Susan Zuckerman Williams
- Legal
Susan Williams is a partner in the Entertainment and Media practice
of Paul Hastings and is based in the firm's Century City office. She is
co-chair of the firm's Entertainment and Media Finance group.
Highly regarded as one of the entertainment industry's top
dealmakers, Ms. Williams is frequently sought to represent clients on
some of their most significant finance and restructuring
transactions. Ms. Williams represents financial institutions, senior,
mezzanine, and equity funds, major independent production
companies, and high-net-worth individuals in a wide variety of
capital transactions involving film and television content. Her vast
experience includes overall company capital raises, slate financings,
first and second lien financings, single-picture production loans,
print and advertising financing, securitizations, structured financing
transactions, co-productions, and domestic and foreign taxincentivized
financings, as well as distressed debt and restructuring
transactions. She handles numerous transactions involving new and
emerging distribution platforms and represents companies at the
intersection of entertainment, media, and technology that are
involved in various content transactions, including distribution and
co-financing agreements with major studios and with international
distribution companies. In addition, she has significant experience
handling private equity, M&A, and joint ventures, and has extensive
experience successfully guiding secured creditors through the
unique issues surrounding entertainment and media assets in
bankruptcy.
Widely recognized as one of the most influential women in
Century City. Hollywood, Ms. Williams has been named multiple times to The
Hollywood Reporter's annual "Power Lawyers" list of the 100 most
influential entertainment attorneys in America, has been repeatedly
recognized in Variety's annual "Dealmakers Impact," "Legal Impact,"
and "Women's Impact" issues, and has been repeatedly named
among the Daily Journal's Top Women Lawyers. She is also ranked by
Chambers USA in California Media & Entertainment, where clients
note that she is "highly experienced in the entertainment space" and
a "very strong technical lawyer who also brings a commercial
sensibility to the legal aspects" of the industry.
Beyond her legal accomplishments, Ms. Williams dedicates a
significant portion of her time to mentoring and serving as a role
model to the next generation of female lawyers. She is a partner
advisor to our Women's Paul Hastings Affinity Network whose
mission is to promote inclusion, while providing various leadership,
professional, and business development opportunities for women at
the firm. She is also a regular speaker on promoting women in the
legal profession.