abrams coate llp

trial and transactional attorneys


Alan Abrams

Alan Abrams is a partner in the firm and is head of the Abrams Coate Transactional Department overseeing business and legal affairs for the firm's transactional clients.

Alan began his career in the entertainment industry with the Writers Guild Of America, West, in 1978 where he served as Associate Resident Counsel handling grievance and arbitration proceedings and assorted other matters for screen and television writers in the film and television industry. Several years later, Alan then moved into private legal practice with the small, but highly successful entertainment boutique law firm of Russell & Glickman where he assisted the producers of many of the top ten television series of the day, including “Three's Company” and “Barney Miller”. After a successful run in private practice, Alan then joined Paramount Pictures Corporation in the television legal affairs area, representing Paramount in connection with its successful television series of the day, its ongoing television development activities, and in connection with several of its highly successful “Star Trek” series of feature motion pictures. After leaving Paramount, Alan joined the then premier independent film “mini studio”, Cannon Films, where he oversaw the development, production and distribution of Cannon's extensive film output, with a special emphasis on banking, cable and video exploitation of the Cannon library and current product and foreign sales of independently financed motion pictures. Following Cannon, Alan rejoined Paramount in the television business affairs department where he oversaw the legal and business affairs for many of its successful syndicated television series and was instrumental in setting up and overseeing its successful late night talk show, “The Arsenio Hall Show”. In 1989, Alan was named Vice President of Business Affairs for Imagine Films where he helped usher in many of its early hit theatrical motion pictures, such as “Parenthood”, “Kindergarten Cop”, “Backdraft” and “Far and Way.”

Alan ventured into private practice again in 1991 and has since then focused on independent films, representing the producers of “Catch Me If You Can”, “I, Robot”, the “Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book” series of films, “The Adventures of Pinocchio” series of films, “Half Past Dead” and “Monster”, as well as films from Tim Allen (“The Six Wives of Henry LeFay”), Mike Judge (“Extract” starring Jason Bateman and Mila Kunis), Hillary Swank (“Conviction”), the anthology film “New York, I Love You” for which Alan handled financing matters by melding state and federal tax credits, with equity and a presale gap loan to complete the complex financial structure of this film and the independent film “Fallen,” a special effects film with a $30M budget produced in Hungary, Canada and Australia and utilizing a complex financing structure involving tax incentives in Hungary, Canada, Australia and the UK utilizing senior bank debt, mezzanine financing, equity financing and tax credit lending in multiple jurisdictions. On the international front, Alan acted as counsel to one of international co-producers of “Cold Mountain” in connection with the co-production and complex tax advantaged financing of this film. In the television area, Alan handled all legal and business affairs matters for the Showtime television series “Look”, based upon the award winning independent feature by the same name, and currently is doing the same for the new Starz television series “The Girlfriend Experience” based upon Steven Soderbergh’s theatrical film.

Alan's private practice client list includes a variety of corporate and independent producers, distribution and sales agency companies, banks, studios, literary/talent agencies, animation producers and distributors, legitimate stage producers, directors, writers, performers, song writers, concert promoters and other individuals, for whom he has negotiated and documented a wide variety of deals. Alan maintains his special expertise in the area of representation of independent film producers in talent and rights negotiations and complex production, financing and distribution arrangements, including international co-productions, distribution and foreign and domestic tax based complex financing arrangements.

Over the course of a thirty seven year long career in the entertainment industry as an attorney and business affairs executive, Alan has been instrumental in the creation, production and distribution of hundreds of hours of film and television programming.

Additional information on the some of the many productions Alan Abrams has participated in as lead attorney is available on IMDb at: IMDB.com/name/nm0009156/