Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz

Marcie Cleary is a partner in the Entertainment Group at Frankfurt Kurnit.  An experienced strategist and negotiator, Ms. Cleary structures media and entertainment deals for actors, athletes, writers, directors, producers, news correspondents, podcasters, social media influencers, and corporate clients. She represents individuals and companies across film, television, digital media, broadcasting, sports, and book publishing.

Ms. Cleary is widely regarded as one of the podcast industry’s most experienced lawyers. She has structured deals for creators, hosts, on-air talent, producers, and underlying rights holders.  Ms. Cleary has represented experienced and emerging comedians for more than a decade in negotiating deals for stand-up specials, scripted and unscripted series, films, and recorded albums.  She also represents current and retired athletes in negotiating brand endorsement, broadcasting, film and television, and entertainment deals, and in developing “off-the-court” media and entertainment ventures. 

Ms. Cleary has received numerous awards and recognitions from leading entertainment and legal industry observers. The Hollywood Reporter named her to its 2025 “Power” list of the Top 33 Attorneys for A-List Athletes, Teams, and Leagues, and to its 2024 and 2023 “Power Lawyers” lists of top entertainment lawyers in New York. Variety featured Ms. Cleary in its Legal Impact Report in 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020, its Women’s Impact Report: New York in 2024, and its Dealmakers Impact Report in 2021, 2022, and as a 2025 Dealmaker. Best Lawyers in America recognized Ms. Cleary in its 2026 and 2025 “Best Lawyers” editions for Entertainment and Sports Law and in its “Ones to Watch” list in 2024 and 2023. Ms. Cleary was ranked in Chambers USA for Entertainment & Media: Advisory in 2025, 2024, and 2023. The Legal 500 highlighted Ms. Cleary in its Media & Entertainment Law edition in 2024, 2023, and 2022. And both Super Lawyers and Business Insider have recognized Ms. Cleary as one of the leading lawyers for digital creators and influencers.

Before joining Frankfurt Kurnit, Ms. Cleary was a corporate associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, where she represented William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (WME) in its strategic partnership with Silver Lake, and Apollo Global Management in its acquisition of CKX, Inc., the rights-owner of the American Idol franchise and Elvis Presley Estate.

Ms. Cleary is a board member of Dance Theatre of Harlem, Comedy Gives Back, and RAISEfashion. She is an advisory board member of the New York University Lawyer Alumni Mentoring Program, and a former lecturer at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. Ms. Cleary is admitted to practice in New York.