Mr. Gans’ practice focuses on complex business litigation. He specializes in representation of media and entertainment industry clients in litigation involving motion picture financing, production and distribution; intellectual property, including copyright, trade secrets and idea theft; and unfair competition and business torts. He has extensive experience in jury and non-jury trials, appeals in state and federal courts and arbitrations in the U.S. and the U.K. Sources told Chambers USA that Gans is "the most effective, strategic and well-reasoned litigator in the film industry" and is "held in high regard for his 'mastery of the chess game of litigation strategy.'" In 2016, Chambers USA ranked Mr. Gans as a notable practitioner in the media and entertainment field and described him as “incredibly effective”, as well as “thoughtful and strategic and comprehensive in his approach.”
The Hollywood Reporter’s "Power Lawyers: America’s Top Entertainment Attorneys."
- Film Finances, Inc.
- Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
- Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc.
- GK Films LLC
- Houston Casualty Company
- Arnold and Richter Cine Technik (ARRI)
- cineFinance Insurance Services LLC
- The Bedford Falls Company
- Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz
- PartnerRe Capital Markets Corp.
- Metropolitan FilmExport
- Davis Films
- Icon Film Distribution Ltd.
- Successfully represented the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in a lawsuit to enjoin the sale of an Oscar and to order the Academy Award winner’s successor to sell the Oscar to the Academy for $10. The case was significant because it upheld the Academy’s right to prevent Oscars from becoming commercial objects and affirmed as a matter of law that a restriction on alienability of personal property can run with the chattel. Notable articles from Time and BBC include "Court Rules Academy Can Reclaim Oscar Statue for $10" and "Academy Can Reclaim Auctioned Oscar Statuette for $10."
- Successfully represented the producers, writers and director of the motion picture, The Last Samurai, in a jury trial involving claims of copyright infringement and breach of implied contract. Press from Law360 includes “How They Won It: Quinn Triumphs in ‘Last Samurai’ Showdown” and “Slashing Wordplay Closes ‘Last Samurai’ Script Theft Trial.”
- Successfully represented a leading motion picture bond company in a series of arbitrations and lawsuits involving claims of fraud and breach of contract with respect to the budgets of a slate of motion pictures.
- Successfully represented Academy Award winning manufacturer and distributor of digital motion picture cameras in lawsuits involving claims of misappropriation of trade secrets and unfair competition.
- Successfully represented financiers of motion pictures in lawsuits and arbitrations involving contractual disputes in the financing, production and distribution of motion pictures.
- Successfully represented motion picture bond companies and insurers in arbitrations and lawsuits in the United States and the United Kingdom concerning the financing, delivery and distribution of motion pictures.
- Successfully represented a motion picture producer in a jury trial against a leading bank concerning the financing of a slate of motion pictures.
- Successfully represented European motion picture distributors in arbitrations concerning financing and distribution rights to motion pictures.
- Successfully represented a television production company in obtaining summary judgment in a copyright action and the ensuing appeal. Brewer-Giorgio v. Producers Video, 216 F. 3d 1281 (11th Cir. 2000).
- Successfully represented 33 governmental entities in a public finance action brought under the California False Claims Act and was appointed to the Plaintiff’s Executive Committee established to coordinate the litigation of the case which involved hundreds of public entity plaintiffs.
- Entertainment & Media Litigation
- Insurance & Reinsurance Litigation
- Domestic U.S. Arbitration
- Copyright Litigation
- Trade Secret Litigation
- University of California, Berkeley, School of Law
(J.D., 1979) - Wesleyan University
(B.A., cum laude, 1975)
- The State Bar of California
- United States Court of Appeals:
- Ninth Circuit
- Tenth Circuit
- Eleventh Circuit
- United States District Court:
- Central District of California
- Northern District of California
- Eastern District of California
- University of California, Berkeley, Law School:
- Adjunct Professor of Law, 1999-2002
- Adjunct Professor of Law, 1999-2002
- University of Southern California Law School:
- Adjunct Professor of Law, 1997-1999
- Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America, Litigation - Intellectual Property, 2025
- Recognized by Legal 500 USA as a Recommended Lawyer for Media and Entertainment Litigation, 2022-2024
- Ranked for California Media & Entertainment Litigation, Chambers USA 2014-2015.
- “The Art of Litigation,” Part III: Aristotle talks of the art of rhetoric; Sun Tzu talks of the art of war. Litigation is an adversarial exercise of rhetoric, Los Angeles Daily Journal, November 5, 2018.
- “The Art of Litigation,” Part II: The Art of War, Los Angeles Daily Journal, October 29, 2018.
- “The Art of Litigation,” Part I: The Art of Rhetoric, Los Angeles Daily Journal, October 22, 2018.
- “Media and Entertainment Trials,” Inside the Minds: Litigating Media and Entertainment Matters, Thomson Reuters, 2013.
- “Last Samurai Standing: The Trial of Benay v. Warner Bros,” Los Angeles Copyright Society, Beverly Hills, CA, October 10, 2012.
- "Trial Tales," Media Law Resource Center 2012 Media Law Conference, Washington, D.C., September 14, 2012.
- Member, Panel of Arbitrators, Independent Film & Television Alliance