SENIOR COUNSELMichèle M. LeBlanc
Senior Partner
Foreign Languages: French, Spanish
Practice Areas: Entertainment law, film finance
structure, Louisiana motion picture tax credit certifications
and transfers, corporate law.
Biography:
Ms. LeBlanc, an international entertainment and film financing
attorney, has over 19 years of experience as in-house Legal &
Business Affairs Executive for film and television
studios/networks, including Senior Vice-President,
Vice-President, Department Head of Business & Legal Affairs
and/or Head Consultant for Disney/ABC Television, Fox,
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Film Studios/United Artists all in Los
Angeles, and Universal Studios/Canal Plus in Paris, France She
also worked for the Enforcement Division of the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission.
Michèle served as Special Counsel to British Prime Minister Tony
Blair’s British Council Film delegations to China, Special
Counsel to the East-West Film Festivals in China (Beijing and
Shanghai), the United Kingdom and Germany, and Special Counsel
to Women's International Film Festival during the Cannes
International Film Festival. She has been a Visiting Professor
of Entertainment Law & Copyright Law at Tulane University Law
School in New Orleans and has taught at the American University
of Paris and the ICC International Business Law & Practice
Institute in Paris, France.
Additionally, Ms. LeBlanc has been involved in the drafting of
legislation for Louisiana, including for tax credit incentives
and entertainment-related issues, and has been asked to prepare
legislative and incentive packages for several foreign
jurisdictions. Additionally, she has been published in AFMA
international publications, the International Bar Journal,
and the Louisiana State Bar Journal. She has published
over 30 articles, was a regular columnist in CitiBusiness
and New Business regional magazines, was a regular
columnist on issues of entertainment law and production
incentives for the Louisiana Film & Video Magazine and
the former Take2 Film Magazine entertainment industry
periodicals. She has served as the Official Reporter for
International Bar Association "Conference on New Technologies
and International Entertainment Law."
Ms. LeBlanc is a frequent speaker at conferences seminars
relating to film financing, entertainment law, production
incentives and tax credits, which have included the Cannes Film
Festival, AFM, NATPE, Hollywood Film Festival, Louisiana State
Bar Association, Beverly Hills Bar Association, Washington DC
Bar Association, Loyola Law School, Southern University Law
Center, Tulane University Law School, Hollywood Networking
Seminars, LA Film School, and many others. She is often quoted
as a source on film financing, tax credits and production
incentives in industry trades, including Screen International,
EMMY Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter and others.
Michèle was honored as one of the Top Ten Young Working Women in
America and one of the leading Young Professionals in Louisiana.
Admitted:
1988, Louisiana; followed by the District of Columbia Court of
Appeals and U.S. Supreme Court, and formerly the Barreau de
Paris, France.
Education:
J.D., Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center,
1998; University of Houston Law Center, Securities Law Studies,
1988; International Law, Université de Droit, l'Economie et des
Sciences d'Aix-Marseille, Aix-en-Provence, France, 1987; M.B.A.
(Finance), University of Louisiana, 1981; B.S. (International
Marketing & Foreign Languages--French & Spanish), Louisiana
State University, French Studies, Université de l'Ouest d'Angers,
France, and Université de Jonquière, Quebec, Canada.
Member:
Louisiana State Bar Association (Charter Member, Co-Chair,
Legislative Committee, and Chair, Art Entertainment & Sports Law
Section); District of Columbia Bar; American Bar Association;
National Association of Television Production Executives;
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and a Judge of the Emmy™
primetime television awards; previously on Accreditation
Committee of the Graduate School of Business of University of
Louisiana (Lafayette); Chairman, Foundation of Louisiana
Acadians.
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Harvey Dzodin
Special Senior Counsel (Europe, the Middle East,
China)
(Admitted in New York and Massachusetts)
Languages:
French, Spanish
Biography:
Harvey Dzodin joined ABC Television Network in 1982,
and served as Vice President since 1987. Mr. Dzodin
also serves as Senior International Advisor to the
publication China's Talents, an influential Chinese
magazine distributed mainly to senior government
officials and business leaders. He is President of
Midpoint Chi-Am, a Beijing-based marketing firm
providing consulting services and acting as a bridge
to entertainment and media-related projects between
East and West. Mr. Dzodin also represents
international clients in the media and entertainment
fields located in the People's Republic of China and
in the nation of Turkey, including helping the
prestigious company More & More Productions grow
their business on a global basis.
Mr. Dzodin previously managed the
arts and culture portfolio for ABC's Volunteer
Initiatives Program and was actively involved in the
arts and entertainment life of New York City. He
served as Advisor to several arts organizations in
New York, including MUSE Film and Television. Mr.
Dzodin represented ABC Television Network at the New
York Grantmakers in the Arts. He was also a member
of the team that created and produced the American
Symphony Orchestra League's Play Music! campaign, as
well as PSAs for the New York State Council on the
Arts and the United Nations. He also helped produce
videos for Young Concert Artists and the Scholastic
Art and Writing Awards.
Mr. Dzodin served as a Director of
the American Symphony Orchestra League and was a
Director of Religion in American Life. His
extracurricular pursuits outside the practice of law
include participation in the Council on Foreign
Relations and the Carnegie Council on Ethics and
International Affairs. He has served as a member of the
Boards at Michigan State University, and the University
of Maryland School of Nursing.
Mr. Dzodin served as Counsel to
President Carter's White House Conference on Families,
the United Nations International Board in Vienna,
Austria, was an attorney with the Federal Trade
Commission and a Legislative Assistant in the United
States Congress.
Mr. Dzodin is a life member of the
American Radio Relay League, the New York Academy of
Sciences and the National Geographic Society. The
Advertising Council has awarded him its Silver Bell for
distinguished public service. Also, Mr. Dzodin has been
elected to Who's Who in the World.
Education:
L.L.M., 1974, The London School of Economics, London,
England.
J.D., 1973, Harvard Law School, Boston, Massachusetts.
B.S., The Honors College, Michigan State University,
East Lansing, Michigan (Phi Beta Kappa)
Admitted:
New York (Chairman Emeritus of the Committee on
Public Relations of the New York State Bar
Association), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United
States Supreme Court and United States District
Court.
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LAW
CLERKS
Brad Tate
Senior Law Clerk
Biography:
Brad Tate, a third year law student at Louisiana
State University’s Paul M. Hebert Law Center, began his career at
Art & Entertainment Law Group of LeBlanc & Associates in 2007. His
focus includes production and infrastructure state certifications,
liaison with state agencies, tax credit legislation, motion picture
tax credit transfers, and copyright legal documentation.
Prior to working at AELGLA, Brad was a law clerk
for the Louisiana Public Service Commission. He has also worked as
an accounting intern at Woman’s Hospital and North Oaks Medical
Center.
Additionally, Brad has served as the President of
the LSU Law Tax Club and manager of the LSU Law Center’s Volunteer
Income Tax Assistance program. In this capacity, he has organized
and managed the tax site which completes more than 300 tax returns
for non-resident aliens each year, on a pro bono basis.
Brad graduated summa cumme laude from
Southeastern Louisiana University and received the President’s Medal
for Academic Excellence. He will graduate with his Juris Doctorate
and Bachelor of Civil Law degrees from Louisiana State University in
May 2008.
Education:
J.D., Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center,
2008; B.S., Accounting, Southeastern Louisiana University, 2005.
Member:
Baton Rouge Bar Association, Forum35, LSU Law Tax Club
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