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Overview

Sunny Brenner is a litigator, appellate advocate, counselor, and former federal prosecutor. He represents and advises large corporations, small businesses, and individual clients in a wide range of commercial disputes in federal and state courts, arbitration tribunals, and governmental proceedings. He also provides legal counseling to clients on various topics related to litigation and non-litigation matters.

Sunny's areas of legal expertise include complex contractual disputes, intellectual property litigation (including copyright, trademark, idea theft, right of publicity, and right of privacy claims), entertainment-related lawsuits, appellate litigation, general commercial litigation, fraud and other business torts, partnership and limited liability company disputes, defamation, First Amendment issues, antitrust, unfair competition, and white collar criminal matters. He has extensive experience in conducting trials and arbitration proceedings, as well as litigating and arguing appeals in federal and state appellate courts.

While he represents clients in numerous industries, Sunny has unique experience in representing and advising clients in the entertainment, sports, and media businesses. His clients have included film studios, television networks, production companies, financial institutions, film distributors, financiers, advertising agencies, and music publishers, as well as producers, directors, screenwriters, actors, athletes, musical artists, and other individuals involved in film, television, music, and new media. He has litigated, arbitrated, and successfully concluded countless disputes relating to the creation, development, production, financing, distribution, advertising, and marketing of motion picture and television properties. Likewise, he has litigated and successfully concluded numerous cases involving claims of copyright infringement, trademark infringement and dilution, idea misappropriation, violations of rights of publicity or privacy rights, defamation, fraud, and other business torts. His experience in acting on behalf of companies and individuals involved in entertainment, sports, and media has given him a wealth of industry-specific knowledge that has proven invaluable to his clients.

In his role as counselor, Sunny advises, strategizes with, and negotiates on behalf of clients, including those not involved in litigation. He frequently investigates, analyzes, and responds to claims prior to litigation; assists in negotiating, drafting, and analyzing agreements; prepares or comments on corporate policies and other documents; and analyzes legal issues during the due diligence phases of corporate transactions. He also counsels clients regarding dispute-avoidance and risk management strategies in the structuring of business deals, dispute resolution provisions, electronic document management, and other subjects relevant to their businesses. Additionally, he provides guidance regarding film clearance issues and other matters pertaining to literary and audiovisual works. 

Sunny has authored numerous articles and spoken on a variety of legal topics to professional groups, private corporations, and law students. He has been a guest lecturer at Boalt Law School at U.C. Berkeley and U.C.L.A. Law School, and previously served as a member of the Board of Editors of Entertainment Law & Finance.

Prior to joining Loeb & Loeb, he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Central District of California. He received multiple commendations for his work as a federal prosecutor, including the U.S. Department of Justice Special Achievement Award. From 1987 to 1988, he served as a law clerk for the Honorable Jerome Farris of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Sunny has extensive leadership and community experience. He has served as president of the board of trustees of a private elementary school in the Los Angeles area and as a board member of several nonprofit organizations. He is a member of the State Bar of California and the Los Angeles County Bar Association.

  • Limitations of Liability in Entertainment Contracts
    Speaker
  • Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Entertainment Industry
    Speaker

Education

  • Harvard Law School, J.D., cum laude, Editor, Harvard Law Review
  • University of California, Berkeley, B.A., Phi Beta Kappa

Court Admissions

  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
  • U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Utah

Bar Admissions

  • California

Clerkships

  • U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, January 01, 1987

Recognition

  • Named "Southern California Super Lawyer" in Business Litigation, Entertainment & Sports and Intellectual Property Litigation by Thomson Reuters (2006-2008, 2014-2018)
  • Named in The Legal 500 US in Intellectual Property: Copyright (2007) and Media and Entertainment: Litigation (2022-2024), published by Legalease Limited and John Pritchard
  • U.S. Department of Justice Special Achievement Award

Affiliations

  • Member, Litigation and Intellectual Property Sections, California State Bar
  • Member, Appellate Courts and Entertainment Law and Intellectual Property Sections, Los Angeles County Bar Association