Chad Fitzgerald specializes in complex entertainment matters as well as business and intellectual property litigation. He represents showrunners, producers, writers, directors, actors, musicians, professional athletes, production and distribution companies, clients in the fitness, apparel, toy, and gaming industries, the entertainment guilds, talent and business managers, and the major talent agencies. Mr. Fitzgerald specializes in entertainment industry disputes regarding profit participation audits, vertical integration, and distribution (including streaming), litigation involving copyright, trademark and trade secrets, fraud, rights of privacy, and defamation, and transactions for entertainment industry clients. His profit participation audit matters have resulted in $500 million in settlements, judgments, and awards for his clients. Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Global Entertainment, Sports & Media Lawyers” Guide describes Mr. Fitzgerald as representing “the glitterati of Los Angeles – as well as the power players behind the scenes” and “the man to call for television profit participation audits.”
Mr. Fitzgerald has written numerous articles on legal issues in the entertainment industry, regularly appears on panels and seminars discussing entertainment law, is frequently quoted in media outlets such as Puck, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Deadline, and the Daily Journal, teaches entertainment law classes at the UCLA School of Law, and sits on the Advisory Board for UCLA School of Law’s Ziffren Institute for Media, Entertainment, Technology and Sports Law.
Mr. Fitzgerald has been named a “Power Lawyer” by The Hollywood Reporter (twice), a member of the “Legal Impact Report” (thrice) and one of “Hollywood’s New Leaders” by Variety, a “Super Lawyer” (every year since 2015), one of the “Best Lawyers in America” (every year since 2021), one of the Los Angeles Business Journal‘s “Leaders of Influence,” and is featured in Lawdragon’s 2026 “500 Leading Global Entertainment, Sports & Media Lawyers” Guide.
Chad graduated with honors from Yale University with a B.A. in English Literature (1998) and from the UCLA School of Law (2001). While in law school, he externed for the Honorable J. Spencer Letts of the United States District Court, Central District of California, and volunteered with the HIV/AIDS Legal Services Alliance. Prior to joining KHIKS in 2007, he worked in the Business and Legal Affairs department of Universal Pictures and at Alschuler Grossman Stein & Kahan. Chad was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, where his family has worked for generations in the gaming industry.