What’s A Leading Entertainment Attorney Doing Behind The Scenes in Game of Thrones?

game of thrones legal deals
game of thrones legal deals

Game of Thrones, or “GoT” for the millions who know and love the cult show, has n it would seem, but what is a leading attorney like Matthew Syrkin, a partner and chair of the Hughes Hubbard Media Group, doing behind the scenes.

A unique deal, that’s what. In fact, the sort of deal that Syrkin and other leading attorneys are increasingly crafting in the diverse, multimedia platforms that are exemplified by shows like “Game of Thrones’.

What's A Leading Entertainment Attorney Doing Behind The Scenes in Game of Thrones?

The lawyer, (pictured left) named by Variety as one of the top 50 ‘impact deal makers’ in the entertainment industry and who worked on major deals for everyone from the NY Knicks, Rangers and Liberty to the Mark Cuban Companies, to Mattel, HBO, Martha Stewart Living and a rolodex of others has now gone one better and entered the Kingdom to ink a GoT deal for a clothing line for the world-beating show.

What's A Leading Entertainment Attorney Doing Behind The Scenes in Game of Thrones?

Syrkin worked with John Varvatos to build his brand through unique licencing arrangements like the Game of Thrones deal.

He has also worked with Varvatos to expand the clothing brand into the Middle East with the launch of a store in Dubai and his agreement last year with singer and actor Nick Jonas.

Building A Legal Brand Too

The strategic work of lawyers like Matt Syrkin indicate the changing nature of the ‘law business’ attorney who needs to think outside the box to deliver the appropriate value to a range of clients in a testing battle ground.

Before joining Hughes Hubbard, he had worked in the legal departments at Major League Baseball, Fox Cable Networks and TiVo, Inc and while at Hughes Hubbard he handled the Viacom/MTV Networks where he served as counsel for the “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band” franchise owners.

Those and other involvements saw him develop strategic partnerships in the interactive entertainment space with Electronic Arts, Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony Electronics, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and The Beatles.

He regularly speaks, writes and consults on disruptive technologies and new media platforms, as well as how to handle a range of often innovative commercial deals – the Game of Thrones deal being yet another example.

Matt’s counsel of the brand on this unique licensing arrangement builds upon his past strategic business development work with Mr. Varvatos including the expansion into the Middle East with the launch of a store in Dubai and his agreement last year with singer and actor Nick Jonas.

Matthew Syrkin is a partner and chair of Hughes Hubbard’s Media, Technology and Commercial Transactions Group. 

Named by Variety Magazine as one of the top 50 impact deal makers in the media and entertainment industry, Matthew frequently advises industry-leading businesses on structuring and negotiating cutting-edge and complex transactions, including matters for AMC Networks, Ernst & Young, The Madison Square Garden Company (NY Knicks, Rangers and Liberty), CBS, the Mark Cuban Companies, John Varvatos Enterprises, Bumble, Microsemi Corporation, Viacom/MTV, News Corporation, KPMG, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Grab Taxi, Millarworld Comics (Kingsman, Kick-Ass), Brambles, Sequential Brands Group (And1, Avia, Jessica Simpson), Banco Davivienda, Mattel and HBO Latin America.

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