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winston_strawn [2016/02/16 06:08] – [Pro Bono Representation] Carlos Pedrazawinston_strawn [2017/11/17 17:54] (current) – [Limited Pro Bono] adds 'notable clients' subsection Carlos Pedraza
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 ====== Winston & Strawn ====== ====== Winston & Strawn ======
 +<wrap lo>//See also: [[erin_ranahan|Erin Ranahan]], [[ranahan_interview_1_27_16|Erin Ranahan Interview]] and [[loeb_loeb|Loeb & Loeb]]//</wrap>
 +
 **Winston & Strawn** LLP is the law firm defending [[Axanar Productions]] Inc., and its producer, [[Alec Peters]] in the [[copyright infringement]] [[lawsuit]] brought against them by [[CBS|CBS Studios]] and [[Paramount Pictures]] in connection with the films //[[Prelude to Axanar]]// and //[[Axanar]]//. **Winston & Strawn** LLP is the law firm defending [[Axanar Productions]] Inc., and its producer, [[Alec Peters]] in the [[copyright infringement]] [[lawsuit]] brought against them by [[CBS|CBS Studios]] and [[Paramount Pictures]] in connection with the films //[[Prelude to Axanar]]// and //[[Axanar]]//.
  
 ===== Pro Bono Representation ===== ===== Pro Bono Representation =====
 +
 {{ ::winston-logo.jpg?nolink|}} {{ ::winston-logo.jpg?nolink|}}
-Winston & Strawn signed Axanar and Peters as {!pro bono publico:Latin, //for public good// — service provided without charge}} clients on January 21, 2016. [[Erin Ranahan]] is the firm's lead attorney in the case.+Winston & Strawn signed Axanar and Peters as {!pro bono:Latin, //pro bono publico//, for public good — service provided without charge}} clients on January 21, 2016. [[Erin Ranahan]] is the firm's lead attorney in the case.
  
 Peters welcomed the prospect of being represented by Winston, known as one of the country's top intellectual property law firms. He said: Peters welcomed the prospect of being represented by Winston, known as one of the country's top intellectual property law firms. He said:
  
 > “We’re pleased to have our case taken up by Winston & Strawn,” said Peters. “The knowledge, credibility and reputation they bring to this matter will certainly help us work things out with CBS and Paramount in a professional manner and, we hope, to a mutual benefit so we can go on and make a Star Trek film fans have told us they want to see.”(([[http://axanar.e-presscenter.com/2016/01/winston-strawn-engagement/|Axanar e-Presscenter: Axanar Productions Signs Winston & Strawn as Legal Counsel in Copyright Infringement Suit, 1/22/16]])) > “We’re pleased to have our case taken up by Winston & Strawn,” said Peters. “The knowledge, credibility and reputation they bring to this matter will certainly help us work things out with CBS and Paramount in a professional manner and, we hope, to a mutual benefit so we can go on and make a Star Trek film fans have told us they want to see.”(([[http://axanar.e-presscenter.com/2016/01/winston-strawn-engagement/|Axanar e-Presscenter: Axanar Productions Signs Winston & Strawn as Legal Counsel in Copyright Infringement Suit, 1/22/16]]))
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 +{{page>understanding}}
 +
 +==== Description of Settlement ====
 +
 +After the case settled in January 2017,  Winston's in-house publication, //Pro Bono Reporter//, described how attorney [[Erin Ranahan]] led the team that "won" the settlement for Alec Peters and Axanar:
 +
 +> <wrap lo>**Team Wins Settlement for Star Trek Fan-Film Producer** \\ A team led by Los Angeles partner Erin Ranahan secured a settlement on the eve of trial for a lifelong Star Trek fan, and his small production company, Axanar in a lawsuit brought by Paramount Studio and CBS Studios. The case marked the  rst time that the studios had ever sued the makers of a fan film, despite a 40-year history of Star Trek fan fiction and fan  lms. Star Trek (movie) directors J.J. Abrams and Justin Lin made widely publicized statements supporting Axanar while the litigation was pending. \\ \\ Through limited crowd-funding campaigns, our clients had raised production funding for a 21-minute “mockumentary” fan film, //Prelude to Axanar//, centered on an obscure character appearing in a single 1969 episode of the original Star Trek TV series named “Garth of Izar.” That short film was distributed for free on the internet. Plaintiffs alleged that film and our clients’ plans to produce a longer film, constituted copyright infringement of fifty separate Star Trek works and their rights to countless elements including the Klingon language and the “pointy ears” of the Vulcan species. The settlement allows our clients to continue to show //Prelude to Axanar//, create additional works, use professional actors and raise unlimited private donations. \\ \\ 
 +Numerous attorneys in several offices contributed to defending the case, including handling more than 20 depositions, drafting summary judgment motions and oppositions, and assisting with pre-trial motions, including partners Jennifer Golinveaux and Paul McGrady, and attorneys Nikki Bhargava, Elizabeth Brodzinski, Shilpa Coorg, Tom Kearney, Diana Hughes Leiden, Brian Li-A-Ping, Mary Katherine Schweihs, Stacey Foltz Stark, Amy Stern, and Dorian Thomas, and former associates Kelly Oki and Amy Stern. The team also had substantial help from Los Angeles assistant Patty Waters and paralegal Susan Lawrence.</wrap>(([[https://www.winston.com/images/content/1/2/v2/128808/Pro-Bono-Reporter-Fall-2017.pdf|Pro Bono Reporter, Fall 2017]], Winston & Strawn LLP, p. 16, retrieved 11/1/17.))
  
 ==== Limited Pro Bono ==== ==== Limited Pro Bono ====
 +
 According to its announcement, Winston's pro bono arrangement with Axanar only covers its attorneys' hourly rates. It does not include any third-party or non-personnel expenses, which may prove substantial. Additionally, in civil cases, the losing side is liable for the legal expenses of the victor, and such fees are part of the [[summary_of_the_lawsuit#attorneys' fees|damages]] sought by CBS and Paramount. According to its announcement, Winston's pro bono arrangement with Axanar only covers its attorneys' hourly rates. It does not include any third-party or non-personnel expenses, which may prove substantial. Additionally, in civil cases, the losing side is liable for the legal expenses of the victor, and such fees are part of the [[summary_of_the_lawsuit#attorneys' fees|damages]] sought by CBS and Paramount.
 +
 +<WRAP right round info 50%>
 +[{{ ::george_ryan.jpg?100|Former Illinois Gov. **George Ryan**}}]
 +<wrap lo>**WINSTON'S PRO BONO** According to Wikipedia, former Illinois [[wp>Gov. George Ryan]] was also represented as a pro bono client by Winston & Strawn, defending him against federal corruption charges at the cost of as much as $20 million.</wrap>
 +</WRAP>
 +
 +=== Other Notable Pro Bono Clients ===
 +
 +Notably, among other pro bono clients represented by Winston, was Illinois Gov. George Ryan, who was convicted in 2006 on federal corruption charges related to a scheme inside the Ryan's Secretary of State's office during Ryan's term there in which unqualified truck drivers obtained licenses through bribes. Several people died in a fiery crash involving a driver implicated in the scheme.(([[wp>George_Ryan|Wikipedia article, "George Ryan"]], retrieved 11/17/17.))
 +
 +Ryan served as lieutenant governor under former Gov. Jim Thompson, who had gone on to serve as a managing partner at Winston. The defense cost the firm as much as $20 million by 2006.(([[wp>George_Ryan#Defense_and_Appeal|Wikipedia article, "George Ryan"]], retrieved 11/17/17.))
 ===== Intellectual Property Practice ===== ===== Intellectual Property Practice =====
-[{{ :ranahan_3.32.06_am.jpg?nolink&200|Winston intellectual property attorney Erin Ranahan}}]+ 
 +[{{ :ranahan_3.32.06_am.jpg?nolink&200|Winston intellectual property attorney **Erin Ranahan**}}] 
 According to its website, Winston's intellectual property practice has more than 200 attorneys and is one of the most active and highly regarded in the country, selected as a finalist for the American Lawyer's 2014 IP Litigation Department of the Year. According to its website, Winston's intellectual property practice has more than 200 attorneys and is one of the most active and highly regarded in the country, selected as a finalist for the American Lawyer's 2014 IP Litigation Department of the Year.
  
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 <WRAP round info> <WRAP round info>
-The following sections, **Second Legal Team?** and **Representing the 'Does'**, feature opinion or informed speculation.+<wrap lo>The following sections, **Second Legal Team?** and **Representing the 'Does'**, feature opinion or informed speculation.</wrap>
 </WRAP> </WRAP>
  
 ===== Second Legal Team? ===== ===== Second Legal Team? =====
-In an interview with 1701News, Peters said he was in talks with a second legal team who may join the case.(([[http://1701news.com/node/1001/peters-axanar-quality-spurred-lawsuit.html|1701News: Peters: 'Axanar' Quality Spurred Lawsuit]])) He did not elaborate on the firm or why they would join, leaving some to [[other_attorneys#unanswered questions|speculate]].+In an interview with 1701News, Peters said he was in talks with a second legal team who may join the case.(([[http://1701news.com/node/1001/peters-axanar-quality-spurred-lawsuit.html|1701News: Peters: 'Axanar' Quality Spurred Lawsuit, 2/1/16]])) He did not elaborate on the firm or why they would join, leaving some to [[other_attorneys#unanswered questions|speculate]]. In the end, only Winston represented Peters.
  
 ==== Representing the 'Does' ==== ==== Representing the 'Does' ====
 [{{ ::winston-peters.jpg?200|This selfie posted on the Axanar website features defendant Alec Peters, attorney Erin Ranahan (left) and her associate.}}] [{{ ::winston-peters.jpg?200|This selfie posted on the Axanar website features defendant Alec Peters, attorney Erin Ranahan (left) and her associate.}}]
-Might Winston & Strawn represent any of the {!Does:Short for 'John Does,' meaning unnamed defendants}}? 
  
-Likely not, as the up-to-20 [[does|unnamed defendants]] may end up having different interests to defend than do Peters or Axanar, presenting conflicts of interest requiring them to seek their own legal representation.+Might Winston & Strawn have represented any of the {!Does:Short for 'John Does,' meaning unnamed defendants}}?
  
-However, that puts the burden on those unnamed defendants for paying for their own counsel, even as they remain ‬personally and financially liable for some measure of [[summary_of_the_lawsuit#Prayer for relief|damages]] the studios seek in the lawsuit. That may create an opening for CBS to co-opt these defendants to testify against Axanar‭.+Likely not, as the up-to-20 [[does|unnamed defendants]] may well have ended up having different interests to defend than do Peters or Axanar, presenting conflicts of interest requiring them to seek their own legal representation.
 ===== Opposing Counsel ===== ===== Opposing Counsel =====
-The plaintiffs are represented by [[Loeb & Loeb]]. Its lead attorney on the case is [[Jonathan Zavin]].+The plaintiffs are represented by [[Loeb & Loeb]]. Its lead attorney on the case is [[Jonathan Zavin]]. {{:axamonitor-ico.gif?nolink|}}
  
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 +**Keywords**
 {{tag>players defendants lawsuit does}} {{tag>players defendants lawsuit does}}