(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) —
Daniel M. Mandil has been named executive vice president, Global General Counsel & Secretary, Sony BMG Music Entertainment.
He will be responsible for establishing overall legal policy for the company and its worldwide operations, as well as for overseeing all aspects of operations within the Sony BMG Law Department. He will also serve as Sony BMG's liaison to domestic and international music industry trade groups on a wide variety of legal issues and will play a key role in the company's government relations initiatives.
"Daniel is a gifted lawyer, and his broad-based knowledge and experience speak directly to the key issues currently facing the music industry, ranging from copyright law to the complex legal and financial issues associated with entertainment in the digital arena," commented Andrew Lack, chief executive officer, Sony BMG Music Entertainment. "He has a remarkable track record as a legal strategist and proven abilities as a team leader, making it a genuine pleasure to announce this key appointment."
Most recently Mandil was a partner in the Litigation and Technology, Media and Communications groups of the New York and Washington-based law firm of Covington & Burling. During his tenure at Covington & Burling, he acted as lead and co-lead counsel on a variety of major litigations, arbitrations and internal corporate investigations. He also served as negotiator for numerous deals, including transactions involving synch licenses, ringtone licenses, sub-publishing agreements, web site co-branding arrangements and the acquisition of music libraries. His clients included such technology and media companies as General Electric, Zomba Records, Overseas Media, a major producer and distributor of Russian-language television programming, and TV Loonland, a German animation producer and distributor.
"I am very excited to be joining the remarkable management team that Andy has assembled at Sony BMG as we continue to grow and thrive in the new legal and business environments in which our industry is now situated," commented Mandil.
In 1988-1989, Mandil served as a judicial clerk for Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor of the United States Supreme Court. From 1987-988 he served as a judicial clerk for Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. –Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
