Bob Darwell is the Head of Global Media and a senior partner in the Entertainment, Technology and Advertising practice in the firm's Century City office. In August 2024, the Beverly Hills Bar Association honored Darwell as Entertainment Lawyer of the Year and in January 2025, AMEC (Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel) awarded Sheppard's Entertainment practice as Counsel of the Year.
2024 proved to be another extraordinary year for Bob and his team. Bob's team worked on the acquisition and development of hundreds of motion picture and television projects. After representing Amazon in connection with its acquisition of MGM, Amazon's second-largest acquisition in history, Bob and his colleagues worked with their in-house counterparts on the integration of the revered MGM library into Amazon MGM Studios. On top of that, Bob also guided Amazon MGM Studios, Wondery, Twitch, Nickelodeon, Disney, Peacock and Meta in connection with numerous high-profile movie, television, podcast and AI projects.
Over the course of Bob's legal career, he's worked on the development, finance, production and distribution of hundreds of motion pictures and television productions (including personal favorites such as "Traffic," "Brokeback Mountain" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"). In addition, he regularly handles major newsworthy deals such as Disney's termination of Bob and Harvey Weinstein (which garnered him the prestigious CLAY Award as California Entertainment Lawyer of the Year for Entertainment) and Disney's subsequent sale of Miramax. Bob also acted as lead entertainment counsel to Comcast in connection with its acquisition of NBC Universal.
Bob brought his team to Sheppard in 2003 and served as chair of the Entertainment, Technology and Advertising practice for more than a decade as it achieved accolades such as Top Tier ranked by Chambers and US Legal 500, as well as Entertainment Practice Group of the Year by Law 360.
Through the years, Bob launched several specialty practices in the areas of advertising, fashion, and art law and has handled transactions that reflect the intersection of those verticals as well as those in sports, music, gaming, merchandising and mobile/digital areas. He represents clients in all segments of these businesses around the world.
Bob studied law at Georgetown in Washington, D.C., and focused his studies on international trade. While there, he worked for the Attaché de Presse at the French Embassy and for D.C. powerhouse law firm Wilmer Cutler (where he had the opportunity to assist Lloyd Cutler, who served as counsel to President Carter).
At Georgetown, Bob took the only entertainment course offered at that time and, following the tragic deaths of Vic Morrow and two child actors on the set of "The Twilight Zone" movie, wrote his seminar paper on the employment of minors in the entertainment industry. Its publication coincided with the birth of the first of his three children. Upon graduation, Bob moved to Los Angeles and combined his passion for entertainment and media with his interest in international business and finance.
Bob travels and works regularly from locations around the world. Always reachable, clients praise his availability at all hours and dedication to service and excellence. Bob is often invited to speak at international film festivals, including at the Toronto, Zurich, Havana, Beijing, Shanghai and Rome International Film Festivals, among others.
When not negotiating and drafting, Bob may be found in the DJ booth (on Sunset Boulevard, in Mexico City, Paris or Zurich) or taking photos for his popular Instagram feed @TheDailyServer. Recently, Darwell completed directing two documentary films, "The 90s Club," which strikes a hard blow against ageism and "Black Uniform," which focuses on 12 black men and women who served in the U.S. military between WWII and present. Both films are now available on Amazon, screened in dozens of festivals and garnered numerous awards. He is currently in production on his third documentary, "Crowning Achievement," featuring a dozen former Miss America winners through the decades.