Reed Smith announced that Christian Simonds has joined its Entertainment & Media Industry Group in New York. Christian, who formerly served as partner at Gray Krauss Sandler Des Rochers LLP, brings to Reed Smith experience in all aspects of motion picture, television and digital media lending and financing.

Christian’s practice focuses on film, television and new media transactional matters. He represents studios, networks, production companies, financiers (debt and equity), producers, writers, directors, talent (film and scripted/non-scripted television), athletes, and musicians in all aspects of rights acquisition, development, financing, production and distribution. Christian’s clients have premiered their films at major film festivals worldwide, and have included Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Independent Spirit Award nominees and winners, as well as Sundance Audience Award, Sundance Grand Jury Prize, and Cannes Grand Prize of the Jury winners.

“Christian’s skillset in the area of television and film production finance fills a distinct need within our highly acclaimed global Entertainment & Media practice,” said Stephen Sessa, co-chair of Reed Smith’s Entertainment and Media Industry Group. “Having a lawyer of Christian’s caliber on our team - who is an expert in the intricacies of television and film production finance - is a major coup for our practice and firm.”

Stephen further opined, “Reed Smith’s global reach as a full service firm will help Christian service his already vibrant client base, and our existing Reed Smith clients will benefit greatly from the wealth of knowledge and experience Christian has in financing, creating and exploiting content across all platforms.”

Reed Smith has one of the largest teams of entertainment and media lawyers of any international law firm and the addition of Christian gives the firm significant coverage across all areas of the film and television space from Los Angeles, to New York, to London.

This is the second significant hire for Reed Smith’s Entertainment & Media Industry Group over the past two months, having recently brought on digital transformation expert and partner Elle Todd from CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP this past February. Additionally, Virginia Burgess, an English and New York qualified film and television lawyer, joined the firm in New York.

Christian received his J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 2002 and his B.A. from Dickinson College in 1999.