Howard Kern - Los Angeles, CA

Howard Kern has over 30 years of broad corporate law experience, including over 8 years at major law firms in New York and Los Angeles and over 3 years as Assistant General Counsel for a public merchant banking company located in California. Mr. Kern also has strong business and strategic experience working as outside general counsel for early-stage companies and as a key member of the team for several hedge funds.

Mr. Kern has extensive experience negotiating and documenting mergers and acquisitions, public and private financings, venture capital transactions, and a broad range of corporate agreements, including operating agreements, strategic partnership agreements, shareholder agreements, joint venture agreements, and employment and consulting agreements.

In addition to general corporate representation, Mr. Kern has represented people and companies involved in the entertainment industry over the course of his career. The transactions include representation of independent studios, merger and IPO transactions, booking agreements in connection with appearances by celebrities regarding promotional appearances, location agreements, audio and video releases, and private financing transactions. The issues that arise in connection with entertainment transactions are different from other contracts in that the focus may be on the individual stars as opposed to companies. When reviewing these agreements, Mr. Kern tries to focus on the contingencies that may not be spelled out in the proposed term sheet but may nonetheless have some likelihood to occur.

Mr. Kern graduated from Rutgers College (B.A.), and Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (J.D.), where he was an editor on the Law Review, graduating with High Honors. Mr. Kern is the recipient of an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale Hubbell.