Legal Expertise

Lucia Coyoca is a partner in MSK’s Entertainment & IP Litigation Practice Group, based in the Los Angeles office.  She is an experienced business litigator, serving as lead counsel in numerous jury trial cases and has broad bench trial, arbitration and mediation experience.  She also has extensive appellate experience in the California Courts of Appeal and the Ninth Circuit.

With broad entertainment industry expertise, Ms. Coyoca has litigated multiple profit participation, film investment, and other accounting disputes as to sales and licensing of films and television programming.  She also has represented clients in breach of contract disputes involving motion picture and television distribution and licensing rights, rights of publicity and privacy, credit, and idea misappropriation claims. 

In addition, Ms. Coyoca has extensive labor and employment expertise, representing employers in employment disputes, including wrongful termination, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and trade secret/unfair competition cases. She also represents insureds in disputes with their carriers over coverage for employment, media & film production claims, general liability and business interruption claims.

Representative Matters

• Ongoing representation of distributor in dispute regarding contingent profit participation claims.
• First-chaired multiple lawsuits and arbitrations in claims against entertainment industry employers, involving race and gender discrimination, retaliation, and whistleblower claims.
• Successfully defended multiple entertainment companies in arbitrations involving claims under various Guild agreements.
• Successfully prosecuted claims on behalf of studio in connection with production insurance coverage claim against insurer regarding production relocation costs.
• Won $50 million jury trial verdict for client in breach of fiduciary lawsuit tried in Los Angeles Superior Court.
• Represented prevailing parties in multiple AAA, JAMS, and other arbitrations in accounting disputes involving profit participation claims. Successfully represented motion picture producer in connection with cast coverage claim against insurer.
• Successfully represented motion picture financiers and investors in connection with film financing dispute.
• Successfully represented numerous clients compelling insurance coverage for employment, media production, director & officer, and fidelity claims.
• Successfully resolved claims asserted for alleged misappropriation of name, likeness & image.
• Represented prevailing parties in numerous Independent Film and Television Alliance (IFTA) arbitrations for film production and distribution companies concerning film and television distribution agreements.

Honors & Awards

• "Most Influential Women Attorneys," Los Angeles Business Journal (2018)
• California, "Attorneys of the Year," The Recorder (2012)
• "500 Leading Lawyers in America," Lawdragon (2012)
• "Top 5% of lawyers in Southern California," Southern California Super Lawyers (2005-2010, 2012-2024)
• AV® Preeminent™ Rating, Martindale-Hubbell

Professional, Business and civic Affiliations

• Fellow, American Bar Foundation
• Member, Leadership Council on Legal Diversity 
• Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
• Southern California Regional Co-Chair, ABA Judicial Intern Opportunity Program
• ABA Section of Litigation Leadership – Professional Development Committee 
• Co-Chair, Woman Advocate Committee of the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation
• Board of Directors, Legal Momentum (formerly known as NOW Legal Defense & Education Fund)
• Diversity Committee, Managing Partners Roundtable
• California State Bar Committee on Status of Diversity in the Profession
• Former member, Board of Directors, Public Counsel

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