Legal Expertise

Mr. Guerra has extensive experience in non-scripted and scripted television development, production and distribution; children’s television animation and live action production and financing; documentary theatrical film production and distribution; entertainment related corporate acquisitions and mergers; acquisitions and divestitures of program libraries; multi-media entertainment development, production and distribution; merchandising and licensing; book publishing and co-author agreements; and executive employment agreements.  His practice involves structuring transactions and advising clients in all aspects of their business, including the acquisition, enforcement, monetization and sale of intellectual property rights. Mr. Guerra represents clients based in Washington, D.C., Crystal City, Virginia, New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Monterrey, Toronto, Montreal, London, Stockholm, and Paris.

Representative Matters

• Represents an independent production company in connection with the development, funding, production, distribution and exploitation of a $7.5 million multi-platform transmedia project called "Half the Sky," based on New York Times reporter Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's bestselling book, "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide" about women empowerment.  The "Half the Sky" project incorporates several components, including a multi-part television documentary program to be aired on PBS, a Facebook game, television and video modules, and a website.  The series will star Diane Lane, America Ferrera, Eva Mendes, Olivia Wilde, Gabrielle Union and Meg Ryan, and will also feature Nick Kristof.
• Represents the Ossorio Foundation in negotiating deals and developing agreements with various museums and art galleries and institutions in connection with the Foundation's inventory of the work of Alfonso Ossorio.  The Foundation works with other art institutions to develop educational projects about the life and work of Ossorio, his contemporaries and other artists whose careers are relevant to an interpretation of Alfonso Ossorio's art.  Representation of the Foundation has involved the following: arranging appraisals for artwork for inventory and in connection with negotiating deals; drafting and negotiating agreements for various museums and art galleries, including the Rhode Island School of Design, Dallas Museum of Art, The Phillips Collection, Findley Gallery, Chicago's McCormick Gallery, Michael Rosenfeld Gallery, Seattle Museum of Art, Frist Center for the Visual Arts and Oklahoma City Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and Harvard Fogg Art Museum.
• Represents an independent production company in the development, production, distribution and exploitation of "The Artist is Present," a documentary film examining the life, character and work of the performance artist Marina Abramovic, and negotiated an access agreement with the Museum of Modern Art in New York, NY for permission to interview the museum's staff, performers and curators, and to film the exhibition "Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present," the artist's longest duration solo work of her career.  The film will first air on HBO in 2012 and has been accepted to the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
• Represents PBS with respect to the development, production and distribution of "Circus," a six-hour, multi-million dollar series featuring unprecedented access to a year in the life of the world-famous Big Apple Circus, which includes an interactive web-based educational component, as well as domestic and international broadcast and home video distribution.
• Represents PBS in negotiating various children’s series agreements, such as "Curious George," "Martha Speaks," "Caillou" and "Barney," as well as amending existing television agreements which provide PBS with the rights to distribute iPhone applications.
• Represents various independent producers on the development, financing, production and distribution of children's series, including dealing with CAVCO.
• Represents various independent producers on the development, financing, production and distribution of multi-million dollar, multi-media projects.
• Represented National Geographic in negotiating various children's series agreements, such as "Iggy Arbuckle," "Mama Mirabelle’s Home Movies," "Plantzilla," and "Toot and Puddle."
• Served as lead counsel on numerous transactions with television broadcasters, international television distributors, home video distributors, and internet content providers.
• Responsible for structuring the investment of approximately $200 million per year in program funding for Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), to leverage the acquisition of programming with a total production value in excess of $1 billion.
• Negotiated the PBS Home Video Distribution Agreements.
• Negotiated agreements with Oracle Corporation and other software companies for the development of innovative software, including fundraising software for PBS and its member stations, and fulfillment software for PBS Home Video and Learning Services.