Christian Simonds

Christian is a prominent and widely respected entertainment and media attorney who focuses on specialty finance and corporate matters. Christian has significant experience representing institutional lenders and financiers, Fortune 500 companies, producers, entrepreneurs, studios, production companies, and high net worth individuals in connection with complex debt facilities, production financing loans, equity financing opportunities, film funds, joint ventures, asset sales and purchases, mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, and general corporate governance and operations.

In addition, Christian acts as outside counsel for top-tier studios, networks, media companies, digital platforms, video game publishers, retail brands, and independent production companies in connection with all aspects of content creation and exploitation, including rights acquisition, guild obligations, development, financing, production, and distribution. In total, Christian has provided production, finance and distribution legal counsel for more than 100 commercially released domestic and foreign studio and independent productions in the film and television space.

Furthermore, Christian represents actors and on-screen talent, influencers, directors, writers, producers, musicians and athletes regarding services agreements, endorsements, attachments, protection of intellectual property assets, and business opportunities (including, startups, joint ventures, corporate structuring, fund raising and exits).

Christian’s clients have included Emmy Award, Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA, SAG Award, Sundance Audience Award, Sundance Grand Jury Prize, Cannes Grand Prize of the Jury, and Independent Spirit Award nominees and winners.

Christian is regularly recognized in Chambers USA, Variety, Legal 500 and The Best Lawyers in America, and is often a legal resource for major news publications.

PRACTICE AREAS

• Entertainment, Media & The Arts

EDUCATION

• Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, J.D.

• Dickinson College, B.A.

ADMISSION(S)

• New York

RECOGNITIONS

• Selected through peer review for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© for Entertainment Law - Motion Pictures and Television, 2025

• Ranked in Chambers USA for New York Media & Entertainment: Advisory, 2023-2024

• Selected for Variety Magazine’s 2022 Dealmakers Impact Report

• Named in Variety's Legal Impact Report 2021

• Legal 500 USA for Media and Entertainment: Transactional, 2020-2021