Personal and Experienced
Legal Services for
Filmmakers, Families & Businesses.
Legal Services for
Filmmakers, Families & Businesses.
Our Attorneys
Personal and Experienced Legal Service
Personal and Experienced Legal Service
Richard J. Lee
partner
Richard is a founding partner at Focus Media Law Group. He has been an attorney in private practice for more than 40 years. He is a California State Bar Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. He also advises independent filmmakers, nonprofit organizations, and small business owners, including on matters involving buying, starting, operating or selling their businesses. He emphasizes thorough planning that anticipates possible complications and works vigorously to solve problems once they have arisen.
He helped establish the Film Arts Foundation in 1976 and served as its counsel until 2008, when he assisted in the transition of the services it provided to independent media professionals to SFFilm. He was also one of the first panel members of California Lawyers for the Arts and continues to be on the panel.
He graduated from Stanford University in 1969 with a B.A. in Sociology with honors and with distinction. He received his J.D. from Berkeley Law in 1974.
Justine Jacob
partner
Justine is a founding partner at Focus Media Law Group. She specializes in representing documentary filmmakers in all aspects of their productions, whether shorts, features, or series, from development through distribution, including rights clearances and fair use reviews. You can find a partial list of projects she provided counsel for at imbd. She has been an attorney for twenty years and during this time directed and produced two feature length documentary films: Runners High and Ready, Set, Bag!
She graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 1993 with a B.A. in Sociology and received her J.D. from UCLA School of Law in 1998. She clerked for the honorable Judge Sheila Sonenshine at the California Court of Appeal and worked at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter and Hampton in San Francisco.
510.272.0200 x316
justine@focusmedialaw.com
Heather Butterfield
senior associate
Heather is a senior associate at Focus Media Law Group. She specializes in representing filmmakers and production companies in all aspects of their productions, including advising on copyright, clearances, and employment issues.
She graduated in 1999 from Washington University in St. Louis, magna cum laude, with a B.A. in Philosophy and received her J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 2002.
Yvonne M. Parker
associate
Yvonne is an associate at Focus Media Law Group. Her practice areas include estate planning, probate and trust administration, and establishing and advising small businesses and nonprofits.
She brings more than 20 years of law practice and nonprofit experience to the firm. As a litigator at two prominent San Francisco firms, she represented local, national and international business clients. She then founded and managed her own consulting business advising nonprofits and raising nearly $20M in grant funding for programs serving youth and families.
She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Arizona State University and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.
Richard J. Lee
partner
Richard is a founding partner at Focus Media Law Group. He has been an attorney in private practice for more than 40 years. He specializes in estate planning, probate and trust law. He also advises independent filmmakers, nonprofit organizations, and small business owners, including on matters involving buying, starting, operating or selling their businesses. He emphasizes thorough planning that anticipates possible complications and works vigorously to solve problems once they have arisen.
He helped establish the Film Arts Foundation in 1976 and served as its counsel until 2008, when he assisted in the transition of the services it provided to independent media professionals to SFFilm. He was also one of the first panel members of California Lawyers for the Arts and continues to be on the panel.
He graduated from Stanford University in 1969 with a B.A. in Sociology with honors and with distinction. He received his J.D. from Berkeley Law in 1974.
Justine Jacob
partner
Justine is a founding partner at Focus Media Law Group. She specializes in representing documentary filmmakers in all aspects of their productions, whether shorts, features, or series, from development through distribution, including rights clearances and fair use reviews. You can find a partial list of projects she provided counsel for at imbd. She has been an attorney for twenty years and during this time directed and produced two feature length documentary films: Runners High and Ready, Set, Bag!
She graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 1993 with a B.A. in Sociology and received her J.D. from UCLA School of Law in 1998. She clerked for the honorable Judge Sheila Sonenshine at the California Court of Appeal and worked at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter and Hampton in San Francisco.
510.272.0200 x316
justine@focusmedialaw.com
Heather Butterfield
senior associate
Heather is a senior associate at Focus Media Law Group. She specializes in representing filmmakers and production companies in all aspects of their productions, including advising on copyright, clearances, and employment issues.
She graduated in 1999 from Washington University in St. Louis, magna cum laude, with a B.A. in Philosophy and received her J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 2002.
Yvonne M. Parker
associate
Yvonne is an associate at Focus Media Law Group. Her practice areas include estate planning, probate and trust administration, and establishing and advising small businesses and nonprofits.
She brings more than 20 years of law practice and nonprofit experience to the firm. As a litigator at two prominent San Francisco firms, she represented local, national and international business clients. She then founded and managed her own consulting business advising nonprofits and raising nearly $20M in grant funding for programs serving youth and families.
She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Arizona State University and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.
Paul Szynol
attorney & filmmaker
For the last decade and a half, he has concentrated his practice on intellectual property matters (particularly media and technology), and has advised filmmakers, artists, start-ups, and multi-billion dollar multinationals on a wide range of transactions.
Paul Szynol
attorney & filmmaker
For the last decade and a half, he has concentrated his practice on intellectual property matters (particularly media and technology), and has advised filmmakers, artists, start-ups, and multi-billion dollar multinationals on a wide range of transactions.