Participant Media GC on the Legal Pitfalls of Controversial Movies

Whether they’re taking on the Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandal in “Spotlight,” or giving Edward Snowden a platform in “Citizenfour,” Participant Media isn’t afraid to stir the pot.

Gabriel Brakin is in charge of making sure the pot doesn’t boil over. The first attorney hired by the company eight years ago, Brakin, 35, was named the company’s first general counsel in March.

“We try to just tell important, entertaining stories, so that people want to come and watch, but at the same time they leave the theater thinking about issues they might not have been thinking about before,” Brakin said. “When you tread on that ground you often get yourself into some controversial subject matter.”

Founded in 2004 by former eBay executive Jeff Skoll, Participant has also been behind “Contagion,” “Lincoln,” “The Help,” “He Named Me Malala,” and “An Inconvenient Truth.”

A graduate of UCLA Law School and a former associate in the Century City office of O’Melveny & Myers, Brakin recently spoke with Big Law Business about his hiring philosophy, legal industry diversity, and the legal challenges facing Participant.

Read the first part of the interview, about his decision to leave O’Melveny for Participant, here .

Below is an edited transcript of the second installment of the interview.

Big Law Business: How much of your legal team have you hired? What’s your hiring philosophy?

Brakin: I hired basically the entire team. A lot of the growth of the legal department happened organically as the company grew. When I joined it was just over a 30-person company. It was basically a very small film financing company. We’re now at about 230, maybe 240 people, split between LA and New York.

Ultimately, when I look to hire, I look for a mix, a diversity, in all respects. I want people with different types of backgrounds that bring different experiences and skill sets, so that we feel like we are covering the board in terms of approaches to deals. I’ve hired lawyers with big firm experience, and that brings a really great just skill set to the mix, but sometimes you need a diversity of thinking.

Obviously, diversity is important in all ways, so I think we’re pretty evenly split between men and women in the department. It’s also important that we reflect the culture around us.

Big Law Business: Why’s diversity been so tough in the legal industry? Will it be different for your generation of lawyers?

Brakin: I think there’s been a lack of opportunity in even getting into law school, and being successful, and then getting into the corporate track. I think that’s improving a lot. I know it’s been widely reported as a struggle for the legal industry at large, but I haven’t particularly struggled with hiring or finding diverse candidates here.

I think LA, and perhaps the entertainment industry, attracts a wider variety of people into it. I think that’s improving as time goes on. My family is of Latin American decent, from Argentina, so that’s always been top of mind. My parents were immigrants. I grew up bilingual, speaking Spanish and English at home, so that was always very second nature for me. I think our department reflects that.

[caption id="attachment_13999" align="alignleft” width="750"][Image “Courtesy of Participant Media” (src=https://bol.bna.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Gabe_Headshot_2016-1-e1461944922117.jpg)]Courtesy of Participant Media[/caption]

Big Law Business: Where do you lean on outside law firms most? Which firms do you use?

Brakin: There was an entertainment group at O’Melveny that we used for many years. They recently split up into two different groups. Basically half of the group went over to Latham & Watkins maybe two years ago. We now use both firms on the corporate side now.

We have been using Davis Wright Tremaine on a lot of First Amendment issues, and they’ve also been great. When it comes to individual productions, we use smaller solo practitioners or boutique entertainment firms here in LA.

Big Law Business: As GC at an entertainment company, what types of issues keep you up at night?

Brakin: The type of content we do tends to involve true life stories, or topical events that are in the news, or controversial issues. We try not to publicize the approach to them. We try to just tell important, entertaining stories, so that people want to come and watch, but at the same time they leave the theater thinking about issues they might not have been thinking about before.

When you tread on that ground you often get yourself into some controversial subject matter. There are sometimes good guys and bad guys, and we’re just trying to be true to the stories. Those are the areas that can be a source of great challenge, and at times anxiety, let’s say, but at the same time it’s what makes the job really interesting.

I don’t know that it keeps me up at night, but we do come across our fair share of challenges on that front. For example, we financed “Citizenfour,” which won best documentary feature at last year’s Oscars. It was about Edward Snowden. We had “Spotlight” this last year, which won best picture, and that was one with obviously controversial subject matter.

Defamation, libel, First Amendment, and fair use issues come up quit a lot in the content business generally. Sometimes there are governmental issues when we’re getting into sensitive areas of reporting, or where we’re dealing with issues of national security. We’ve had some experience in that vein as well.

Big Law Business: What do you do for fun when you’re not working?

Brakin: I’m an avid surfer, so I live pretty close to the beach here in LA. That’s probably very cliché, but it’s true. Also I’m married, and my wife is expecting our first baby boy, so that is about to become my other main interest, taking care of him.

Travel is also high on our list. Like I said, my family is from Argentina, so we grew up going down there quite a lot. My wife is Brazilian as well. That leads us to also have an interest in soccer, and perhaps somewhat of a rivalry as well. I’ve gone to the last few World Cups.

Big Law Business: What’s your favorite Participant film?

Brakin: I have to say it was “Spotlight,” not only because of the critical and box office success, but also because of the impact the film has had. We’ve heard from all kinds of survivors who’ve come out, and heard really powerful stories of how the movie has empowered them to feel more comfortable sharing their story.

“Spotlight” is the perfect example of a film that probably would not have been made if not for Participant Media existing. We were one of the only companies out there that would have green lit that film. On paper it did not appear to be a very commercial proposition.

I think Food, Inc., on the documentary side was one that really resonated for me. I don’t know if you saw that film, but it really did kind of cause changes in the way that I live, and what I eat.