David Zitzerman

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David Zitzerman

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Overview

David Zitzerman is a partner and head of the Entertainment Law Group at Goodmans LLP. He has exclusively practised entertainment law for over 25 years.

David's practice focuses on the film, television and online industries in Canada and the United States. His clients include independent producers, Canadian networks, Hollywood studios, US networks, cable services and OTT services, private equity investors, European broadcasters, film and TV distributors, publishers, game companies, talent guilds and agencies, writers and performers.

David is recognized as a leading lawyer by Chambers Canada (Band 1 – Media & Entertainment Canada), The Legal 500 Canada, Who’s Who Legal: Canada, The Lexpert/American Lawyer Media Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada and The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory. David is also recommended for both defamation and media law and entertainment law by Best Lawyers in Canada. He was included as a noted media lawyer in Euromoney’s 2020 Guide to the World’s Leading Technology, Media & Telecommunications Lawyers, was named the “2024 and 2020 Toronto Entertainment Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers in Canada and one of the 30 leading media lawyers in the world (2002, 2010-2021) by Euromoney’s The Best of the Best. David is listed as a Global Elite Thought Leader in Entertainment in WWL: Thought Leaders – Global Elite 2022 and rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell.

Expertise

Featured Work

David’s representative work includes acting for:
Over-The-Top (OTT) Services
  • Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ , Paramount+, Apple TV + , Netflix and NBC Hayu in connection with their respective OTT activities and productions in Canada
Hollywood Studios and US SVOD Services, Networks and Producers 
  • Paramount Global, Warner Bros. Discovery , Disney , NBCU , CBS Studios, Universal International Studios, Alcon, Amazon Studios, Netflix, Apple Studios, AMC, EPIX , MGM, DreamWorks, YouTube, Showtime, Twin Cities Public Television and Cloudco in connection with their productions in Canada 
Canadian Clients
  • WildBrain, Entertainment One, Shaftesbury, Insight, Bell Media, Cineflix, 9 Story Media, Boat Rocker Media, Blink49 Studios, Corus Entertainment, Aircraft Pictures, Guru Studios, Dept. 9 Studios, Nelson Education, the Writers Guild of Canada and Dr. Jordan Peterson
Investment Canada Act (ICA) Advice
  • NBCU, Elevation Pictures, Shaftesbury, Red Arrow, 9 Story Media, Argonon, Boat Rocker Media and Apple Canada
International Co-Productions and Joint Ventures
  • Sumitomo, Bento Box, Discovery Communications, Shaftesbury, NBCU, Fred Rogers Company, WGBH and Moody Studios

Awards & Recognition

  • Best Lawyers in Canada Lawyer of the Year, Entertainment Law 2024
  • Best Lawyers in Canada Recognized, Defamation and Media Law, Entertainment Law 2024
  • The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory Most Frequently Recommended, Entertainment Law 2023
  • Chambers Canada Band 1, Media and Entertainment 2023
  • The Legal 500 Canada Leading Individual, Media and Entertainment 2023
  • Lexpert/American Lawyer Media Guide Most Frequently Recommended, Entertainment Law 2023
View all Awards & Recognition

Credentials

Professional Involvement

David regularly lectures on entertainment law, appears on BNN Bloomberg and CBC Radio and speaks at Canadian, U.S. and international entertainment-related seminars and podcasts. He is an Adjunct Professor teaching entertainment law at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. He has published a number of articles and is a co-author of “Entertainment Law in Canada” published by LexisNexis. David is a director of the Canadian Film Centre and is on the Program Advisory Committee of the Ryerson School of Radio & Television Arts and is an arbitrator for the Independent Film & Television Alliance. He is a member of Film Ontario, the Canadian Media Production Association, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television and is a Gold Patron of the Toronto International Film Festival. He also serves as vice chair of the Law Firm Advisory Board of AMEC (The Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel).

Credentials

  • University of Toronto, J.D., 1981
  • University of Manitoba, B.A., 1978, Gold Medal - Highest Standing in Arts

Professional Affiliations

  • Law Society of Ontario
  • Canadian Bar Association (Ontario)
  • Canadian Film Centre
  • Canadian Screenwriters Collection Society
  • Toronto International Film Festival
  • Ryerson School of Radio & Television Arts and Digital Convergence Executive Program
  • Open Screenplay
  • Film Ontario
  • Canadian Media Production Association
  • Women in Film and Television-Toronto
  • Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television
  • Canadian Association of Recording Artists

Call to Bar

  • Ontario

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