Veteran entertainment lawyer Stephen Saltzman is leaving Paul Hastings LLP to join the London office of European law firm Fieldfisher.

A regular at Hollywood journalistIn the annual Power Lawyers List: Top 100 Attorneys, Saltzman is known in the industry as a respected lawyer in the entertainment industry, specializing in complex international distribution, co-production and co-financing transactions, as well as other transactions. cross-border involving content and media brands.

He has been based in London since 2019, when he left Paul Hastings’ Los Angeles office to develop the firm’s activities in the UK and mainland Europe, after a previous period at Loeb & Loeb. He officially begins at Fieldfisher on Monday, October 4 as an associate in the firm’s media practice.

“The addition of Steve to our media team is a big boost to our growth plans,” said Tim Johnson, Fieldfisher’s media group chief, noting that Saltzman’s cosmopolitan experience and cross-border expertise fit naturally with Fieldfisher’s international orientation (the company has 25 offices in 11 countries, most of them in Europe and Asia). “This will strengthen our offering to clients seeking expertise on all continents,” added Johnson.

“I’ve known Tim for a long time, working together on initiatives on both sides of the Atlantic,” Saltzman added. “I am delighted to join his team at a time when I believe there are significant opportunities in the UK, especially in a post-Brexit world where the UK is now one of the most profitable international locations. to shoot feature films on a large scale. streaming movies and series.

During a difficult time for making deals across hemispheres, Saltzman continued to help top international talent and financiers secure significant deals in Hollywood, such as China’s leading studio Huayi Brothers Media, which co-funded the biggest independent film to complete production. in 2020, Roland Emmerich’s $ 140 million Falling moon. He also recently advised the TSM esports team (Team SoloMid) on one of the biggest sponsorship deals in the industry with the crypto exchange, FTX. Other notable offshore clients include German Constantin Films and South Korean entertainment giant CJ Entertainment; but its customer base includes entities across the media spectrum – studios, theme park operators, broadcasters, digital content companies, banks, film funds, directors, talent and writers.

Fluent in German, Saltzman is also expected to help develop Fieldfisher’s offices in Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich. “I am delighted with the arrival of Steve,” said Philipp Plog, general manager of the company’s German operations. “His knowledge and experience of the German market is perfectly aligned with our strategy of serving our growing portfolio of digital and media companies in Germany and across Europe.