Cardozo School of Law ranks among the nation’s top law schools for Intellectual Property (#6, U.S. News) and Entertainment Law (A+, preLaw Magazine), producing standout legal talent shaping today’s entertainment and media industries.
The Hollywood Reporter recently recognized four Cardozo alumni for their outstanding contributions: Sasha Levites ’11 and Rachel Strom ’06 were named to New York’s Biggest Entertainment Attorneys list (2025), while Marc H. Simon ’01 and Gregory Slewett ’02 earned spots on Hollywood’s Top 100 Attorneys list.
Sasha Levites ’11
Partner, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Sel
Sasha is a partner in the Entertainment Group, where she focuses on motion picture, television, and digital media. She represents a diverse range of clients, including talent, production companies, and IP owners, advising them on complex transactional matters across the entertainment industry. Her clients include writers, directors, producers, documentary filmmakers, studios, distributors, and private equity financiers. Sasha is particularly skilled at helping intellectual property owners maximize the value of their rights in a rapidly evolving marketplace. She has extensive experience in structuring and negotiating development, talent, co-production, financing, rights acquisition, distribution, and foreign sales agreements, as well as all aspects of production law.
From THR: Levites counts Oscar-nominated auteur RaMell Ross (Nickel Boys) as a client. At the same time, Jefferson secured for Closer Media its financing of Angelina Jolie’s next feature and Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor’s The History of Sound, which premiered at Cannes.
Rachel Strom ’06
Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine
Rachel is a trusted advocate for her clients' speech rights, combining deep industry knowledge with personalized legal counsel. She has extensive experience representing media companies in defamation, privacy, and copyright cases, and is a recognized specialist in digital media, including pre-publication review for emerging platforms.
From THR: This firm sure has range: McNamara serves as lead counsel for 60 Minutes as Trump presses consumer fraud claims against the CBS show’s Kamala Harris interview. Netflix, Disney, and NBCUniversal call on Strom to handle sensitive matters, including having a copyright lawsuit against Abbott Elementary thrown out. And Casselman, the go-to for premier theaters from The Public to the Roundabout, serves as counsel to financiers investing millions in 2025’s Broadway season; last year, her clients nabbed 55 Tony noms and 15 wins.
Marc H. Simon ’01
Partner, Fox Rothschild LLP
Marc is Chair of the firm's Entertainment & Sports Law Department and a veteran entertainment attorney with a broad range of experience in film, television and digital media. His clients include film and television companies, financiers, producers, talent, influencers, directors, writers and other content creators, as well as businesses in the digital, gaming and new media industries. Marc’s diverse client list includes Alec Baldwin and his El Dorado Pictures; Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy; Higher Ground Productions; Swedish film production company B-Reel; Oscar®-winning actor Joe Pesci; Bill Nye “The Science Guy”; activist and police shooting survivor Leon Ford; Joseph Patel and Freida Lee Mock; as well as Oscar® nominees Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini. At Cardozo, Marc was a member of the Cardozo Arts and Entertainment Law Journal.
From THR: The force is strong with this one, at least when it comes to client Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. He brokered the deal for the Pakistani filmmaker and activist — who won a 2016 Oscar for a documentary short about honor killings in her homeland and then steered a series of super-popular Pakistani animated action movies — to become the first female director of a Star Wars film. Simon also negotiated the deals for Obaid-Chinoy’s Hulu doc on Diane von Furstenberg last year and on behalf of the Obamas’ Higher Ground company to produce live stage shows.
Gregory Slewett ’02
Founding Partner, JSSK
Greg Slewett is a Founding Partner and Co-Managing Partner of Johnson, Shapiro Slewett & Kole. He represents some of the most in-demand actors, writers, directors, and producers, as well as prominent media companies, from around the globe. He has overseen the successful creation of several companies, including media companies, talent management companies, production companies, marketing and consulting agencies, and consumer product brands. He has also negotiated several groundbreaking overall deals for top content creators and on-camera talent.
From THR: He’s keeping Glen Powell’s rising star right on course, negotiating the actor’s deals for Anyone but You, Twisters, Edgar Wright’s The Running Man remake and J.J. Abrams’ still-untitled next project for Warner Bros., as well as Powell’s upcoming Hulu comedy series Chad Powers (which Powell is also exec producing). Slewett has also secured Florence Pugh’s acting and producing pacts for her next project, Netflix’s East of Eden series, as well as writing and directing deals for client Lynne Ramsay on Jennifer Lawrence’s next film, Die, My Love.