Newhouse Porter Hubbard represents filmmakers, production companies and studios in transactions relating to the production of feature films, television programming, new media and internet content. Founded by Nancy Newhouse Porter and Kristie Hubbard in 2002, the firm represents acclaimed directors, writers, producers, editors, production designers and other high-level artists and executives in the animation, live action, and digital production field.
Newhouse Porter Hubbard is the preeminent law firm for animation transactions, from Nancy’s representation of Academy Award-winner John Lasseter in his engagement as the director of the ground-breaking film, Toy Story, to representing the director of the highest-grossing animated film, Frozen. The attorneys at NPH have represented the principal filmmakers of the vast majority of the top grossing animated films of all time, including the Shrek, Despicable Me, Ice Age, Toy Story and Madagascar franchises as well as upcoming films in production at all the major animation studios including Disney, DreamWorks, Illumination Entertainment, Blue Sky (Fox), Sony, and Warner Bros.
The firm also represents notable directors, screenwriters and visual effects artists involved in live action films such as The Narnia Chronicles (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader), Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Seabiscuit, Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds, and Hulk. Clients are also supported in their endeavors relating to video games, electronic and print media, computer software, merchandising, internet and other licensing transactions.
NPH draws on the collective entertainment industry experience of its team members. Prior to founding the firm, from 1988 to 1991, Nancy was a key member of the senior executive team at Shelley Duvall’s Think Entertainment, where she oversaw all business and legal affairs aspects of the company. Nancy structured and negotiated financing and distribution arrangements, in addition to negotiating and drafting contracts for development and production of the company's theatrical and television endeavors.
Nancy was a business affairs executive at the Disney Channel for six years prior to her post at Think. At Disney, she negotiated production agreements for motion pictures and specials produced for public television, pay television, home entertainment, and broadcast markets. Negotiations often required brokering co-production agreements with Disney’s European and Canadian partners. In addition to these responsibilities, Nancy negotiated licensing agreements for programming from other major studios and independent distributors for broadcasting on The Disney Channel.
Kristie Hubbard is a founding partner at the NewhousePorterHubbard law firm. She specializes in entertainment law, representing entertainment-industry clients in transactions relating to the development, production, financing and distribution of feature films and television programming. Kristie has represented directors, animators and other artists involved in feature animation, and she has assisted in the representation of independent motion picture and television production companies, as well as writers, actors, directors and producers. She also represents authors in book publishing and licensing deals.
Lucas Hawley joined NPH as a law clerk in 2018 after graduating from UCLA School of Law, rising to the position of Associate soon thereafter. While at UCLA, Lucas served as an editor on the Entertainment Law Review, was a member of the Entertainment Law Association, and is currently a member of the International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood. During law school, he also gained experience in the field by working as an intern in the Business Affairs department at William Morris Endeavor in Beverly Hills.