Brian is a partner in the Chicago office of SmithAmundsen where he serves as Co-chair of the firm’s Entertainment, Media and Privacy Practice Group, and as Chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice Group. His practice focuses on entertainment transactions and litigation, media liability including advertising injury, defamation, and various 1st Amendment issues, and Intellectual Property transactions and litigation, in particular, copyright and trademark matters as well as unfair or deceptive trade practice litigation. To this end, Brian represents national recording artists, producers, record labels, and managers in contract negotiations, litigation, and class action litigation, including a recent class action case filed against a rock band. He has worked on numerous film, television, and literary projects, both locally and nationally as well. He counsels media and internet companies, and serves as General Counsel for on-line magazines and record labels.
Brian’s more “traditional” litigation applies his experience to commercial litigation, catastrophic losses, construction litigation, products liability, commercial trucking/transportation claims, employer liability, premises liability, false arrest/malicious prosecution, and personal injury litigation. Brian has served as lead counsel in nine jury trials and over eighty bench trials. He has conducted over three hundred arbitrations and mediations, and has prevailed on countless motions for summary judgment relating to commercial claims, construction cases, and personal injury matters, including trucking claims, premises liability, and automobile accidents.
Prior to joining the firm, Brian spent two years as House Counsel at one of Illinois’ largest insurance companies. While he is licensed to practice in Illinois state and federal courts, Brian handles both transactional and litigated matters across the country, and has been admitted, pro hac vice, to several jurisdictions nationwide.
In 2006, Brian was named one of the top 40 Under 40 attorneys to watch in Illinois by the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and the Law Bulletin Publishing Company. He also was named to the Illinois Super Lawyers* list for 2010, 2011, and 2012, a peer review designation published by Law & Politics magazine. Brian has received an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell for his legal ability and ethics.
Brian also works with the Lawyers for the Creative Arts, handling pro bono entertainment related matters, including serving as a team director in conjunction with Columbia College’s Film Program.