Larry Sheffield
USC Gould School of Law

Larry Sheffield is an accomplished lawyer with vast experience working on both the buyer and talent side of the entertainment business. Originally from the greater Philadelphia area, Sheffield came to Los Angeles to attend law school at Pepperdine University after completing his undergraduate studies at The College of William and Mary in Virginia.

Seeing an opportunity to broaden his understanding of the entertainment business after graduating from law school and to pursue a childhood dream, Sheffield accepted a junior executive position in the business affairs department at the Writers and Artist Agency. Working under the supervision of Dina Appleton, the author of Hollywood Deal Making, Sheffield honed his skills as a tough but fair negotiator and earned the reputation as a deal-closer. Following a merger with Paradigm, he became an executive in Paradigm’s business affairs department where he spent the better part of 5 years. Now an experienced executive,  Sheffield was offered a Vice President position in the Business and Legal Affairs department of Capitol Films/ThinkFilms where he supervised and oversaw the production of 5 different movies among many other responsibilities including overseeing distribution agreements for multiple territories and platforms. With a desire to return to his true passion, Sheffield accepted an offer as Head of Business Affairs department at Montana Artists Agency in 2009, where he served until a much-publicized on to APA in 2014 as Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs. It was during this period that Sheffield proved to be invaluable by maintaining an orderly transition for the many agents and clients who moved from Montana to APA.

Sheffield has found success in being a tough, thoughtful and zealous advocate while also being a fair negotiator and believes that you can fight to get the most for your clients while remaining professional and keeping good working relationships with buyers, lawyers, managers, agents and other business professionals.

When not hard at work, Sheffield enjoys traveling, golfing, tennis, basketball, football, baseball, softball, hiking, yoga and open wheel car racing. Being a decorated track and cross country athlete while at The College of William and Mary, he also served as an Assistant Coach on Pepperdine’s Men’s Cross Country Team while in law school and maintains a love of running, racing and teaching.
 

FACULTY IN THE NEWS

The Washington Post
July 28, 2021
Re: Clare Pastore

Clare Pastore was interviewed about the Activision Blizzard lawsuit. “The DFEH would want to take on cases to set precedents, against particularly bad actors, if there are lot of complaints about the same employer, or to send a wake up call to the industry," she said.

RECENT SCHOLARSHIP

Gregory Keating
May, 2021

“Form and Substance in the 'Private Law' of Torts,” 14 Journal of Tort Law 45 (2021).

Robin Craig
May, 2021

Robin Craig accepted the invitation of the Environmental Law Institute (Washington. D.C.) to participate in its new project on Communicating the Science of Sea Level Rise. The project will involve a webinar and a conference in late 2021, with Craig slated to speak on property, water law, and constitutional issues arising from adaptation to sea level rise.

Robin Craig
May, 2021

Robin Craig accepted an invitation to join the Advisory Board of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Center for Water Policy.