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Joel M. Grossman, Esq.
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Joel M. Grossman, Esq.

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General Biography
Practice Areas
Entertainment and Sports
Intellectual Property
Real Property
Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities
Background and Education

Joel M. Grossman, Esq. has been exclusively devoted to mediation and arbitration since 2004, following his 25-year legal career as a litigator, labor negotiator, and in-house counsel overseeing complex entertainment disputes.

Mr. Grossman has presided over more than 1500 mediations and arbitrations and developed a stellar reputation for fairness. Sought after by both plaintiffs’ and defense counsel, he has resolved extremely complex disputes with a combination of excellent problem-solving skills and a wonderful sense of humor.

He has been named to the Daily Journal’s list of the top neutrals in California for three consecutive years.

ADR Experience and Qualifications

  • Mediated or arbitrated over 1500 cases since January 2004 as a full-time neutral
  • Mediated all manner of employment cases including claims of discrimination based on race, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, and medical condition; claims of sexual harassment; wage-and-hour claims, both individual and class actions; trade secret claims arising out of an employee leaving a company and allegedly appropriating trade secrets; and claims arising under collective bargaining agreements
  • Used his broad experience in entertainment-related claims, after serving as head of the Litigation Department of a major motion picture studio, to resolve disputes involving copyright infringement, trademark infringement, idea submission, and profit participation claims, as well as diputes between talent and agent or manager
  • Mediated and arbitrated a wide variety of general business disputes, such as commercial landlord-tenant matters, business valuations, and breach of contract

Representative Matters

  • Entertainment and Sports
    • Copyright Infringement Claims

      • Mediated claims that musical compositions had been appropriated by online service providers in breach of performers’ copyrights
      • Mediated claim that motion picture infringed copyright of a novel
      • Mediated claim that television series infringed copyright of earlier television series produced in a foreign country
      • Mediated claim by writer that a film in development at a major studio was based on his screenplay which he had submitted to the studio

      Agent-Client Claims

      • Mediated dispute over which agency should get commissions when actor left one agency and was represented by a second agency
      • Arbitrated dispute between actor and agency over commissions
      • Arbitrated dispute between performer and manager over commisions

      Writers Guild – Producer Disputes

      • As a member of the arbitration panel in the WGA-Producers Minimum Basic Agreement, arbitrated claims including claims of unpaid writing fees, merchandising rights, and separated rights

      Profit Participation Claims

      • Arbitrated audit claim on major motion picture brought by participant

      Idea Submission Claims

      • Mediated several cases regarding various submissions for television shows and feature films

      Additional IP Disputes

      • Handled several matters involving creditors and debtors in connection with entertainment/intellectual property rights
      • Mediated claims by franchisees against a franchisor who sold investigative agency franchises
      • Mediated claims by garment producers that competitor’s garments infringed copyright
      • Arbitrated 50+ domain name disputes in which trademark holder claimed that domain name infringed its trademark

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

Completed Virtual ADR training conducted by the JAMS Institute, the training arm of JAMS. 

  • Recognized as one of California’s Top Neutrals, Daily Journal, 2007-2009 and 2012
  • Selected as a Southern California Super Lawyer in the field of Alternative Dispute Resolution, 2007-2011, 2013, 2019-2023
  • Selected as entertainment law “Power Mediator,” Hollywood Reporter Esq.
  • Member, Los Angeles County and Beverly Hills Bar Associations Labor and Employment Law Executive Committee
  • Associate Member, California Employment Lawyers Association (CELA)
  • Contributing Writer, Alternative Dispute Resolution for the California Labor and Employment Law Review, published by the State Bar of California Labor and Employment Law Section
  • Co-author, Modern Law of Employment Contracts, a leading treatise on the law of wrongful termination and other aspects of employment law
  • Received comprehensive training in JAMS in-house Entertainment Law workshops including, but not limited to:
    • "Net Profits and New Media: The Future of Entertainment Litigation"
    • "Legal Issues and Developments in Video Game Law"

Background and Education

  • Full-time Mediator and Arbitrator, 2004-present
  • Senior Vice President, Head of Labor And Litigation Divisions, Sony Pictures Entertainment, 1989-2003
  • Partner, Selvin and Weiner, 1985-1989
  • Associate, O’Melveny & Myers, 1980-1984
  • Law Clerk, Hon. Eugene A. Wright, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, 1979-1980
  • J.D., UCLA School of Law, 1979, Order of the Coif
  • M.A., University of California Santa Barbara, 1976
  • B.A., with honors, University of Pennsylvania, 1972

Disclaimer

This page is for general information purposes.  JAMS makes no representations or warranties regarding its accuracy or completeness.  Interested persons should conduct their own research regarding information on this website before deciding to use JAMS, including investigation and research of JAMS neutrals. See More

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