Jonathan Anschell To Be Honored As Counsel of the Year By AMEC

The Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel (AMEC), the professional organization for in-house attorneys in the entertainment and media industry, has announced the honorees for the 2025 Counsel of the Year Awards.

The awards will be handed out during AMEC’S 20th Anniversary Counsel of the Year Awards dinner taking place on Thursday, January 16, 2025, at the Westdrift Manhattan Beach.

The Counsel of the Year Awards recognizes the accomplished in-house counsels and business affairs attorneys at major entertainment, media, and sports organizations, as well as individuals at leading law firms.

Past attendees and honorees have included executives from NBCUniversal, Warner Bros, Sony Pictures, MGM, Paramount, Electronic Arts, Writers Guild of America, Creative Artists Agency, SAG/AFTRA, Los Angeles Dodgers and Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, Lincoln Center, and many others.

“We are delighted to once again celebrate the remarkable legal professionals who steer every deal, enforce every covenant, protect every creator and represent the performers who bring entertainment to our lives every day,” said William Simon, former Global Chair of the Entertainment and Media Practice at Korn Ferry, International and an AMEC co-founder. “I am continually amazed and impressed with the accomplishments of the attorneys honored this year and am delighted to celebrate their individual and collective achievements.”

The complete list of 2025 AMEC honorees are:

Black Swan Award

JOURNALIST LAW SCHOOL

LMU Loyola Law School

Counsel of the Year

JONATHAN ANSCHELL

Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer

Mattel, Inc.

International Counsel of the Year

RR CONSULTING

NASCHITZ, BRANDES, AMIR & CO.

Labor and Employment Counsel of the Year

MELISSA VANTREASE

Senior Vice President Labor & Employment

Universal Parks & Resorts

NBC Universal

Law Firm of the Year

SHEPPARD MULLIN

Law Student Achievement Award

MADELYN ARMES

St. John’s University School of Law

Music Counsel of the Year

SUSAN CHERTKOF

Senior Vice President, Legal and Regulatory Affairs

Recording Industry Association of America

Rising Star:

BERNETTA HARDY

Business Affairs Executive

The Walt Disney Company

Warren Knight Excellence in Alternative Dispute Resolution Award

HONORABLE MONICA BACHNER, RET.

Judicate West

HONORABLE JAY C. GANDHI, RET.

JAMS

Public Counsel of the Year

JOE PATRICE

Senior Editor

Above the Law

Founders Award

LEAH WEIL

Former General Counsel and Current Senior Advisor

Sony Pictures Entertainment

The Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel (AMEC), www.theamec.org, was formed in late 2005 as a professional organization representing the interests and celebrating talents of in-house counsel and leading attorneys across the entertainment and media industry. Today, AMEC is comprised of more than 14,000 accomplished men and women working in a variety of executive roles including in-house counsel and business affairs attorneys at major entertainment and media companies and law firms.