Yaphett K. Powell is Special Counsel in the Firm's Los Angeles office and a member of the Intellectual Property practice group and Co-Chair of the Firm's Entertainment Industry Group. His practice focuses on film, television, streaming, music, sports, video games, book publishing, social media, and entertainment industries and transactions across the U.S. and international markets, including Asia-Pacific, EMEA, and Latin America. Prior to establishing his global intellectual property and entertainment law practice, he spent eight years as a corporate attorney focusing on U.S. and international capital markets, finance, and M&A transactions at major law firms and fifteen years as a studio attorney and international business affairs executive at global Hollywood studios. His strengths include negotiating and closing complex and strategic deals, leading high-performing legal teams, and protecting his clients' legal rights and interests.

He is also currently the leader and Director of the Entertainment & Media Law Institute and Associate Clinical Professor of Law at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

Bar Admissions
California

Florida

Education
University of Miami School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude

UCLA Anderson School of Management, M.B.A.

University of Florida, B.S. in Sports Management, with honors

Breaking the Mold: Empowering Legal Talents Across Socioeconomic Lines

From Vision to Reality: Making ERGs a Driving Force in Your DE&I Initiatives

Content Licensing & Promotion in Asia-Pacific Markets

Streaming Wars and the Transformation of the Entertainment Landscape

A Conversation on the Streaming Landscape

Yaphett Powell, Leads and Moderates the "Call My People" 2026: Annual Film & TV Industry Speaker Event-March 27