“I love working with filmmakers, television producers and writers, authors, playwrights and other creative people to help them get their dream projects onto screen, stage or print.”—Kathleen Conkey
Kathleen is a New York City media and entertainment attorney in practice since 1992, most of that time spent representing clients who make documentaries, films, television shows, plays, musicals, novels and memoirs; most specifically in the pre-broadcast and pre-publication review of such content. She offers advice and counsel on copyright fair use, libel, privacy, right of publicity, misappropriation, trademark fair use, releases, reality stunts, hazardous shoots, First Amendment issues, newsgathering, hidden cameras and microphones, drones, trespass, Son of Sam laws, reporter’s privilege, confidential sources, and rights and clearances, as well as legal opinion letters for E&O insurance and distribution requirements. Her clients have included a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Academy Award-nominated documentarians, television production companies with numerous shows on the air and many filmmakers with theatrical and streaming releases.
Kathleen started as a litigation associate at Debevoise and Plimpton before moving to the media boutique firm of Lankenau Kovner and Kurtz (now merged with Davis Wright Tremaine). Her in-house experience includes Vice President for MTV Networks (now Paramount), and Senior Counsel for CBS Television and King World Productions.
She is a co-author and co-editor of Counseling Content Providers in the Digital Age, published by the New York State Bar Association, which focuses on the specialty practice area of pre-broadcast and pre-publication review. She regularly speaks at film festivals and bar association events. She is a long-time member of the Media Law Resource Center, a national organization of media and entertainment lawyers, and the New York State Bar Association’s Media Law Committee and its Entertainment Arts and Sports Law Section.
Prior to law school, Kathleen was Press Secretary to Manhattan Borough President David Dinkins and a staff writer for Ralph Nader. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the William Allen White Foundation, a non-profit organization connected to the University of Kanas and dedicated to improving the practice and education of journalism nationally.
Beyond the law, Kathleen’s interests include competitive gardening at her Catskills Mountain home.
Co-Editor and Co-Author
Counseling Content Providers in the Digital Age: A Handbook for Lawyers – New York State Bar Association
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