Christopher R. O’Brien is a corporate transactional attorney and a member of Venable’s Entertainment and Media Group, and a co-chair of Venable’s Blockchain and Digital Currencies Group. He is a corporate attorney who works with major corporations, established companies, and nascent enterprises.
Chris advises buyers, sellers, investors, and joint venture partners in a range of corporate transactions and financings. He frequently serves as outside general counsel for his clients, including content producers and distributors, talent agencies, operating companies across a range of industries, and varied financing sources.
Chris has an insider’s perspective from his years as a senior in-house attorney for Fortune 500 toy company Mattel Inc. In that role, he handled the sale of the company’s Learning Company software division. Chris served as general counsel to a mobile telecom startup, privately valued at $1 billion, where he raised $120 million in equity financing.
He also served as general counsel of a publicly traded restaurant company with $700 million in revenue. Chris has worked with early-stage companies across many industries, including blockchain, financial services, and healthcare.
This diversity of client service is one reason the Los Angeles Business Journal named him one of the most influential attorneys practicing in digital media and e-commerce law.
Throughout his career, he has led matters with significant international components. Early in his legal practice he worked in the Prague and Helsinki offices of a prominent international law firm, and has handled critical legal matters in every major international market.
Experience :
- Represented a client in the acquisition of the largest independent digital entertainment content distributor in the United States
- Represented a client in the creation of a new television production joint venture between a prominent producer and a major network
- Represented a client in the creation of a reality television production company between prominent producers and a multinational media conglomerate
- Represented a client in the acquisition of equity interest in the largest music talent agency in the world representing DJ and electronica artists
- Represented a client in the corporate restructuring of an Internet-based luxury goods flash sale e-commerce company
- Represented a client in Preferred Stock E round equity financing of $120 million for a U.S. mobile phone and entertainment company
- Represented a client in the acquisition of a digital media network in India
- Represented a client in a global distribution alliance and equity purchase between the world’s largest toy company and the largest Japanese toy company.
Education :
- J.D. University of Southern California, Gould School of Law 1991
- B.A. The American University 1987
Bar Admissions : California
Community : Executive Committee, Measure MB, the successful parcel tax initiative that raises $2.65 million each year for Manhattan Beach Public Schools.
Cost
Rate : $$$
