Daniel Lifschitz, Esq.

Associate Attorney

Daniel Lifschitz is an associate with Gradstein & Marzano. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Lifschitz was an attorney at the entertainment and business law firm of Lowe & Associates, where he gained substantial experience in both pre-trial and appellate litigation, securing favorable written opinions from state and federal courts on a variety of representative matters. He has also written numerous articles on contemporary legal issues for a variety of publications, including The Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals, The Computer & Internet Lawyer, the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Entertainment Law and Intellectual Property Section, and Techdirt.

Mr. Lifschitz is a 2012 graduate of Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, California, where he was an editor and published author for the International and Comparative Law Review. He graduated with honors in Loyola’s Entertainment Law Concentration, receiving a First Honors Award for the highest grade in his 56-student Copyright Law class and the 2012 Paul Miller Scholarship from the Los Angeles Copyright Society. He also leads the Projects Committee for the California Society of Entertainment Lawyers (“CSEL”), an organization which he helped to co-found.

Significant Matters

• The ongoing Flo & Eddie/The Turtles class action cases against Sirius XM and Pandora in federal court in California, New York and Florida seeking damages for the misappropriation and unlawful exploitation of pre-1972 sound recordings
• The ongoing copyright infringement class action brought on behalf of named plaintiffs Melissa Ferrick, Jaco Pastorius, Inc. and Gerencia 360 Publishing, Inc. against Spotify
• Litigation on behalf of iconic music producer Quincy Jones against MJJ Productions and Sony for royalties in connection with recordings he produced on the Thriller, Bad, and Off The Wall albums
• Litigation on behalf of writers of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra for copyright infringement claims against Paramount Pictures on behalf of the writers of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra for misappropriation in connection with the $350,000,000 grossing sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation
• Amicus curiae litigation on behalf of the California Society of Entertainment Lawyers in the copyright case of Petrella v. MGM, helping the plaintiff secure a writ of certiorari before the United States Supreme Court and resulting in a 6-3 reversal in the plaintiff’s favor
• Obtained a favorable dismissal in the Central District of California of a copyright lawsuit brought against a celebrity client by a screenwriter
• Obtained a favorable reversal from the California Court of Appeals on a music royalty dispute concerning a well-known Barry White song
• Fully briefed an anti-SLAPP case before the California Court of Appeals on behalf of a non-profit public advocacy group against the Los Angeles City Attorney, resulting in a confidential settlement between the parties

Education

JD, Loyola Law School (2012)
International and Comparative Law Review, Note & Comment Editor
BA, Washington & Jefferson College (2009)
English, Political Science, East Asian Studies

Bar Admissions

State Bar of California
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
United States Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit