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

• 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