Production Insurance + Hiring a 1st Amendment / Civil Rights Attorney

J

jcs

Veteran
A potential client would like to create a documentary about their life, which includes elements related to the 1st Amendment (1A) and Civil Rights.

1st, need to find quality production insurance (likely a small team at this point), liability etc.
2nd, they have asked to retain counsel with 1A experience in addition to media/production contract experience.
Ideally in or near Beverly Hills- client would like to meet with counsel in person throughout production.

Found a bit of info via google- would be helpful to get first-hand experience and feedback- thanks in advance for any tips!
 
I'm sorry to say, but if I depended on someone to do a documentary film with and they wanted to drive up the cost in legal fees, I'd drop them or the entire concept. This project sounds like a bad situation that will only get worse.
 
A few thoughts:

If the client is funding the project, that might limit outlets for the film, as it may be viewed as a promotional film and not an independent documentary.
For example, here's what PBS says:
"While financing from funders is critical to support the production of high-quality educational content, PBS will not accept funding that could compromise the editorial credibility or integrity of that content. "
https://www.pbs.org/about/producing-pbs/funding/

Insurance:
My insurance, as is that of many of my friends, is ultimately through The Hartford. But I work with an insurance broker, Brady Ward of Jaffe-Schossberg in San Francisco. He's super helpful in guiding me through the whole process and in getting out COIs when I need them, providing media perils and E&O guidance, etc. Sure, he makes money when I buy stuff, but the lack of time I have to spend on tricky situations is worth it. I'm paying about $1400/year for about $2M in coverage...but it's way more complex than that. I suggest getting recommendations from LA-area doc filmmakers, especially those who've delt with similar content and issues as the proposed film might cover, and get some suggestions for a good LA-area broker. You can probably find some good leads through the LA-based International Documentary Association. https://www.documentary.org

Lawyers:
For lawyers, the big names in the LA doc scene are Michael Donaldson and Lisa Callif (and the rest of their firm). They work on films from all over the US, including a bunch that deal with edgy and controversial subjects. Based in Beverly Hills, naturally. :) http://www.donaldsoncallif.com

They aren't the only doc lawyers in town of course. I'll also mention California Lawyers for the Arts, which is largely a referral service. They're active all over the state (including LA) and usually have lots of interesting free/low-cost sessions, but those are all on hold right now. If you can't find a lawyer you jibe with, you can at least get some names through them: https://www.calawyersforthearts.org Also, the IDA can link you up.

My take: It's probably worth an hour and possibly a few-hundred dollars worth of your time to have some totally on-background chats with some filmmakers who've made films under the conditions you describe (subject-funded film that deals with political issues)...and perhaps more efficiently with a lawyer at Donaldson-Callif. For probably $400, you could get supervaluable advice on how to proceed, or if you should just walk away as HKB suggests. Or maybe the first 30min or whatever would be free. Either way, I'd say it's a bargain.

Good luck and let us know what happens!
 
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