DAVID L. GARFINKLE, Founding Partner

David Garfinkle founded The Entertainment & Intellectual Property Group, LLC in 1994 and is the firm’s managing partner. Mr. Garfinkle leads the firm’s client counseling, advising, and deal-making efforts in connection with television, film, theatre, music, sports, advertising, promotions, sponsorships, publishing and the internet for clients including Paramount Pictures, E! Entertainment Television, Telepictures (a division of Warner Bros.), Halston, and LiquidGeneration.

In television, his roles include serving as outside counsel for reality television shows that have aired on networks including ABC, E!, Spike TV, Style Network, TBS, and The WB, syndicated entertainment programming such as The Ellen DeGeneres Show and EXTRA, and development of prime time and animated television series programming.

In the film industry, he has served as outside counsel for film producers and film productions, including work for Paramount Pictures, and has also done work in connection with multi-million dollar film sponsorship, promotion, and product placement deals (including the review of advertising copy, website copy, contest and sweepstakes rules, and product packaging) and website development agreements. He is a member of the Governing Board of the Chicago International Film Festival, and has been a member of the Chicago Film Critics Awards Committee and the Promotion Marketing Association.

In the theater industry, he oversees the legal work in connection with agreements for producers, directors, writers, rights acquisitions, theatre leases, and investors. He has served as a member of the board of directors of the Broadway Theater Institute and has served as production counsel on numerous theatrical productions.

In music, he has drafted and negotiated agreements in connection with recording, publishing, administration, concert touring, and artist management.

He has overseen the firm’s work on sponsorships, promotions, and advertising in connection with an extensive number of deals. The firm’s work on these deals has included drafting and negotiating the promotion agreements and contest and sweepstakes rules, counseling clients in crisis management situations, and reviewing all advertising copy and product packaging.

In publishing, he has represented writers, publishers, and distributors. As such, he has negotiated and drafted author and option agreements and vetted books for copyright, trademark, defamation, and rights of publicity and privacy issues.

With the internet and new media, Mr. Garfinkle has drafted and negotiated website development agreements, software licensing agreements, file swapping and music/ringtone download agreements, site migration agreements, content licensing and streaming agreements, privacy policies, and terms of use. He has also vetted websites, conducted online advertising review and compliance, and advised clients on issues including creative content, online music, e-commerce, right of publicity, domain name disputes, and licensing.

Mr. Garfinkle has taken on leadership/chairmanship roles in the legal community with the Chicago Bar Association’s Entertainment Law Committee, the YLS Intellectual Property Law Committee and the YLS Executive Counsel. Mr. Garfinkle has also taken the time to educate others on entertainment and intellectual property law topics as an adjunct professor for Duke University’s Leadership in the Arts Semester in New York and for Columbia College Film School in both Los Angeles and Chicago. In the community, he is a board member of the National Foundation for Jewish Culture and has served as an associate board member of the Museum of Broadcast Communications. Prior to founding EIP Group, Mr. Garfinkle worked with two large Chicago large firms in their intellectual property practice groups.

Mr. Garfinkle earned his law degree at Boston University School of Law and his undergraduate degree at Duke University. He resides in Chicago’s North suburbs with his wife Carla and his two children.

HILLEL M. FRANKEL, Counsel

Hillel M. Frankel is Counsel to The Entertainment & Intellectual Property Group, LLC. Prior to joining EIP Group, Mr. Frankel was the managing partner of The Entertainment Law Office, P.C. in Chicago where he represented a wide variety of music, film, radio and web artists, writers and entertainment entities. He has been house counsel for independent and major affiliated record labels, publishers and web start up companies. He is also currently CEO of NoVo Arts, Inc an artist management and consulting company providing management and consulting services for artists and entertainment companies and, Movietrax, a music licensing and supervisory company for film, TV, and the web.

Areas of expertise include:

TV, Film, and Radio Production: Rights acquisition, production and talent agreements; option agreements, employment contracts, investor agreements, corporate issues and business entities for development and production companies, drafting and negotiation of promotion agreements and sweepstakes contest materials.

Music Industry Law: Drafting and negotiating of recording, publishing, songwriting and management agreements; start-up services for publishing companies, record labels and web music companies; counsel for established labels and artists, formation of corporate entities, partnership and corporate agreements and merger and rights acquisition agreements.

Internet Law and Licensing: Protection of intellectual property; URL protection; drafting of licenses, terms of use and privacy policies for music related web businesses; general legal representation for web entities.

Copyright, Trademark, and Endorsement Agreements: Copyright litigation and protection of copyrights, trademarks, ownership of “brand-names" and, issues related to the rights of personality.

Communications and Media Law: First Amendment, government regulation and Free Speech.

Mr. Frankel received his BA from the University of Illinois in Chicago in 1990 and received his law degree from DePaul College of Law in Chicago in 1993.  Mr. Frankel was admitted to the bar in Illinois in 1993 dividing his time between working with music concerns and working in general practice. In 1999 he formed the Entertainment Law office, P.C. and was an adjunct professor at DePaul University College of Law, teaching Entertainment Law between 2000 and 2002.  Mr. Frankel has been a panelist, moderator and guest lecturer at many music and entertainment conferences.  He has written an on going legal advice column for In the Mix Magazine, and has been a guest legal columnist for many other publications and a regular contributor to a variety of music and entertainment blogs.  He has recorded, produced and/or executive produced over 20 albums under his musical pseudonym of Frankie Hill and was an original musical member (and then legal counsel) to Grammy nominated jazz group Liquid Soul.

DONALD R. SIMON, Counsel

Donald R. Simon is Counsel to The Entertainment & Intellectual Property Group, LLC. His areas of concentration include entertainment, copyright, trademark, privacy issues, promotions, sweepstakes, marketing partnerships and co-promotions, labor and employment matters, corporate affairs, broadcast regulation, and music licensing.

Before joining EIP Group, Mr. Simon was in private practice where he concentrated in entertainment and intellectual property law. Prior to that, he was Director of Business and Legal Affairs at Questar, Inc. There, Mr. Simon advised the company on in-house film and television projects and in distribution deals involving The Discovery Channel, The History Channel, Warner Bros., National Geographic, The BBC, and PBS. His work also included handling the legal affairs of the company’s record label, book publishing, and video-on-demand divisions.

Mr. Simon writes extensively on entertainment and intellectual property matters. He has published two law review articles and has appeared in DownBeat, Screen, and Billboard. Mr. Simon is also an adjunct professor teaching communication, business, and law-related courses at several colleges and universities including Columbia College Chicago, Harrington College of Design, and East-West University. He is also a volunteer attorney for Lawyers for the Creative Arts, a Chicago-based not-for-profit organization that provides free legal services to artists.

Prior to becoming an attorney, Mr. Simon worked for 7 years in the broadcasting, cable, and publishing industries. He was an award-winning producer and director for an ABC affiliate and later for CableOne Advertising. Mr. Simon also worked as a radio announcer for a classic/modern rock station and served as the Operations Director for a public radio station. He also worked as a graphic artist at an advertising publication.

Mr. Simon received his Juris Doctor and Master of Laws (Intellectual Property) degrees from The John Marshall Law School in Chicago where he was the Solicitation Editor for the John Marshall Journal of Computer and Information Law. He was also a member of a nationally-winning trademark moot court team. Mr. Simon received his Bachelor of Arts (Communications) from Missouri Southern State College.

CHRISTIAN ARIZMENDI, Associate

Christian Arizmendi is an Associate at The Entertainment & Intellectual Property Group, LLC.  Mr. Arizmendi earned his law degree from the DePaul University College of Law, where he served as an editor for the Journal of Art, Technology & Intellectual Property Law and as president of the Latino Law Student Association. His coursework focused on intellectual property law.  He also attended an international entertainment law program in London. Mr. Arizmendi was a legal intern at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, IL, helping to draft agreements and review artist contracts.

Mr. Arizmendi was admitted to practice in the state of Illinois in November 2009.  He received a Bachelor of Music in Performing Arts Management from the DePaul University School of Music.   As a music student, Mr. Arizmendi performed on the French Horn with the DePaul Wind Symphony, the Chicago Businessmen's Orchestra, and the Lake Shore Symphony Orchestra. He also helped organize the 2005 Chicago Latino Film Festival as an intern for the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago.   In his free time, he regularly volunteers with PAWS Chicago.