Thomas Glen Leo

Mr. Leo is a partner in the Entertainment and Media Practice Group in the firm's Century City office.

Areas of Practice

Mr. Leo focuses on entertainment finance, secured transactions and commercial law.

Mr. Leo has extensive experience representing motion picture studios, production companies and distributors in all types of motion picture and television financing transactions, including multipicture production, financing and distribution arrangements; revolving credit production finance facilities; rights acquisition financings; complex secured distribution arrangements; television license financing and securitization facilities; entertainment-related merger and acquisition financings and working capital lines of credit; complex intercreditor and interparty arrangements; and secured transactions generally.

Education

• J.D., University of Southern California, 1978
• S.B. (Computer Science and Engineering), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1975
• S.B. (Management), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1975
• S.B. (Mathematics), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1975

Admissions

• California

Transactional Experience

Film fund transactions with U.S. major studios, including senior debt for funds 

Multipicture production, financing and distribution arrangements between production companies and distributors (including major U.S. studios), with production funded through bank funding, distributor funding and various combinations of the two, including related financing, secured transactions and intercreditor arrangements

Financings of mergers and acquisitions of entertainment companies through senior bank debt, issuances of senior notes and other financings

German film fund transactions, including fund representations and studio representations

United Kingdom film transactions, including sale-leaseback transactions

Production financing revolving lines of credit for film production companies

Rights analyses for acquisitions of major motion picture rights

Custodial, security and arbitration agreements for the collection, accounting and remittance of cross-collateralized streams of revenue in complex motion picture distribution transactions

Honors

• Southern California Super Lawyer, 2008
• Top Leading Media and Entertainment Lawyers, Chambers & Partners, 2006
• Super Lawyer, 2006
• Best Lawyers in America
• The U.S. Best of the Best 2006: Technology, Media and Communications

Articles

• Chain of Title Review Is a Major Hurdle for Film Investors, July 20, 2006
• Sheppard Mullin Lands Entertainment Group, January 27, 2003