Gail Migdal Title

Gail Migdal Title is Chair of the firm's Entertainment and Media Litigation Practice. From 1997–2011, Ms. Title was also the Managing Partner of Katten’s Los Angeles office, becoming one of the first-ever female office heads of a major law firm. While Ms. Title has been lauded by her clients as "among the finest entertainment litigators in the nation," those who have occasion to work with her invariably come away from the experience with an appreciation of her value as a counselor. Companies and executives at the highest levels routinely turn to Ms. Title not only for sound legal counsel, but also for her valuable business insight. Recently, a general counsel at a major motion picture studio called Ms. Title "a valued partner on matters, as she is a very good strategist," "she is well versed in the law," and "understands how the business works."

Ms. Title has represented some of the world’s most prominent and successful entertainment companies. Her practice includes all aspects of the entertainment industry, from motion picture and television development, finance and production, to distribution in all media worldwide, and covers a broad range of legal and business issues that arise in the entertainment industry, including intellectual property, unfair competition, contract and business torts. She also represents clients in other industries, primarily in connection with intellectual property and business disputes.

As an advocate, Ms. Title has an outstanding record of success, winning many cases outright, resolving others brought against her clients with minimal or no settlement payments and, whenever possible, guiding clients to resolve disputes without litigation. In the past five years, Ms. Title has won dismissals in nearly all of her cases, including many matters of complex participation and copyright infringement. These cases include an action against NBC Universal and the producers of the series “Heroes” claiming copyright infringement and misappropriation; a complex profit participation and fraud action against Universal Studios involving several hundred million dollars in claims brought by actor Kevin Sorbo in connection with the popular TV series “Hercules”; an idea submission case alleging that Reveille improperly used plaintiffs’ ideas in developing a song-contest reality television show; and a copyright infringement and idea theft case against DreamWorks in connection with the television series “Las Vegas.”

Ms. Title has also successfully litigated precedent setting intellectual property disputes, including Montz v. Pilgrim Films & Television, Inc. et al, where the Ninth Circuit sitting en banc recently addressed the scope of copyright preemption of state law claims for breach of implied in fact contract and breach of confidence; and the landmark copyright preemption case Grosso v. Miramax where she represented both amici in the Ninth Circuit and Miramax before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Ms. Title is a recognized leader in the Los Angeles legal community, having received WLALA’s Top Women Lawyers in Business Women of Distinction award, and being named Litigator of the Year in 2006 by the Century City Bar Association. She has also earned numerous honors from the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals, including being named among California’s Top 100 Leading Lawyers, Top 100 Women Litigators (2006–2010), Top Women Lawyers (2011) and Top 75 IP Litigators (2008–2011). She has also been listed among the 100 Most Influential Attorneys in Entertainment by The Hollywood Reporter (2007–2010), named as one of Los Angeles’ top 40 entertainment lawyers in the Los Angeles Business Journal's "Who's Who in Law" (2010), named to Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business (2006–2011), named a finalist for Lawdragon’s 500 Leading Lawyers in America, and selected as a SuperLawyer in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas (2005–2010). Ms. Title is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America (2010–2012).

Ms. Title is an arbitrator and mediator with the American Arbitration Association. Since 2005, she has also been a mediator for the U.S. District Court, Central District, California, Business/Commercial Litigation and Copyright/Trademark, and with the Los Angeles Superior Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Program. She is Chair of the Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel for the Central District of California, and has also served as a Lawyer Representative to the 9th Circuit Judicial Conference.

Ms. Title serves as the Chairperson of the Board of the Public Counsel Law Center, and is co-chair of the organization’s William O. Douglas Dinner, which raises the bulk of the money to support the Law Center. She is Vice President of the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles Copyright Society, and serves on the boards of the Constitutional Rights Foundation, the Berkeley School of Law Alumni Association and the Ninth Circuit Historical Society.