Entertainment litigation boutique Johnson & Johnson LLP has announced its first partner promotion since the founding of the firm with the recent elevation of Daniel B. Lifschitz.
Lifschitz, who joined the firm as an associate in 2018, will become a partner effective January 1, 2024.
Johnson & Johnson was launched in 2007 by senior partner Neville L. Johnson (named a “Legal Legend” by The Hollywood Reporter in 2020) and managing partner Douglas L. Johnson (who steered the firm to a “Top Boutique” designation by The Daily Journal in 2023) in order to provide talent-side representation in intellectual property and contractual disputes against studios, labels, publishers, and unions. It has since also become a leading boutique for profit participation disputes in film and television, right of publicity suits brought on behalf of models and actors, and defamation actions against media outlets.
“Daniel has been a tremendous asset to the firm for over half a decade, and we couldn't be more excited to have him join the firm's partnership ranks,” Doug Johnson said in a statement announcing the promotion. “He has become the go-to counselor for our intellectual property clients owing not only to his encyclopedic knowledge of copyright law, but his incredible research, writing, and oratory skills.”
Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson, Lifschitz cut his teeth at several other entertainment litigation boutiques, which included working on the high-impact Flo & Eddie vs. SiriusXM and Ferrick v. Spotify class actions at Gradstein & Marzano that spurred passage of the 2018 Music Modernization Act.
“Daniel is one of the few attorneys in practice to have significant experience handling entertainment class actions on the plaintiffs' side before joining our firm, which is a litigation niche we helped pioneer in the profit participation sector,” said Neville Johnson. “There is nobody better equipped to help us write the next chapter of the firm's legacy as we continue to bolster our practice specialties.”
Since joining the firm in 2018, Lifschitz has served as lead associate on some of the firm's most high-profile matters, including several royalty-skimming class actions against major record labels and entertainment guilds that have recovered millions of dollars for artists. Lifschitz also took on pop superstar Bad Bunny in a contentious copyright dispute that settled confidentially earlier this year.
“The way I know I did a good job on a case is when opposing counsel calls me after the dust settles to get my opinion on completely unrelated matters because I've proven my acumen to them,” said Lifschitz. He and Bad Bunny's attorneys are now aligned in defense of a mass copyright action brought by Jamaican artists Steely & Clevie against dozens of reggaeton artists over use of the iconic “dem bow riddim.”
In addition to his litigation work, Lifschitz is an adjunct professor of copyright law at Southwestern Law School (where he also serves as an advisor for its Entertainment and Arts pro bono legal clinic) and teaches entertainment law classes at the University of California, Los Angeles through its Extension program. Lifschitz also routinely authors articles for a variety of publications on cutting-edge legal issues, with recent pieces covering matters such as applying copyright law's statute of limitations to online infringement and the right of publicity implications in NFT and AI vocal technology.
“Johnson & Johnson has one of the most interesting and diverse matter rosters of any entertainment practice I've seen,” said Lifschitz. “Every new case inspires me to keep writing and thinking about how to stay one step ahead of the rest of the industry, and I think our clients appreciate that as well.”