May 7, 2015

THE RECORDER

By Patience Haggin

SAN FRANCISCO — Entertainment litigators Robert Schwartz and Victor Jih will join Irell & Manella in Los Angeles on Monday. They are leaving O’Melveny & Myers, bringing to seven the number of partners the firm has lost since Jan. 1.

The duo represent the creators of films and video games. Schwartz recently represented MGM in a suit alleging that the Universal film “Section 6” infringed on the James Bond franchise.

“We have known Bobby and he has known us for a very long time. We have been on the opposite side in some cases, and on the same side in many cases,” said Irell & Manella managing partner Andrei Iancu. Public records indicate that Schwartz and Jih worked in concert with an Irell team defending Hollywood studios hit with suits over their distribution of home video revenue. Schwartz and Jih worked opposite from an Irell team in Wingnut Films v. New Line Cinema, which resolved in 2007.

Schwartz’ wife, attorney Karen Breslow, formerly worked at Irell. She is a former vice president for litigation at Sony Pictures, a client of Schwartz’.

Irell hired entertainment dealmaker Joshua Grode in August of last year. Yet Iancu denied the recent hires were part of any strategic initiative to bolster the firm’s entertainment practice.

Both Schwartz and Jih spent their entire careers at O’Melveny & Myers. The move was brokered by Larry Watanabe of legal recruiting firm Watanabe Nason.

“Irell is one of the nation’s most prominent law firms and one that rarely hires lateral partners,” Watanabe said. “[Schwartz] has over the years represented and led high profile litigation matters for Sirius/XM, Sony, Warner Bros, Hulu, Federal Express, CBS, Disney, Gearbox, Lionsgate and Viacom among many others.”

In a statement, O’Melveny representatives wished the two well. “Our Century City-based trial lawyers will continue to handle the most cutting-edge, high-profile litigation matters, including in the entertainment industry, as part of one of the largest litigation teams in all of Southern California,” the firm added.

A six-partner group departed O’Melveny’s entertainment transactions practice in November, including five partners in Century City and one in London. Schwartz and Jih said the transactional group’s departures had no effect on their own practices.