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The Rainmaker
Eriq Gardner
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Monday
The Rainmaker is focused on how the players in Hollywood, Silicon Valley, Washington, and Wall Street are leveraging the courts (and their expensive lawyers!) for their own gain. It's brought to you by Eriq Gardner, America's foremost expert on media and entertainment law.
THE LATEST ARTICLES
HOLLYWOOD
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January 9, 2023
Inside Disney’s Covid Soap Opera
A controversial lawsuit featuring a “General Hospital” star who found god over Covid vaccines may put Hollywood itself on trial.
HOLLYWOOD
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January 2, 2023
The Copyright Death (and Rebirth) of Mickey Mouse
Yes, the earliest version of Disney’s most iconic character will be out of copyright soon. But you may be surprised by what happens thereafter.
HOLLYWOOD
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December 26, 2022
Will S.B.F. Make a Deal?
Bar heavies and white shoe litigators weigh in with their most provocative legal predictions for 2023: on the future of Hollywood M&A, Murdoch’s defamation headache, Trump’s obstruction jeopardy, and more.
SILICON VALLEY
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December 19, 2022
Elon’s Legal Road to Perdition
The explosion of litigation stemming from Musk’s rampage at Twitter—mass firings, gag orders, jilted shareholders and vendors—threatens to expedite the company’s astounding downfall into the hands of its creditors. Too bad he’s fired so many lawyers.
SILICON VALLEY
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December 12, 2022
Lina Khan’s Long-Game Microsoft Deal Killer
Microsoft’s $69 billion Activision deal may be defensible from an antitrust perspective. But Biden’s F.T.C. has an overwhelming advantage: time.
HOLLYWOOD
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December 5, 2022
The People vs. James Dolan
The Knicks and Rangers owner has long been considered one of the worst, and least effective, owners in sports. Does he care? Now he’s added technology at MSG to facially identify lawyers suing his company.
HOLLYWOOD
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November 21, 2022
Is Taylor Swift the Anti-Hero of the Ticketmaster Debacle?
The “Eras Tour” imbroglio doesn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know about the notorious ticketing company, but it’s cause to revisit the idea of suits versus artists. Ticketmaster, after all, functions as an agent for artists. Shouldn’t they shoulder some of the responsibility?
WALL STREET
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November 14, 2022
The S.B.F. Bankruptcy Tea Leaves
FTX anticipated getting hit with an avalanche of lawsuits and likely filed for Chapter 11 early to pause the mayhem. This peace of mind will only last so long.
SILICON VALLEY
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November 7, 2022
The Apple-Epic Grudge Match, Round Two
A multi-billion dollar suit over Apple’s “internet tax” could affect everything from the survival of Elon Musk’s Twitter to the geopolitics behind TikTok.
HOLLYWOOD
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October 24, 2022
Paul Newman’s Warring Heirs & Metaverse Estate Planning
The late Hollywood heartthrob turned salad-dressing entrepreneur left behind a billion-dollar food empire and very, very specific instructions for his estate. But even the best laid plans can go awry when there’s money on the line.