contact information
P (212) 826 5530
F (347) 438 2102
ldavis@fkks.com
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areas of expertise
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Lisa E. Davis is a partner and Chair of the firm's Entertainment Group. She serves on the firm's Policy Committee and is Co-Chair of the firm's Diversity Committee. She represents businesses and celebrities in the film, television, publishing, music, theatre, and sports industries.
Ms. Davis has been ranked as a New York-area “Super Lawyer” since 2007 and was featured on the cover of Super Lawyers magazine in a piece on her career and advocacy for racial justice. She is recognized in Who's Who Legal: Telecoms Media & Entertainment 2024, by Best Lawyers in America in the 2023-2026 editions for Entertainment Law, in the 2023-2025 editions of Chambers USA for Media & Entertainment: Theater, by The New York Law Journal as one of only seven 2022 Diversity Initiative honorees, Crain’s New York Business on their 2023 Notable Women in Law list and 2022 Notable Diverse Leaders in Law list, The Hollywood Reporter’s Power Lawyers 2025, 2024, 2023, 2021, and 2020 lists of New York's Top 20 Entertainment Attorneys, Variety’s 2020 Legal Impact Report, by City & State as one of New York’s “Responsible 100” (2019), by the Black Entertainment & Sports Lawyers Association (2019 Beacon of Industry Award), by Crain’s New York Business 2017 as a “Leading Woman Lawyer in NYC,” by The National Law Journal (“Outstanding Women Lawyers” 2015), by Savoy magazine in their “Most Influential Black Lawyers of 2015,” and in Variety’s “Power of Women New York Impact Report” (2014). Additionally, she is listed among the country’s leading media and entertainment lawyers by The Legal 500.
Ms. Davis advises on a full range of transactional matters - focusing on film (both feature and documentary), television, publishing, live stage and branded entertainment. Ms. Davis represents directors, writers and performers in film and television, as well as playwrights and bloggers. In her sports practice, she represents top athletes in their “off the field” activities, including endorsements and investments.
Prior to joining Frankfurt Kurnit, she clerked for the Honorable Constance Baker Motley in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Ms. Davis is a graduate of Harvard University (B.A., 1981) and New York University (J.D., 1985), where she was a staff member of the New York University Law Review and a Root-Tilden scholar. She is admitted to practice in New York.
awards & recognition
The Hollywood Reporter's Power Lawyers 2025: The Big Apple's Biggest Attorneys
Lawdragon's 500 Leading Global Entertainment, Sports & Media Lawyers (2025-2026)
Variety's 2024 Women's Impact Report: New York
Who's Who Legal: Telecoms Media & Entertainment 2024
The Hollywood Reporter's Power Lawyers 2024: New York's Top 25 Entertainment Attorneys
The Hollywood Reporter’s Power Lawyers 2023: New York's Top 25 Entertainment Attorneys
Lawyers of Color: Law Firm Diversity Professionals 2023
Chambers USA 2023-2025 (Media & Entertainment: Theater)
The Legal 500 (Media & Entertainment: Transactional)
Crain’s New York Business: 2023 Notable Women in Law honoree
New York Law Journal 2022 Diversity Initiative honoree
Crain’s New York Business: 2022 Notable Diverse Leaders in Law honoree
Lawyers of Color: Law Firm Leaders 2022
The Hollywood Reporter’s Power Lawyers 2021 and 2020: New York's Top 20 Entertainment Attorneys
Listed among the country’s leading media and entertainment lawyers by The Legal 500
Black Entertainment & Sports Lawyers Association - 2019 Beacon of Industry Award
City & State - 2019 “Responsible 100” Award
Best Lawyers in America - Entertainment Law and Theater Law
Crain's New York Business - "Leading Woman Lawyer in NYC"
National Law Journal - Outstanding Women Lawyers
Super Lawyers - Entertainment & Sports and Intellectual Property
Savoy Magazine - Most Influential Black Lawyers of 2015
Variety's Legal Impact Report
Variety's Power of Women New York Impact List
"America's Top Black Lawyers" and "Top 50 Black Power Brokers in Entertainment" by Black Enterprise magazine
Featured in "Attorneys at the Top" and "25 Influential Black Women in Business" in The Network Journal
"Woman of Power Award" from the National Urban League
Jacob K. Javits Achievement Award
education
New York University School of Law (J.D.)
Harvard University (B.A.)
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