Ramela
Ohanian

Partner
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Ramela Ohanian

Overview

Ramela Ohanian is an entertainment transactional attorney who brings her clients’ creative visions to life. A skilled dealmaker, she advises on development and production matters across television, film, digital media, emerging technologies and more—including talent agreements, rights acquisitions and other key deal points that power content creation.

Recognized by The Hollywood Reporter and Variety as a top entertainment attorney, Ramela represents studios, media companies, tech companies, producers, streamers, podcast companies and networks on a variety of transactional matters related to television (scripted and unscripted), films (theatrical, SVOD, etc.), digital media, short-form content and podcasts. Her 8-year practice at Sheppard focuses on the development and production of projects in the United States and internationally, including the handling of major first look and overall agreements.

Ramela negotiates agreements on behalf of Amazon MGM Studios, Meta, Wondery, Salesforce, Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Focus Features, Gunpowder & Sky, Hemisphere Media Group and more. As production counsel, she has facilitated the localization of multiple productions outside of the United States, including in Italy, Germany and Colombia.

Before joining Sheppard, Ramela was in-house counsel at AwesomenessTV, where she served as lead production attorney for the Awestruck programming division. Managing agreements across multiple platforms—including YouTube, Facebook and Instagram—she also worked on influencer marketing deals with brands, agencies and talent. These transactions, along with her work in content acquisition, on-camera talent services, multi-channel network agreements, and company marketing campaigns (including contests and sweepstakes), give her uncommon insight into the business needs and operational realities of her clients.

In her free time, Ramela mentors law students and early career lawyers pursuing paths in the entertainment industry.

Credentials
Education

J.D., Loyola Law School, 2016

B.A., University of California, Los Angeles, 2012

Admissions

California

Honors

Leading Global Entertainment, Sports & Media Lawyer, Lawdragon, 2026

Next Generation of Leaders (Law Firms), Corporate Counsel’s Women, Influence & Power in Law Awards, 2026

Variety's Dealmakers Impact Report: The Power Players Behind the Year's Seismic Showbiz Shakeups, 2025

Lawyers on the Fast Track, The Recorder's California Legal Awards, 2025

Variety's Legal Impact Report: Meet Hollywood’s Top Entertainment Attorneys, 2025

20 Under 40 Rising Star, Armenian Bar Association, 2025

Entertainment Business Visionaries, Los Angeles Times, 2025

Variety's Dealmakers Impact Report: Leaders of the Pact, 2024

Women's Impact Report, Variety, 2024

Top 40 Under 40, Daily Journal, 2024

Top Women of Influence: Attorneys, Los Angeles Business Journal, 2024

Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Best Lawyers, 2024-2026

500 X – The Next Generation, Lawdragon, 2024-2025

Southern California Rising Star, Super Lawyers, 2024-2026

Variety’s Dealmakers of 2023: Hollywood’s Dealmakers Kept Industry on Course in a Turbulent Year, 2023

Top Entertainment Attorney, Variety's Legal Impact Report, 2023

Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Best Lawyers, 2023

500 X – The Next Generation, Lawdragon, 2023

Southern California Rising Star, Super Lawyers, 2023

Southern California Rising Star, Super Lawyers, 2022

Variety’s Dealmakers Impact Report: Tough Times Take Tough Negotiators, 2022

Next Gen 2021: The Hollywood Reporter’s 35 Rising Executives 35 and Under,  2021 

Top Entertainment Attorney, Variety's Up Next, 2021

Memberships

Member of the Women Lawyers Group’s National Leadership Council (Sheppard)

Executive Committee Member of the Armenian Women’s Bar Association (2022 – Present)

Member of the 2024 Emerging Leaders Board of the Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel (AMEC)

Member of the 2023 Emerging Leaders Board of AMEC

Chair of the 2022 Emerging Leaders Board of AMEC

Member of the 2021 Emerging Leaders Board of AMEC

Thought Leadership
Ramela frequently speaks on industry panels and plays an active role in multiple non-profit organizations. 
  • Panelist, “Breaking into the Industry,” Texas A&M University School of Law, Society for Entertainment and Art Law, 2026
  • Panelist, “What Law School Doesn’t Teach You,” Loyola Law School, Daily Journal & Cal Lawyer, 2026
  • Judge, Oratorical Competition, Armenian Educational Foundation, UCLA, 2026
  • Panelist, “ALSA Professional Panel,” Loyola Law School, Armenian Law Students Association, 2025
  • Panelist, “Taking a Look at 2024: Transactional Entertainment Law Year-in-Review,” Beverly Hills Bar Association, 2025
  • Presenter, “Tale of Two Cities: Sheppard Mullin in DC & LA,” Harvard Law School, 2025
  • Panelist, “Armenian Women in Film and Entertainment,” Armenian Film Society, 2025
  • Panelist, Loyola Law School Entertainment Law Review Alumni Panel, 2024
  • Moderator and Co-Chair, “Production 101: Back to the Basics,” Armenian Women’s Bar Association, 2024
  • Panelist, “ALSA Professional Panel,” Loyola Law School, Armenian Law Students Association, 2024
  • Panelist, “The Podcasting Gold Rush: Current Legal Issues Facing the Industry,” Beverly Hills Bar Association, 2023
  • Speaker, “Speed Networking Event,” UCLA Entertainment Law Association, 2023
  • Moderator, “How to Shape an Authentic Practice,” Sheppard Mullin, Women Lawyers Group Retreat, 2023
  • Moderator, “The Inside Scoop: The In-House Counsel Experience with Guidance from Outside Counsel,” The Armenian Bar Association, 2023
  • Panelist, Loyola Law School Entertainment Law Review Alumni Panel, 2022
  • Co-Chair, “Hollywood and the Guilds” Panel – The Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel (AMEC), 2022
  • Panelist, “Digital Media & The Law,” Loyola Law School Entertainment & Sports Law Society, 2022
  • Judge, UCLA Law School Cybersecurity Moot Court Competition, 2022
  • Panelist, Loyola Law School Entertainment Law Review Alumni Panel, 2021
  • Co-Presenter, “Production Legal 101,” Portland Film Festival, 2021
  • Co-Chair, “IP Issues in User-Generated Content” Panel – The Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel (AMEC), 2021
  • Judge, UCLA Law School Cybersecurity Moot Court Competition, 2021
  • Moderator, “Making Reality TV A Reality: Overcoming Legal Issues in Development & Production” Panel – AMEC, 2019
  • Co-Presenter, “Endorsement Negotiations and Crisis Management,” The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), 2019
  • Ramela co-authored the article “Some Press is Bad Press: False Light in the Modeling Industry,” published by the Beverly Hills Bar Association’s Global Fashion Lawyer magazine.