Eight Covington Lawyers Named to Varietys 2022 Legal Impact Report

Eight Covington Lawyers Named to Variety's 2022 Legal Impact Report

April 20, 2022

LOS ANGELES / NEW YORK / WASHINGTON, D.C. — Variety has named Covington lawyers Matt DelNero, Mike Hill, Stuart Irvin, Mitch Kamin, Adrian Perry, Robyn Polashuk, Neema Sahni, and Jonathan Sperling to its 2022 Legal Impact Report. Variety’s Legal Impact Report “profiles the top business lawyers working in entertainment and media.”

In its feature, Variety notes Covington’s role in supporting media and entertainment industry clients on litigation, transactional, and regulatory matters - including advising Univision, TikTok, U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, Nexstar, CBS Interactive, Sony Music Entertainment, PBS, Fox Entertainment, AB InBev, Tencent, and the NFL.

Matt is a partner in Covington’s Washington, D.C. office and serves as co-chair of the firm’s Communications and Media Industry Group and the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion initiative. He represents creators, companies and investors in the media, telecom, and tech sectors before the FCC and other state and federal agencies. Prior to rejoining Covington in 2017, he worked in senior policy roles at the FCC, including in efforts to make broadband more available and affordable throughout the United States. This is Matt’s third consecutive year being named to Variety’s Legal Impact Report.

Mike is a special counsel in Covington’s New York office and advises media and technology companies and sports leagues, conferences and teams in connection with a broad array of commercial and corporate transactions. He has extensive experience with sports media rights agreements and video distribution agreements across different platforms and business models, including over-the-air broadcast, linear pay TV, SVOD, AVOD, FAST channels, direct-to-consumer apps and other forms of digital distribution.

Stuart is of counsel in Covington’s Washington, D.C. office and is the founder of the firm’s video games and esports practice, as well as a leader of its cross-practice metaverse team. He is an international leader in the field of esports and advises game publishers on a wide range of transactional matters, including league formation and structuring, team sales, intellectual property licensing, loot box and related compliance issues, and overall risk mitigation.

Mitch is a partner in Covington’s Los Angeles office and co-chair of the firm’s Communications and Media Industry and Commercial Litigation Practice Groups. His clients are leaders in the entertainment industry -- including major companies in television, music, sports, film, and gaming -- who he represents in many of their most significant and sensitive matters. This is Mitch’s third consecutive year being named to Variety’s Legal Impact Report.

Adrian is a partner in Covington’s New York office and serves as co-chair of the firm’s Music Industry practice group. He is helping to shape the future of how content is created, marketed, distributed, monetized, and protected. Adrian is an authority on digital content distribution, NFTs, and metaverse-related issues, as well as on data collection and licensing, with a focus on the music, sports, TV, and film industries.

Robyn is a partner in Covington’s Los Angeles office and co-chair of the firm's Communications and Media Industry Group. She provides transactional and strategic advice on traditional and digital video programming distribution, regulatory and compliance issues, and distribution-related litigation for telecommunications, media, and technology companies around the world. This is Robyn’s third consecutive year being named to Variety’s Legal Impact Report.

Neema is a partner in Covington’s Los Angeles office and co-chair of the firm's Music Industry practice and vice-chair of the Sports Industry Group. Through her work at the firm, and her prior experience in-house, she has developed a sophisticated understanding of the legal issues facing clients in the media and entertainment industries. This is Neema’s third consecutive year being named to Variety’s Legal Impact Report.

Jonathan is a partner in Covington’s New York office and chairs the firm’s Music Industry practice. He is a trial lawyer with over twenty-five years of experience and has represented record companies and publishers in some of the most significant disputes over distribution of content through new media.