which offers innovative, one-stop, full-service legal and business consulting services for clients in the digital media, entertainment and advertising industries.
As reported by the Daily Journal, Manatt's launch of the group comes at a time when a tech scene is burgeoning in Silicon Beach, the three-mile stretch of Los Angeles between Santa Monica and Venice Beach. Google, Apple, Yahoo and hundreds of startups have opened offices, hoping to tap talent from Hollywood studios and local universities.
"We want to establish and implement a full-service offering to our clients in this rapidly evolving market of digital media, whether it be a startup, a venture capital firm, a studio or record label or brand," said Boggs, who chairs Manatt Digital Media. "We want to offer them, in one place, if not every single thing that they need in their strategy, then most of it."
The firm's venture fund, which has invested in more than 90 companies since 2000, including Pinterest and Etsy, will earmark funds for Manatt Digital Media Ventures, the investment division of Manatt Digital Media.
"Entrepreneurs can go, make a pitch, get money, and then rely on Manatt for business and legal consulting. That's what is really interesting," said Csathy, who formerly served as CEO of Sorenson Media.
Boggs likened the current entrepreneurial spirit in Los Angeles to the environment in Silicon Valley 15 years ago. "The energy and feel of what existed then is similar to what you're feeling here," said Boggs, who opened the firm's Silicon Valley office in 1998. "Here we are as a firm with 40-plus years of entertainment experience. It's the right time to make it evident that we have a lot to offer."
Manatt Digital Media will also rely on the services of Linda Goldstein, chair of the firm's Advertising, Marketing & Media Division, and her team based in New York. Other members include intellectual property partner Brian Kelly and entertainment attorneys, including Lindsay Conner and Jordon Bromley, who focus extensively on digital media matters. Boggs said that additional people will be brought in on the consulting side to offer business advice as part of the growth plan for Manatt Digital Media Ventures.
"While we recognize that a number of other firms are seeking to position themselves as having expertise in the digital media space, there is no other firm that can offer the range of services and the depth of relationships that will be provided by Manatt Digital Media," said Boggs.