Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman has hired JOHN BERLINSKI and MANSI SHAH as partners in Los Angeles to launch an entertainment litigation practice for the firm. Both previously worked at NBCUniversal, where Berlinski served as senior vice president and head of West Coast television litigation, and Shah as senior litigation counsel.
Berlinski says the attorneys left NBCUniversal for Kasowitz because joining the firm presented a unique opportunity to represent talent in entertainment litigation. “Most major national firms are typically on the studio side, and they are unable to clear all conflicts and be adverse to the studios,” Berlinski says. “Kasowitz does not represent the studios, so we can be adverse.”
