The Film Law

As they say, dealing with lawyers is a necessary evil. That’s not to say that all lawyers are the scum of the earth. But no matter how free the country you live in is, dealing with contracts, going to court, and shielding yourself from liability sucks ass.

What’s more, dealing with opposing attorneys and going without proper legal shielding can not only eat up time and money, but you could lose your business or worse.

The unfortunate reality is something that every entrepreneur and artist needs to accept. This even applies to people who usually wouldn’t have to worry about litigation, like independent filmmakers. But if you stop and think about it, the wrong wording in a contract or just scrapping against a minor regulation can be enough to get your entire production shutdown.

Hell, just look at the scrutiny, defamation, and suits that PETA has filed for injury to animals, both real and imagined.

Thank the goddesses of the interwebs; you can get connected to superb legal advice and representation even if you are in a niche industry. If you are in the indie film business, then The Film Law is sure to be right up your alley.

Despite Being Niche And Small, This Firm Has Talent

While there are only four named employees working at this firm, they boast an enviable wheelhouse. As I brought up, this firm focuses on filmmakers and has aided producers in making everything from documentaries, serialized television shows, made-for-television movies, and even full theatrical releases.

In case you recognize these names, they have been involved with the studios that produced An American Haunting, The Hills Have Eyes and its sequel, as well as Sin City 2. For even more references, check out the IMDB page of the firm’s esquire, Greg Bernstein.

Moreover, Bernstein’s company has assisted hundreds of filmmaking groups over the years, and on average, work with 10-12 producers a year.

To get into the nitty-gritty of this firm’s services, The Film Law can help you out concerning anything regarding film contracts, script acquisition, and trading, some spec work, and even provide a little help when it comes to distribution under specific circumstances.

Be Prepared To Spend Some Coin

Usually, I do not see a suggestion of how much a law firm charges for their services. When it comes to this company, they are not shy about stating what they charge for what they do. To throw out some numbers, basic jobs like script acquisition and distribution agreements will cost between $2,500-3,500.

Further, that is what they charge on the low end – for larger projects like those involving bank loans or anything money, you’ll end up paying more money upfront. And just so you know, their standard retainer fee is $7,500, and yes, they do bill monthly for their retainer fee.

For context, they historically have worked with production companies whose budgets per project range between $50,000 and $5 million. However, they are quite flexible when it comes to working with producers who have limited budgets.

For instance, if your film’s budget is under $100,000, their fees for multiple services range between $3,500-5,000. So, if you do end up working with these guys on a shoestring budget, be sure to bring up how much money you do (or don’t actually) have.

Do You Have Any More Queries – They’ve Got A Nice FAQ

If you’ve got even more questions that my article has not covered, then look up The Film Law’s frequently asked questions page. It provides a decent amount of information, so you don’t have to worry about being caught in a volley of emails with the staff.

Just hunting around the FAQ, and you should be able to get any basic questions answered. For detailed info, the site’s Articles page has an impressive number of free documents about law, economics, and related topics for you to read and download at your leisure.

Of course, if you have any specific questions that aren’t covered by those resources, look up the Contact Us page. There you will find two phone numbers to get ahold of these people. Further, that page lists numbers and email addresses for Mr. Bernstein along with the office’s Controller and two administrative assistances offices.

Parts Of This Website Need To Refreshed

It used to be that the leading lawyer of this firm, Greg Bernstein, used to give lectures at UCLA for the law up until 2008. After that, he used to be seen at film events and be an expert in public legal forums.

Unfortunately, it looks like Bernstein canceled his regular public appearances right around 2020. Given that this is around the time COVID-19 hit the world like a ton of bricks, I cannot say that I blame him. Having said that, it would look more professional to refresh the information provided by this website from all angles.

Not only is all of this important, but it’s vital considering what the FAQ says. I’m skeptical that this is the case, but according to that page, this law firm only accepts clients who need specific forms of legal protection while in production.

Furthermore, this website is a bit of an eyesore to look at. The Film Law would be served well by upgrading their website’s look regarding the layout of the elements, the entire aesthetic, especially regarding the color of the text. Seriously, no one likes looking at burgundy-colored text!

The Following Are My Final Thoughts

It’s not clear whether this is a firm with the background or an affinity for representing those indie moviemakers in the adult entertainment industry. However, according to their site;

“The firm represents independent production companies, producers, sales agents, distributors, financiers, writers, actors, and directors.”

Seeing how open-ended that description is, it couldn’t hurt to ask them how they feel about helping out those in the cinematographic skin business. Just keep in mind, what’s the worse that’s going to happen – they end up saying no?

When considering this firm on a much broader scale, there are plenty of positive things to say about this one. While the website representing this business desperately needs a fresh coat of paint and some updated text, that isn’t enough for me to start stripping points.

Indeed, I’d say that if you are not connected to a major studio working on the production side of the camera, and you live in a jurisdiction subject to American law, check this firm out. Even if you don’t think that you’ll need it, it’s better to have it and not need it than need legal help and not have it.

I’m sure that you will make great things happen with The Film Law, and with that, I’m giving it four hands.