Mike Sword represents clients in all manner of transactions in the entertainment, media and personal branding industries.  Mike counsels producers, directors, writers, managers, agents, rights owners and performing talent with respect to a wide variety of dealings in the fields of television, film, music, broadband, publishing, radio, personal branding, sponsorship, talent management, merchandising, theatre, live entertainment and fashion.    

A particular area of emphasis in Mike’s practice involves advising clients involved in the creation, production and sale of reality/non-fiction content for television and broadband media.  Additionally, Mike has extensive experience representing on-camera performing talent in the television industry, helping his clients manage their media careers and strategically extend their personal brands across a variety of media and capitalize on related business opportunities. 

Mike also regularly represents filmmakers with respect to the development, financing, production and exploitation of feature films and scripted television programs.   Recent deals include projects for which Mike served as executive producer:  Gerald “Gee Bee” Barclay’s award-winning documentary, Wu: The Story of the Wu-Tang Clan, and the upcoming independent feature, The Dissection of Thanksgiving, starring Kathleen Quinlan. 

Another significant element of Mike’s practice involves providing counsel to music producers, composers, songwriters, musicians and engineers, crossing all categories from Hip-Hop and rock to classical and Broadway, as well as to concert promoters, music publishers, record labels, personal management companies.  Mike has successfully negotiated recording contracts, publishing deals, concert engagements and personal management agreements, as well as licensing agreements and music clearances.  He has significant experience in helping both creative artists and music companies structure and manage their business affairs to fully protect their rights and maximize their ability to profit from their endeavors. 

A sampling of Mike’s media clients include Emmy-award winning television producer and host Gordon Elliott (Follow That Food, Paula’s Home Cooking), world renowned fashion photographers Markus Klinko & Indrani, noted private investigator and television personality Vinnie Parco (Parco P.I.), and respected genre filmmaker Tim Cox (Mammoth, Larva, Alien Lockdown).  Mike also handles all legal and business affairs matters for Follow Productions, Inc., a leading supplier of lifestyle television content. 

Over the past few years, Mike has advised clients in dealings with, among others, CBS, HBO, NBC, Food Network, Fine Living Network, Fox Reality Channel, QVC, MTV, VH1, Spike TV, Discovery Channel, Nickelodeon, Sci Fi Channel, The Tennis Channel, TWI/IMG Media, Paramount Pictures, New Line Entertainment, Dimension Films, The Weinstein Company, Lionsgate Films, Sirius Satellite Radio, XM Radio, Threshold Entertainment, SonyBMG, Interscope Records, Motown, EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Publishing, Capitol Records, Warner Music Group, Curb Music, Universal Music Group, Decca Records, Radiculture Records, The Royal National Theatre, Rockstar Games/Take Two Interactive, Midway Games, Bugle Boy, Ozzy Osbourne/Ozzfest, Snoop Dogg, Cee-Lo Green, Nas, Dr. Dre, The Pharcyde, Fabolous, Matchbox Twenty, Aerosmith, and Phish. 

In addition to practicing law, Mike operates Sword Entertainment Holdings LLC, through which he develops television, movie and other media projects.  The company specializes in developing remakes of vintage film and television properties.  Current projects include “re-imagined” feature film versions of the cult science fiction/horror franchise, C.H.U.D., as well as the classic television show, The Space Giants, via a partnership with Lakeside TV Co.  

Recently, Mike spent two years on the Board of Directors for Inside Broadway, a not-for-profit group that provides cultural opportunities and educational entertainment for New York City schoolchildren. 

Mike began his career in the New York office of Proskauer Rose LLP as a member of the firm’s corporate department and entertainment law group.  He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Virginia, as well as a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law.