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00:00And thank you for being here.
00:02Really appreciate it.
00:03I could not resist the joke that there's a lot of people here
00:07who are going to be very happy to see you getting questioned for a change,
00:10but we're not bringing deposition energy to this.
00:13This is a celebration, and I just could not.
00:16I enjoy Keith Olbermann.
00:18I remember Keith Olbermann as the sports guy on KTLA.
00:22I grew up here, and I have been watching him on television
00:26and watching his career for a long time.
00:28He's quite a sui generis talent,
00:31and I know you have a lot of those folks in your life and your practice
00:34that you have represented for so many years.
00:38What does it make you feel like to get that kind of testimonial
00:40from somebody that you have had such an important relationship with?
00:44I love Keith.
00:46I do.
00:47And if you didn't like him, you could easily be offended by him
00:52because he's offended a lot of people.
00:54Having said that, he is a man of great integrity.
00:58Huge talent, huge insight.
01:01He's just a terrific guy.
01:03So do I feel good that somebody like Keith has nice things to say?
01:07Of course I do.
01:08I feel the same way about people like Conan O'Brien.
01:12Terrific guy.
01:14Hugely bright.
01:15Lee is here somewhere who helped me with that matter.
01:19And it's a pleasure that I wouldn't have but for the fact that I happen to be a lawyer,
01:29which I love doing.
01:30So it's all good.
01:32All good.
01:32Absolutely.
01:33Well, I want everybody to read the profile on Patty that went up on variety.com
01:37and is in our print issue today.
01:39And you will also see in that profile a really, really emotional, touching testimonial
01:45from Jennifer Lynch, who was a client of yours at a crucial point in her career.
01:51And as you tell me in the story, it was a pivotal point for your career as well.
01:56Boxing Helena, it was a long case.
01:58You can read all about it.
01:59You can read about it in variety.
02:00But that really says a lot about anybody in our industry when people from decades past
02:06will say, yes, I remember.
02:09And, you know, it's the old line.
02:11They may forget what you said, but they'll always remember how you made them feel.
02:16And clearly, you've had an impact on people.
02:19Jennifer was a real character.
02:21Jennifer is the daughter of David Lynch.
02:24And Jennifer grew up in a household, as she describes it, everything was black.
02:29The curtains were black.
02:30The furniture was black.
02:32Clothes were black.
02:33Everything was black.
02:34And she said, you can imagine how that makes me feel as a director at the time.
02:43She had no clothes to wear to court.
02:46We had to go out and buy her a wardrobe.
02:48And these are the things you don't learn in law school, but after, when you're practicing.
02:53Yes.
02:53She was a terrific, terrific kid.
02:55But you don't get to meet those people.
02:58But for the fact that we're lawyers, many of us in this room, we're lawyers, you don't
03:03get to meet these fun, interesting people.
03:06So I bless the day I got my law degree, I guess.
03:11All good.
03:12Well, you kind of touched on it in your remarks just a minute ago, but I wanted to talk to
03:16you just about, like, relations within the legal community.
03:21We know it's a tight-knit group.
03:23We know people here know each other, have worked on opposite sides of the table and together.
03:28How would you say, you've been at this a very long time.
03:32How would you say that the sort of interpersonal relationships between professional lawyers
03:38in a professional setting, how have they changed in the last years?
03:42Is it rougher than it was in the 70s and 80s?
03:45Is it more genteel?
03:46Is it case by case?
03:50I don't know if anybody in this room agrees with me.
03:53I think that people are less trustworthy.
03:58So opposing counsel that I deal with, some of whom I take what they say to the bank, that
04:03you never have to send a confirming letter, and some of whom are just awful.
04:08They don't.
04:09And I think there's more of that today.
04:12Maybe it's my imagination.
04:14But there are people in this audience who have been adversaries of mine who I utterly
04:21respect, and hopefully it's mutual.
04:24And when they tell me something on the phone, Patty, I'll do this, I never have to worry
04:29about it.
04:30But there are plenty of people out there who just don't, they're not honorable.
04:35And do I believe they're more today than there were 20 years ago?
04:40I don't know.
04:41I mean, I really don't know.
04:42It's hard to measure, but it's disappointing when it happens.
04:46Do you think the solution long-term is more ethics courses, more like what do you think
04:52is the driver of this?
04:55Do you think it's just consolidation and people are taking on too many, you know, they have
04:59two more cases than they can handle in a given week?
05:03I got to tell you, I'll give a bad example.
05:07Gloria Allred is somebody that I, she and her firm I've been against many times.
05:11They are tough people.
05:13They're wonderful to deal with.
05:15They're honorable.
05:16I don't agree with them 95% of the time.
05:20Having said that, it's a pleasure to have them as opposing counsel.
05:24Why isn't everyone like that, that you can genuinely have a real positive experience with?
05:31That, to me, is what it's about.
05:32So, I'm not really answering your question.
05:35It's just that it's, there are people today who are getting rewarded for doing bad things,
05:45such as demand letters that suggest that if you don't do such and such, we're going to sue you.
05:52And it's not so much about the bona fides of a lawsuit, it's about embarrassing people in a public arena.
06:02That's not okay.
06:03And it happens over and over.
06:05And so, when you say more ethics courses, no.
06:08I think we need to stop rewarding people for doing really not good things for our profession and for the
06:15clients that we represent.
06:17How do you handle it when you're in a situation and your client has maybe not been as totally forthcoming
06:25with you?
06:25You're put in a tough position by a client.
06:29What is the, what's your North Star when you're in that situation?
06:33I'm not in that situation.
06:34I'm not.
06:35I'm not.
06:37It's very important to me at the very outset of a relationship that we be totally candid.
06:42I'm not judgmental, but I need to know what you've done.
06:46I need to know what the other side has done.
06:48I need to know what people are going to be saying.
06:51And that, and when you have that kind of clarity, you don't get into the situation you just, you just
06:57described.
06:58I don't.
06:59Gotcha.
07:00Let me ask you, of course, it's synonymous with Patty Glazer as one of the town's top litigators.
07:05That is definitely attached to descriptions of you.
07:09When you're in court, when you're actively in trial, how does the dynamics, what, are there sort of different rules
07:16of engagement when you're actively trying a case versus if you're pre-trial or you're, you know, you're doing your
07:22legal advocacy outside of the courtroom?
07:24You can't scream at opposing counsel in front of the jury.
07:28You know, don't do it.
07:30Having said that, there isn't a big difference.
07:32I mean, there really isn't.
07:35You need to really work hard and understand the law and the facts with respect to the matter that you're
07:41handling.
07:42And you deal with people in a, hopefully, maybe tough but respectful manner.
07:49And when that happens, it's not just because we're faking.
07:53It's not because we're doing one thing in court and then something else in our office.
07:58You deal with people just, it's almost like a level playing field, you know.
08:03You just deal with them the same way and you get in the habit of dealing with it and you
08:08hopefully do that with everyone.
08:12And I'm talking about with everyone, whether it's the clerk in the courtroom, whether it's the secretary in the office.
08:20It doesn't mean I don't have a temper because I do.
08:23But having said that, it's not personal.
08:26And when it's personal, it's a mistake.
08:30Gotcha.
08:30I think that remove is similar to journalism.
08:34You kind of have to keep that remove.
08:35And it's important and it's something that comes with practice for sure.
08:40Let me ask you about another sort of thorny issue for lawyers.
08:44The world of social media.
08:47Information travels very fast.
08:49Things can be said.
08:50People have described it as the ultimate smear machine.
08:53How is that, how is the change in communications changing or impacting the way legal cases and legal situations are
09:03adjudicated?
09:04I agree with your expression.
09:06The ultimate smear machine.
09:08It is, we have not developed, kept up with guardrails for the internet.
09:15We just haven't.
09:16And what people say on social media is not penalized enough.
09:21I mean, it just isn't.
09:23And people are very, very irresponsible.
09:26And it's, and I don't, I'm not a genius.
09:30I don't have an answer for all the guardrails that should be there.
09:33But there should be guardrails.
09:35There should be things you just don't say about other people.
09:39And it's not there now.
09:41And it's, it's a constant, not just a legal battle.
09:46It's a PR battle.
09:48And that's not, it shouldn't be that way.
09:51I mean, it just shouldn't be that way.
09:52Do you think this room knows what I'm referencing when I say Section 230?
09:57Do you think that's too broad at this point?
09:59Do you think it will be narrowed by, you know, whether legislative or litigation precedent?
10:06I think it will be narrowed.
10:08I hope it will be narrowed.
10:09Because I just, if there, you know, we all, we're a function of the irresponsibility of a few.
10:17And that's the shame.
10:18Because there are many, many, certainly people sitting in this room who are, and all over the place, who are
10:25responsible.
10:26But what you have to do, though, is suffer from rules that are created because there are two or three
10:32people out there who are just outrageously irresponsible and are hurting people.
10:38And I'm sorry about that.
10:40But it is, it is the case, at least as I see it.
10:44We are going to be writing about this probably for the next 10 years.
10:47I really, and I think that's another reason why we're seeing all the shifts that we have is that that
10:52dread fear up north of tighter regulation is driving a lot of interesting trends right now in politics and law
11:00and everything.
11:02Oh, I wanted to follow up on something that Paul Feig said.
11:05How entertaining was Paul?
11:07He's just, he's always a good speaker.
11:10High energy.
11:11High energy.
11:12High energy and always very dapper.
11:14Always very dapper.
11:16Mega deals are gone.
11:18He said it flatly.
11:19You have a very big, at Glazer Weil, you have a very big transactional business.
11:22Do you think that the era of, you know, seven and eight figure deals for like, you know, open-ended
11:30three-year production deals, is that era gone?
11:33It's too broad a question.
11:35Because I think it depends.
11:36So, for example, somebody who's been hugely successful as a television producer suddenly doesn't have a guarantee 12 episodes or
11:4624 episodes, but has a guarantee of three episodes.
11:49That changes the whole way people look at producers and whether they want to continue doing it.
11:57I talked with a friend of mine who's a very well-known producer who said maybe it's not worth it
12:03to get three episodes on any Amazon whatever because it's a lot of work and not a lot of remuneration
12:13because there's no back end on many of these deals.
12:16So it is what it is, but will a star, will Tom Cruise continue to get a big figure, high
12:23figure number?
12:23Of course, in my opinion.
12:26Has it changed?
12:27I think this is probably a question for business managers' breakfast in a few months, but I wonder if it's
12:31also changed with the business has gone so much now the front end.
12:34You get that paycheck up front versus the older system of profit participation and annuity.
12:40I would imagine that just that change requires a certain amount of just legal handling of income, how you shelter
12:46it.
12:46And not just legal, but financial handling.
12:48So people need to take that check and invest it and not spend it in a silly fashion.
12:55Whether that will cause behavior to change or not, I can't tell you.
12:59But it is absolutely necessitated.
13:02Lamborghini dealers will be disappointed, but yeah, no, for sure.
13:07Let me close, Patty, by asking you, this is super broad, but we did talk about this before.
13:12What on that high level, that 30,000-foot view, what brought a girl from West Virginia into the law?
13:19What was it that at a time when there were not as many young women going into law schools?
13:27I have to tell you, I wish I could tell you something grand, but I can't.
13:31So I was in college, and I thought, well, okay, I can either go in.
13:38I was thinking of going to Foreign Service, but I don't know languages very well, and I don't have a
13:42great ear.
13:43Okay, that's a problem.
13:45And I took that out.
13:47And then I said, well, okay, the difference, maybe I should get a Ph.D.
13:51in philosophy or a J.D., and then I realized that I'm going to offend somebody, but philosophers like to
13:59walk into dark rooms and run into walls.
14:02That gives them a good feeling.
14:04Okay, fine.
14:05I, like many lawyers, like to walk into a dark room and find the light and follow the light, and
14:13that is very personally rewarding.
14:17It wouldn't be personally rewarding to walk into walls, but it's personally rewarding on behalf of clients to find the
14:25light.
14:26And I honestly think that many of us are rewarded in that respect.
14:31I appreciate that.
14:32And now I'm going to ask you something again as a Los Angeles native that, and I know you're so
14:37involved in a lot of, you know, a lot of very important civic activities and philanthropy.
14:41I know you have pull in Los Angeles, and you, your original firm, Wyman Bouncer, was just full of people
14:50that had very, you know, real influence in the state of California and Los Angeles.
14:54One of your partners went on to be a Supreme Court judge for, a California state judge for.
15:00No, no, no, federal.
15:01Federal, federal judge for many years.
15:03So, I mean, really a great crucible.
15:06I drive around, and I, my hometown, I sometimes feel a little sad.
15:10I see a lot of things boarded up.
15:12I see a lot of, I see a lot of trash.
15:13I see just, I see a lot of things that I didn't see 20 years ago.
15:18And I wonder, just from your perspective in Los Angeles, what do you think, what do you think it's going
15:25to take to give a boost to this region?
15:28And I'm not even talking about the entertainment business, but the region overall, Southern California.
15:32Do you think I have too pessimistic of a view?
15:35Maybe I'm just driving on the wrong streets.
15:36But what do you think it's going to take to kind of just give the jolt to Los Angeles that
15:41I think so many of us in the industry would like to see?
15:45That, that, that, just that boost that we're not seeing that we used to feel, used to feel special living
15:51in Los Angeles and Southern California.
15:52And I, I feel like we've lost a bit of that feeling.
15:54Well, first of all, I think that we need to listen to each other more, not yak, not, not overwhelming
16:02people, not screaming at people.
16:04We need to listen more, put that aside.
16:06We need some better politicians, but then I'm sure I, again, I'm offending somebody, but.
16:12We're going to keep this nonpartisan, but I think, yes, I think some leadership is needed.
16:17We need a new mayor.
16:18We need a new governor, in my opinion, and we need new ideas.
16:23And do I, I'm not pessimistic.
16:26I actually think that the trash downtown will be cleaned up, even though it looks like dump trucks have literally
16:32dumped trash in the streets in, in Los Angeles, which is, is horrible to see.
16:39And you say to yourself, well, why can't we just have somebody adopt that block and keep that block clean
16:45one at a time?
16:47But there's just so many ideas that aren't being pursued.
16:50And, and we have so much bureaucracy and so many rules that are just impossible to even begin to comply
16:59with.
17:00Having said that, in the law, I can tell you that Los Angeles is one of the last vestiges of
17:06a meritocracy.
17:07I've said this over and over again.
17:09It doesn't matter who your family is.
17:12It doesn't matter what club you belong to.
17:14If you're perceived, I don't know the word perceived.
17:16If you're perceived as good, you can be hugely successful here.
17:21That's a nice thing.
17:22That's a good thing.
17:23And that makes Los Angeles different than a lot of other, whether it's New York, San Francisco, Atlanta, Washington, D
17:30.C., Phoenix.
17:32Phoenix, it's different there.
17:34I'm, I'm really proud of that here.
17:36Well, I do not want to end on a pessimistic note.
17:39And I really do feel like these two years are going to be, these two years to the Olympics are
17:43going to be a great runway.
17:44And I know that, that you will be a big part of that in your firm and all of the
17:48folks in here really doing the philanthropy.
17:50Can I do a plug for Casey Wasserman?
17:52He's going to do a terrific job.
17:54He needs our, all of our help.
17:57I, I have to ask you, Patricia, obviously, you know, obviously Casey has been part of a very, you know,
18:05a very delicate situation that is kind of something that, you know, something that probably couldn't have even been conceived
18:11of 10 years ago,
18:12that there would be such public pressure around the release of, of all these legal, legal files, which I understand.
18:18I know that lawyers have a real feeling about how much of this should be released and this push for
18:23this to be released.
18:25How, again, given, given the dynamics around Casey Wasserman, and he certainly has, has definitely held on to that LA
18:3328 role, what is it, what is it that you're seeing that makes you feel like he needs all of
18:42the support in this room?
18:43What, what is it that, that you think that, that people are missing in terms of fixating on him being,
18:50having been part of the Epstein files?
18:52Wasn't part of the Epstein. I mean, he had, there are two emails, guys, two emails, and he wasn't attacking
18:58young women. He wasn't, he wasn't sleeping with young women.
19:01And I, I think he's gotten such a raw deal and we are so quick to judge, oh my goodness,
19:08his name is in the Epstein files.
19:09What, twice? And there, did Epstein apparently do some really horrible things? Yeah, he did some horrible things.
19:18That doesn't make, Casey did horrible things. So for the LA Olympics to be successful, we all need to support
19:26Casey.
19:27I think he's a terrific executive. I think he knows a tremendous number of people and he's pulling things together.
19:34And I think we, he deserves our support.
19:36Patty, thank you so much for articulating the case. Appreciate it.
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