Attorneys

Managing Attorney

Michael Prywes

Michael Prywes is an attorney admitted in New York State. Michael hosts the show "HOW I BROKE INTO," and wrote the bestselling practical guide "THE GASP: HOW TO SEIZE THAT A-HA! MOMENT AND TURN IT INTO A WINNING BUSINESS." He is also a former media professional with a background in film, video, art, music, Internet, and law. He is the former President of 2 Life! Films, LLC, which produced his comedy feature “RETURNING MICKEY STERN.” After winning numerous awards in the US and abroad, “Returning Mickey Stern” was distributed in US theaters and abroad and is available on DVD (Pathfinder Home Entertainment – PG-13). Michael has served as an advisor to a number of production companies and film festivals, as well as Associate Producer on the Sundance entry “The Perpetual Life of Jim Albers” and Tribeca entry “The Look.” Michael’s spec script for “Without a Trace” was a finalist for the (s)cript magazine Television Writing Competition and his original screenplay “The King of Summer” was a finalist for the “Heart of Film” Screenwriting Competition. A tech enthusiast since the age of 5, when he learned to program Basic on a TI-99/4A, Michael built the first globally crowdsourced audience voting entertainment site, CastOurMovie, which was featured in the Industry Standard, Time, Entertainment Weekly, and U.S. News and World Report.

On the legal side of the entertainment industry, Michael has served as Law Clerk for New Video Group/Docurama (now Cinedigm), distributor of the A&E/History, Scholastic, and Major League Baseball labels, and has worked for ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Performers) and the entertainment firm Adelman & Lavaia. Michael has been involved in the drafting of agreements and negotiations with the companies guiding the future of media and technology convergence: Amazon Unbox, Apple iTunes, Netflix, etc. Michael is a member of The Copyright Society of the U.S.A.

Michael’s creative career began before attending Northwestern University, when he attended the Long Island High School for the Arts (then known as The Cultural Arts Center of Long Island) as a visual artist. His 4x5 acrylic on canvas “20th Century Icon” was featured in the Sabbeth Art Gallery and a juried competition before he graduated high school. Michael’s creative endeavors continued to expand while he attended Northwestern University as a Performance Studies major. Michael became a theater critic for the Daily Northwestern and Art + Performance Magazine, and later Art Editor of Northwestern’s oldest journal of the humanities, Helicon. His short story, “Teddy Bear” was published in Helicon, and his short story “Semicolon” was a finalist in the Robert Van Sant Writing Competition. As producer and writer of “7th Grade Blues,” the largest scale independent 16mm film production on campus in 1995, Michael honed his resource development, marketing, and business skills for a wider audience. In 1996, Michael earned the Elie Wiesel National Award for Jewish Arts and Culture after launching the still-thriving Jewish Theatre Ensemble, which has co-produced a project with Chicago's famed Steppenwolf Theater Company, as well as Northwestern University’s legendary Dolphin Show.

Michael has taught screenwriting and film at St. John’s University and CUNY Queens College and has been a guest speaker at a number of schools including UCLA and NYU. Michael was one of 12 students selected for Northwestern University's Creative Writing for the Media Program, and also graduated from UCLA's Professional Screenwriting Program. Michael received his JD from the Hofstra University School of Law, where he attended on a Full Merit Scholarship, and was selected as a Dean’s Scholar. His former law school professor and famed trial attorney Bruce G. Clark recruited Michael after graduation, because Michael, in Bruce's words, was the best student Bruce had ever had in his 12 years of teaching.

Education

MAURICE DEAN LAW SCHOOL AT HOFSTRA
Juris Doctor, 1997

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
Bachelor of Science, School of Communications, Performance Studies, Creative Writing for the Media

Activities & Affiliations

• Nassau County Bar Association
• Copyright Society of the U.S.A.
• Northwestern University Leadership Circle

Bar Admissions

• New York

Of Counsel - California

Gordon Firemark

Gordon Firemark (Of Counsel) is Prywes, PC's go-to attorney for all cases with a nexus in California. Experienced and knowledgeable in entertainment and intellectual property matters, Gordon is an ongoing advisor to Prywes, PC.

Gordon Firemark helps artists, writers, producers and directors achieve their dreams in the fields of theater, film, television and new media.  Since his admission to practice in 1992, he has focused his attention on providing sound practical, legal and strategic advice to his clients so they can make smart deals, grow their businesses, and do great things.

Gordon is the producer and host of Entertainment Law Update., a podcast for artists and professionals in the entertainment industries. His practice also covers intellectual property, cyberspace, new media and business/corporate matters for clients in the entertainment industry.  He is the author of  The Podcast, Blog and New Media Producer's Legal Survival Guide.

Mr. Firemark served two terms as President of the Board of Directors of The Academy for New Musical Theatre (now renamed New Musicals, Inc.). In the past he has served on the Boards of Governors of The Los Angeles Stage Alliance , (the organization responsible for the annual Ovation Awards for excellence in Theater) and the Beverly Hills Bar Association , where he served as liason to the Association's Entertainment Law Section (of which he is a former chairman).

He holds a B.A. in Radio, Television and Film from the University of Oregon, and earned his law degree at Southwestern University School of Law. Before opening The Law Offices of Gordon P. Firemark, Mr. Firemark was a partner with the Business Affairs Group, a boutique entertainment law firm in Los Angeles. He has also worked in the legal and business affairs departments at Hanna Barbera Productions and the MGM/UA Worldwide Television Group, and started his legal career as an associate at Neville L. Johnson & Associates, a West L.A.firm specializing in entertainment litigation.

Gordon is an alumnus of the Commercial Theatre Institute, and an accomplished producer of stage plays and musicals.  He serves as CEO of Fierce Theatricals , which produces small cast musicals, cabaret shows and regional tours. He is the founder and chief instructor at Theatre Producer Academy, a one-of-a-kind online training program for those who produce plays and musicals.

He has been involved with the entertainment industry in one way or another since his youth as a sound, lighting, and special effects technician in the theatre. Prior to becoming an attorney, he worked in the television industry, producing and directing live sports telecasts, public affairs programming commercial announcements, documentaries, and industrial videos.

Mr. Firemark has taught courses in Entertainment Law at Columbia College Hollywood; Business Law at Loyola Marymount University;  and  Theatre Law in the innovative Online Entertainment LLM program at Southwestern Law School.  He has also offered courses in Theater Law at Cypress College, and Entrepreneurial Studies at California Institute of the Arts. Mr. Firemark has served as a moderator and featured panelist at seminars sponsored by the Beverly Hills Bar Association, California Lawyers for the Arts,Theatre LA, and the Oregon Artist's Rights Coalition. Hehas also been a guest lecturer at Southwestern University School of Law, Loyola Law School, California Western School of law, UC Irvine, and California State University, Northridge.

Education

SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW
Juris Doctor

UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
Bachelor of Arts

Activities & Affiliations

• Beverly Hills Bar Association
• California Lawyers for the Arts

Bar Admissions

•California