Joseph Calabrese
Partner
Joe Calabrese is a partner in O'Melveny's Century City office, Chair of O'Melveny's Southern California Transaction Practice, and Chair of the Entertainment, Sports, and Media Practice. Joe's practice experience includes providing general entertainment/sports/media legal counsel with an emphasis on complex licensing, entertainment and media acquisitions, and finance counsel.
Joe currently represents major producers, studios, independent film, television and music companies, video game publishers, sports licensing organizations, private equity and venture capital funds, and financial institutions in all aspects of their business, including complex distribution and licensing transactions, mergers and acquisitions, structured financing and the formation of joint ventures. Joe is actively involved in the Entertainment, Sports and Media Department’s international practice area, routinely providing advice to American companies doing business overseas, and to global media companies seeking to establish or expand their presence in the United States.
Professional Activities
Admitted to Practice, US District Court, Central District of California
Member, International, Entertainment, and Sports Law Sections of the American Bar Association; Pacific Council on International Policy
Speaker, ABA National Institute on Representing High-Technology Companies, San Francisco, California (1998); “Formation/Termination of Employment/Partnerships/Corporations,” USC Entertainment Law Institute (1993)
Honors, Named Century City Bar Association 2009 Entertainment Lawyer of the Year; named a leader by Chambers in Entertainment and Media Transactional Law (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009), and Sports Law (2008, 2009); named a “Top 100 Lawyer” by
Daily Journal (2008); named a "Power Lawyer" by
Hollywood Reporter ESQ (2007, 2008, 2009); named in
Best Lawyers in America—Entertainment Law (2006, 2007, 2009, 2010); Chair of Entertainment and Media Practice,
Chambers Excellence Award in Media awarded (2008); named a
Legal500 leading lawyer for Media, technology and telecoms: Film, music and TV (2008, 2009); named "Top 10 Lawyer in Media" by
Guide to the World's Leading Technology Media & Telecommunications Lawyers (2008); named a "Leading Lawyer in Media" by
Guide to the World's Technology, Media & Telecommunications Lawyers (2008); named a “Super Lawyer” in a survey conducted by Law & Politics Media Inc. and published in
Los Angeles magazine (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010); named a
Variety Dealmaker (2009)
Chair, Constitutional Rights Foundation
Arbitrator, Independent Film & Television Alliance
Editor, “Financial Aids and Subsidies Available for the Development, Production, and Distribution of Motion Pictures in Europe”