00:00I didn't know that I had theme music. This is good. Thank you, Dea. On behalf of City
00:08National Bank, I'd like to congratulate all of the outstanding dealmakers and
00:13litigators who are with us today. This event embodies the unique synergy
00:19between law and entertainment, a partnership City National Bank has
00:24nurtured for more than 70 years. We understand that behind every iconic
00:29film series or deal, a brilliant lawyer is making it work. I want to thank Variety
00:37for organizing this celebration of the legal community and all of you who are
00:42so fundamentally important to the industry. I also want to recognize the
00:48entire Variety team, Dea, Ramin, Melissa, Margaret, especially Lindsay, Suzanne, for
00:56being the undisputed number one entertainment news platform. You are a
01:01critical partner to everyone in the room and to City National Bank. City
01:06National has sponsored this event since it started nine years ago. We have a
01:11long history of banking and supporting the entertainment community. For seven
01:16decades, serving everyone from actors to agents to the lawyers who power their
01:20work has been critical to the work that we do. We take pride in our highly
01:26personalized service and keeping clients at the center of everything that we do.
01:30And we all know that entertainment clients are unlike any other.
01:35I've had my share of interesting unique requests throughout my career.
01:40Years ago, I received a call from a prominent entertainment attorney and his client.
01:45The client wanted to make a large donation to save a dance troupe that served the
01:51underprivileged youth. She had only one condition. The donation was to be made anonymously.
01:59If the troupe ever found out the source of the funds, my client made it amply clear that I
02:05would no longer be her banker. I dutifully sent the cashier's check and I can still remember the
02:12thank you note that the troupe sent me. Dear Mr. Shapiro, whoever you are,
02:18you saved our organization and now dozens and dozens of highly talented dancers will continue to
02:26pursue their passion in a safe and loving environment. Thus began my time as a notable local philanthropist.
02:36At City National Bank, we continue to build solutions and deepen our partnerships with
02:43those in the entertainment industry and beyond. But as we evolve and expand, some things will always
02:48stay the same, especially our commitment to serving our clients and our communities.
02:54Like so many of you here today, we at City National are passionate about giving back.
02:59We support many of the organizations that are the lifeblood of the industry. The SAG-AFTRA Foundation,
03:06the Grammy Museum, the Motion Picture and Television Fund, Project Angel Food, Broadway Cares,
03:12the Entertainment Community Fund and Music Cares, among many, many others.
03:15As the largest bank headquartered in Los Angeles, we are here for our communities during critical times.
03:23In the immediate aftermath of the devastating wildfires that hit our Southern California community last
03:29year, City National Bank, together with our parent company, RBC, donated $3 million to support the relief
03:37efforts. We know we have an important duty and an important role to play in helping address the immediate
03:44needs as well as the long-term work that it will take to rebuild our communities, like our beloved
03:49Altadena and the Palisades. We know our bank can only be as strong as the communities that we serve.
03:55That belief is core to who we are as an organization. This brings us today to the extraordinary honoree,
04:04Patricia Glazer. Patty is a pillar of LA's philanthropic world, with many organizations benefiting from her
04:13leadership. She is also consistently ranked as one of California's top business trial attorneys.
04:19The Los Angeles Business Journal awarded Patty the Legal Excellence Lifetime Specialty Award,
04:25named her Business Leader of the Year in the Services category, and lists her among the most
04:30influential women lawyers in Los Angeles in the Los Angeles 500. She has also earned the prestigious honor
04:38of being included year after year in Variety's legal impact report. I have had the privilege of being
04:47the personal back banker to actors who play some of the most celebrated lawyers on TV.
04:55The one consistent message I hear? Each TV lawyer owes their career to the real lawyers like Patty,
05:03who have guided them throughout their professional life, and hopefully their banker earns an honorable
05:09mention. Thank you, Patty, for your outstanding accomplishments as a lawyer and as an advocate.
05:17Congratulations on this well-deserved honor.
05:27On behalf of City National Bank's entertainment and sports banking business and all of my colleagues
05:32here today and at home, congratulations again to this year's top entertainment and media lawyers.
05:40Now, please let me welcome to the stage Matt Donnelly, senior entertainment and media writer at Variety,
05:47for a keynote conversation with acclaimed director and former star of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Paul Fee.
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