Joseph Calabrese
Partner
Joe Calabrese is a partner in O'Melveny's Century City office, Chair of O'Melveny's Entertainment, Media, and Sports Practice, and Head of the Century City office. Joe's practice experience includes providing general entertainment/media/sports 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 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, U.S. District Court, Central District of California
Member, International, Entertainment, and Sports Law Sections of the American Bar Association
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 a leader by Chambers in Entertainment and Media Transactional Law (2006, 2007, 2008), and Sports Law (2008);
named a “Power Lawyer” by
Hollywood Reporter ESQ (2007, 2008); named a “Super Lawyer” in a survey conducted by Law & Politics Media Inc. and published in
Los Angeles magazine (2005, 2007, 2008); named in
Best Lawyers in America—Entertainment Law (2006, 2007, 2009); 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); named a “Top 100 Lawyer” by
Daily Journal (2008);
named "Top 10 Lawyer in Media" by
Guide to the World's Leading Technology Media & Telecommunications Lawyers (2008)
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”