Joseph P. Costa

Joseph Costa brings approximately 20 years of litigation and transactional experience to the firm. He worked in the litigation departments of Finley, Kumble, Wagner; Ervin, Cohen & Jessup and Leopold, Petrich & Smith before opening up his own firm.

In addition to his wide-ranging litigation work, Mr. Costa works with an array of entertainment and media clients in the capacity of general counsel, has represented talent and individuals in contract drafting and negotiations and has extensive transactional experience representing these clients. Specifically, Mr. Costa has an expertise in matters relating to copyright infringement, trademark infringement, Internet law, rights of publicity, transactional and litigation services relating to the direct response industry, licensing agreements, real estate litigation and general business litigation and transactional matters.

He has performed legal services for clients that have included, Lucy Liu, Christopher Lloyd, Deborah Winger, Bob Marley LLC, ATT, Foote Cone & Belding, The Gersh Agency, Paradigm, Savvier, and the Perfect Pushup.
Joseph Costa grew up on Long Island, New York, before attending the University of California, Los Angeles, where he majored in English literature. He attended law school at the National Law Center, George Washington University, where he served as the President and Editor in Chief of the Moot Court Board.  He has lectured extensively and taught classes at UCLA, through the Beverly Hills Bar Association, before the Association of Talent Agencies and at the Sundance Film Festival.

Joseph Costa was selected by his colleagues as a Southern California Super Lawyer for the years 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.  He has been featured domestically and internationally on television and radio programs to discuss numerous issues relating to the entertainment industry, including on Celebrity Justice, and Access Hollywood.  Joe is the proud father of four daughters and resides in Pacific Palisades, California.

Alan Abrams

Alan Abrams is head of the Costa Abrams & Coate Transactional Department overseeing business and legal affairs for the firm’s transactional clients.

Alan began his career in the entertainment industry with the Writers Guild Of America, West, in 1978 where he served as Associate Resident Counsel handling grievance and arbitration proceedings and assorted other matters for screen and television writers in the film and television industry. Several years later, Alan then moved into private legal practice with the small, but highly successful entertainment boutique law firm of Russell & Glickman where he assisted the producers of many of the top ten television series of the day, including “Three’s Company” and “Barney Miller”. After a successful run in private practice, Alan then joined Paramount Pictures Corporation in the television legal affairs area, representing Paramount in connection with its hit television series, its ongoing television development activities, and in connection with several of its highly successful “Star Trek” feature motion pictures. After leaving Paramount, Alan joined the then premier independent film “mini studio”, Cannon Films, where he oversaw the development, production and distribution of Cannon’s extensive film output, with a special emphasis on banking, cable and video exploitation of the Cannon library and current product and foreign sales of independently financed motion pictures. Following Cannon, Alan rejoined Paramount in the television business affairs department where he oversaw the legal and business affairs for many of its successful syndicated television series and was instrumental in setting up and overseeing its successful late night talk show, “The Arsenio Hall Show”. In 1989, Alan was named Vice President of Business Affairs for Imagine Films where he helped usher in many of its early hit theatrical motion pictures, such as “Parenthood”, “Kindergarten Cop”, “Backdraft” and “Far and Way.”

Alan ventured into private practice again in 1991 and has since then focused on independent films, representing the producers of “Catch Me If You Can”, “I, Robot”, the “Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book” series of films, “The Adventures of Pinocchio” series of films and “Monster” among many others, as well as performing legal services for upcoming films from Tim Allen (“The Six Wives of Henry LeFay”), Mike Judge (“Extract” starring Jason Bateman), Hillary Swank (“Betty Anne Waters”) and the anthology film “New York, I Love You” for which Alan handled financing matters by melding state and federal tax credits, with equity and a presale gap loan to complete the complex financial structure of this film. On the international front, Alan acted as counsel to one of international co-producers of “Cold Mountain” in connection with the co-production and complex tax advantaged financing of this film. In the television area, Alan recently handled all legal and business affairs matters for the Showtime television series “Look”, based upon the award winning independent feature by the same name, and continues to represent talent in connection with various television reality series.

Alan’s private practice client list includes a variety of corporate and independent producers, distribution and sales agency companies, banks, studios, literary/talent agencies, animation producers and distributors, legitimate stage producers, directors, writers, performers, song writers, concert promoters and other individuals, for whom he has negotiated and documented a wide variety of deals. Alan maintains his special expertise in the area of representation of independent film producers in talent and rights negotiations and complex production, financing and distribution arrangements, including international co-productions, distribution and foreign tax and US production incentive based financing arrangements.

Over the course of a thirty one year long career in the entertainment industry as an attorney and business affairs executive, Alan has been instrumental in the creation, production and distribution of hundreds of hours of film and television programming.

Additional information on the some of the many productions Alan Abrams has participated in as lead attorney is available on IMDb at: http://imdb.com/name/nm0009156/

Charles M. Coate

Charles M. Coate brings two decades of litigation experience to the firm. He began practicing law in 1989 and has focused on business, entertainment and intellectual property litigation since 1991. As a litigator, Mr. Coate has represented or been retained by St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Company, American Airlines, Millennium Films, Inc., ICB Entertainment Finance in addition to numerous motion picture producers, distributors and financiers from all over the world.Over the years he has litigated or resolved disputes involving Twentieth Century Fox, MGM, Miramax Film Corporation, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Sylvester Stallone and Larry King, as well as award winning films such as “Catch Me If You Can” and “Boys Don’t Cry” among others. An increasing part of his practice involves both domestic and international arbitration matters.

Mr. Coate is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Courts of Appeal For the Fourth and Ninth Circuits and the Courts of The State of California. He is also a long-standing member of the Entertainment Sections of the Beverly Hills and Los Angeles County Bar Associations and has lectured at the South By Southwest Film Festival and before the Beverly Hills Bar Association on entertainment litigation issues. Mr. Coate is married, has two children and lives in Manhattan Beach, California.

Darius Anthony Vosylius

Darius Anthony Vosylius is a senior associate with Costa Abrams & Coate, LLP, and has been an attorney with the firm since it was established. His practice focuses on general business litigation with an emphasis in entertainment and intellectual property matters. Mr. Vosylius’ practice also involves various entertainment-related transactional matters.

Mr. Vosylius has extensive experience litigating both in federal and state courts as well as in various contractual arbitration tribunals. These include arbitrations, mediations, jury and court trials, as well as appeals.  Mr. Vosylius has litigated various disputes involving Michael Jackson, Madonna, Steven Seagal, Microsoft, NBC Universal, Starbucks Corporation, Sony Music Entertainment, Mexicana Airlines, The National Enquirer, Callaway Golf Company, Colony Insurance Company, International Film Guarantors, Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, Hollywood Video Superstores, October Films, Focus Features and Image Comics, among many others.

Mr. Vosylius graduated with honors in 1990 from the University of California, Los Angeles.  Afterwards, he graduated with honors in 1994 from the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law. At McGeorge he served as an associate editor of the law journal.  He was admitted to the California Bar in 1994.

Mark S. Schneider

Mark S. Schneider is an associate attorney with Costa Abrams & Coate LLP. Mr. Schneider’s legal practice focuses on transactional entertainment law, specifically development and production transactions for motion picture and television projects, entertainment and general business matters, talent representation, and intellectual property law. Mr. Schneider represents television and film actors, writers, producers, directors and production companies.

Mr. Schneider graduated from The University of Southern California in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Upon graduating from USC, Mr. Schneider received the Troy Leadership Recognition Award for outstanding service to the student body. In 2007, Mr. Schneider received his Juris Doctor degree from Pepperdine University School of Law in Malibu, California. While at Pepperdine, Mr. Schneider served as a judicial extern to the United States District Court in Nashville, Tennessee.

Theresa Johnson

Theresa E. Johnson is an associate attorney with Costa Abrams & Coate, LLP.  Ms. Johnson’s legal practice focuses primarily on entertainment litigation, with an emphasis on contractual, intellectual property, and general business matters.  Throughout her tenure with the firm, she has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of matters in California and federal courts, both at the trial court level and in appellate proceedings, as well as in domestic and international arbitrations.  She is admitted to practice before the Courts of the State of California as well as the United States District Courts for the Central and Southern Districts of California, and is a member of the Beverly Hills Bar Association.  Ms. Johnson also speaks Spanish as a second language.

Ms. Johnson graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 2004.  While completing her undergraduate degree in three years, she was a member of the College Honors Program and the Outstanding Student Honors Society, and participated in numerous campus activities including the UCLA Radio station, for which she acted as Promotions Director and hosted her own weekly radio show.  In 2007, Ms. Johnson obtained her Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Diego, and was admitted to the California Bar that same year.  While at the University of San Diego, she served as Vice President of the Sports and Entertainment Law Society in charge of the entertainment section, representative for the Business Law Society, and a member of the Student Bar Association.  Ms. Johnson was also a semi-finalist in the Association of Trial Lawyers of America Mock Trial Competition and the recipient of the Wiley W. Manuel Award for Pro Bono Legal Services, and studied abroad at Oxford University at the Oxford Institute of Law and Justice.

Lindsay Cinotto

Lindsay Cinotto is an associate attorney with Costa, Abrams & Coate, LLP. Ms. Cinotto’s practice focuses on both transactional and litigation matters, with a wide range of experience from complex real estate litigation to transactional intellectual property matters. Specifically, Ms. Cinotto has had an emphasis in copyright and trademark infringement matters, rights of publicity, as well as experience with licensing agreements, entertainment and business litigation and disputes relating to the Talent Agencies Act. Ms. Cinotto in many cases has represented producers, writers, directors, direct response companies, and talent agencies.

Ms. Cinotto graduated from The University of Oklahoma in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. In 2007, Ms. Cinotto received her Juris Doctor from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California. She is a member of the Beverly Hills Bar Association and is admitted to practice before all California State Courts.

Natalie Hottle

Natalie Hottle is an associate attorney with Costa Abrams & Coate LLP.  Her practice specializes in a broad range of transactional and litigation matters in the areas of film, video, television, music and licensing, and she regularly represents film producers, distributors, financiers, directors, intellectual  property rights holders, among others in the areas of contract, corporate, distribution, financing, music and licensing.   Natalie grew up in San Diego, California before attending New York University from where she graduated cum laude and was an honorary recipient of the prestigious Founder’s Day Award.  She worked in New York City as a consultant for clients such as Prada, and the World Wrestling Federation (now, WWE), before returning to her home town where she attended and graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law.  While in law school, Natalie served as a research assistant to a notable scholar in the area of bankruptcy law, was a semi-finalist in the Alumni Torts Moot Court Competition, and interned with a former head of the Legal and Business Affairs Department of MGM/UA’s Home Video Division prior to joining this firm.  She is a member of the Beverly Hills Bar Association.

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