Entertainment & Media Transactions
Development, production, financing, distribution, option/purchase, licensing, talent, writer, director, producer, and services agreements across film, TV, music, podcasts, and branded content.
Esquire For Creators
Legal counsel for the people shaping culture.
A boutique firm for creators, producers, talent, and media companies — practical, business-minded advice at the intersection of intellectual property, commerce, and creative work.
Studio-side experience
Counsel informed by how real productions approve, finance, and de-risk work.
Ownership first
Deals structured so you keep what you build — rights, brand, and revenue.
Responsive by design
Clear answers, fast turnarounds, and scope matched to your stage and budget.
The Firm
A high-touch partnership, not a traditional law firm.
Esquire For Creators is a boutique entertainment, media, and creator-economy law firm serving creative professionals and companies who create, finance, produce, distribute, license, and monetize content and intellectual property.
Clients receive counsel informed by how deals, productions, approvals, and risk decisions actually operate inside entertainment businesses — not abstract legal theory. Strong legal counsel isn't only defensive; it's the foundation for building, protecting, and scaling creative careers and enduring IP.
The approach is responsive, clear, collaborative, and commercially focused: approachable enough for independent creators and founders, sophisticated enough for established production companies, executives, and brands.
KS
Kai Smith
Founding Attorney
Entertainment and creator-economy counsel with studio-side and production experience supporting major film and media projects. Counsel informed by how real productions approve, finance, and de-risk work — practical, clear, and commercially focused.
Connect on LinkedInServices
Counsel across the full life of a project.
Film & Television Production Legal
Development through delivery: rights clearance, chain-of-title analysis, cast and crew documentation, location and vendor agreements, releases, production policies, and risk assessment.
Creator, Influencer & Brand Counsel
Brand partnerships, sponsorships, management deals, platform and UGC agreements, affiliate arrangements, and merchandising — structured to preserve ownership and protect compensation.
Intellectual Property & Brand Protection
Trademark strategy and filings, copyright registrations, IP assignments, work-made-for-hire and contributor agreements, clearance reviews, licensing, and takedown guidance.
Business Formation & Outside General Counsel
Entity formation, operating agreements, founder arrangements, governance, commercial and vendor contracts, privacy policies, website terms, and ongoing counsel on retainer.
Contract Review & Negotiation
Focused redlining, negotiation strategy, plain-English issue spotting, and deal guidance for creators, founders, and executives evaluating an important agreement before signing.
On set
From first draft to final delivery.
Specialized practice
Adult content creator services.
Discreet, nonjudgmental counsel for adult-content creators, performers, studios, and platforms — client-centered, confidential, and commercially practical.
All conversations are confidential. Consultations are handled with privacy-first practices and without judgment.
Book a confidential consultationIndustries
Where the work happens.
Film & Television
Producers, production companies, writers, directors, and talent — from a first option agreement to an active slate.
Digital Creators & Influencers
Brand deals, platform terms, management agreements, and the ownership questions that decide long-term leverage.
Music & Podcast Businesses
Recording, publishing, sync and licensing, host and collaborator agreements, and distribution arrangements.
Production Companies
Company-level infrastructure, templates, vendor and crew paperwork, and recurring outside general counsel support.
Emerging Media & AI
Training data, likeness and voice rights, synthetic content, and new-platform deals where the rules are still forming.
Adult Content Creators
Discreet, nonjudgmental counsel on platform terms, content ownership, privacy, brand protection, and monetization.
Engagements
Support scaled to your stage.
Fees are quoted after an initial consultation, once scope is clear.
Single Project
One agreement, one filing, one negotiation — reviewed, redlined, and explained in plain English.
- Contract review & redlines
- Negotiation strategy
- Written issue summary
Defined Package
A bundle of documents or a launch-ready foundation for a new company or slate.
- Entity formation & governance
- Template agreement suite
- Trademark & copyright filings
Outside General Counsel
Ongoing, on-call counsel for companies with continuous legal needs.
- Priority turnaround
- Recurring deal support
- Risk & compliance guidance
Insights
Practical notes on creative business.
Creator Contracts
The three clauses that quietly decide who owns your content
Usage scope, exclusivity, and term. Most creator deals are won or lost in these lines long before compensation is discussed.
Production Legal
Chain of title: what buyers actually check before they close
A clean paper trail from first draft to delivery is the difference between a deal that closes and a deal that stalls in diligence.
Emerging Media
Likeness, voice, and AI: negotiating rights you can't get back
Perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide. Understand what you are granting before a platform or brand asks for a synthetic version of you.
Educational content only. These materials are informational and do not create an attorney-client relationship.
Representation
Deals negotiated with the long game in mind.
Testimonials
What clients say.
“Kai untangled a chain-of-title mess two weeks before financing closed. Clear, fast, and never once made us feel like we were being billed to think.”
Marisol Reyes
Producer, independent feature
“Our brand deals used to be a stack of PDFs we hoped were fine. Now we have templates, leverage, and someone who actually understands the platform economy.”
Devon Clark
Creator, 2.1M subscribers
“Practical counsel without the theatrics. We use the firm as outside general counsel and it has paid for itself several times over.”
Anya Petrova
COO, media studio
Team
The people behind the work.
Kai Smith
Founding Attorney
Studio-side experience turned boutique practice — production legal, IP strategy, and deal-making for creative businesses.
Andre Whitfield
Of Counsel, Transactions
Two decades negotiating financing, distribution, and talent agreements across film, television, and music.
Mina Park
Associate, Creator Economy
Brand partnerships, platform agreements, and trademark portfolios for creators and digital-first brands.
FAQs
Questions, answered plainly.
Film and television producers, production companies, writers, directors, actors, digital creators, influencers, podcasters, musicians, brands, startups, and emerging-media businesses — from first-deal to established slate.
Consultation
Let's talk about what you're building.
Share a short note about your project, deal, or company. You'll get a clear sense of scope, approach, and next steps.