CHARLOTTE, N.C. (May 27, 2025) – Moore & Van Allen PLLC (MVA) is pleased to announce that Terrence “Terry” L. Dugan has joined the firm as member* and will co-chair its newly launched Entertainment Finance group, a subset of the firm’s esteemed Financial Services practice. Dugan, who joins MVA from O’Melveny’s New York office, will lead the group alongside Brett E. Moskowitz, who pioneered MVA’s work in the entertainment space when he joined the firm in 2024.
“Terry is a power player in the field and is the ideal choice to co-lead our burgeoning Entertainment Finance practice. We are delighted to welcome him to Moore & Van Allen as we formally launch this new team that further demonstrates the depth of our finance capabilities,” said co-head of the Financial Services practice, Tripp Monroe. “Terry’s reputation and proven work in this space run parallel to Brett’s deep-rooted industry relationships and the opportunities he has garnered for our team and clients over the last year.”
MVA’s Entertainment Finance attorneys advise clients across the entertainment industry — including agent banks, arrangers, lenders, private credit providers, and borrowers — on sophisticated, cross-border music and motion picture financing transactions. The team, which includes John Slaughter, Austin Wood, and Jackie Lyon, has played a pivotal role in many of the industry’s most high-profile deals, including the development of the royalty advance loan — a groundbreaking financing product now widely adopted across the sector. Integral to the practice is the team’s robust understanding of intellectual property principles, especially as they relate to financing and acquisition deals in the entertainment industry. The team is adept in copyright law, IP-backed collateral, and royalty streams, all of which are essential for successful entertainment finance transactions.
“We are excited to welcome Terry to the Entertainment Finance practice at MVA. I have known Terry for over a decade and his experience in this space and respect amongst clients is unmatched,” said Moskowitz. “When I joined MVA, we had a vision of growing MVA’s Entertainment Finance capability to be one of the deepest and broadest in the country, and Terry’s arrival is a significant step towards achieving that goal.”
Dugan provides counsel to lender banks and private equity funds on finance, acquisitions, and workouts in the film, television, and music sectors. With 20 years of industry experience, he remains levelheaded and solution-oriented in every negotiation, always prioritizing the relational aspects of a deal. Dugan represents some of the entertainment industry’s most active agent banks and other investors in syndicated financings ranging from $75 million to more than $750 million and has advised on acquisitions of motion picture assets and libraries of music copyrights domestically and abroad. He has represented parties in monumental loan, revolving credit, syndicated, and other sophisticated financing arrangements for a motion picture studio, music performing rights organization, production companies, entertainment distributors, and more.
Prior to establishing a successful entertainment practice, Dugan gained valuable experience advising on bankruptcy matters, international project finance, and structured finance. Further, he spent several years leading a public company’s European in-house legal team. Dugan leverages skills and tools learned in those roles to effectively troubleshoot and construct deals that benefit all parties involved.
Dugan regularly presents on trending legal topics in lending and entertainment. He is an active member of the New York City Bar Association (NYCBA) and has long served in appointed positions on its Entertainment Law Committee. He is currently completing a three-year term as Chair of that Committee. Dugan also co-chairs the Metaverse Subcommittee of the NYCBA’s Presidential Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technologies.
Based on his significant industry contributions and undertakings, Dugan has been named to Billboard’s list of Top Music Lawyers annually since 2023, was selected for Variety’s 2024 Music Legal Elite Report, and ranked as one of The Legal 500’s “recommended” Media and Entertainment practitioners from 2022-2024. Dugan earned both his J.D. and B.A. from Vanderbilt University.
Moskowitz, recently recognized as one of the most effective dealmakers in the 2025 Southeastern Legal Awards, is an entertainment finance attorney with over a decade of experience advising financial institutions, financiers, and borrowers on complex media transactions. He regularly represents leading agent banks in syndicated financings and has deep experience advising other financial institutions and investors on entertainment finance matters, including music catalog, record label, and music fund finance, as well as television, film, and sports finance.
*Dugan is currently admitted to practice law in New York.
