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A 1986 graduate Magna Cum Laude from New York Law School, where he was a member of the Law Review and the Media Law Clinic, Mr. Zucker began his career as a litigator in New York City alongside Mr. Roth. In 1989, he moved to Los Angeles. After successful stints at ABC Television and Paramount Pictures as an executive in their respective Business & Legal Affairs departments, he joined Warner Bros. Television (“WBTV”) in 2000, where he spent the next 22 years. In 2005 he was named the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Warner Bros. Television, and in 2019 he was elevated to Executive Vice President for the entire Warner Bros. Television Group. Throughout this tenure Mr. Zucker was responsible for addressing the myriad of legal issues faced by the worlds’ largest and most prolific television studio, which regularly produced programming for more outlets than any studio in the world. During this time, Mr. Zucker was closely involved in the Legal and Business Affairs for such prominent shows as Friends, The West Wing, Gilmore Girls, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, The Flight Attendant, Ted Lasso and countless others. Mr. Zucker was responsible for handling numerous high-profile matters of first impression, such as the cast renegotiations for Friends and The West Wing as well as handling Charlie Sheen’s highly public meltdown and subsequent firing from Two and a Half Men, where he was responsible for the strategy that resolved the matter quickly with minor legal costs and a single deposition by Mr.
Sheen’s legal team – his own. Mr. Zucker also worked on many of the studio’s unscripted “reality” shows, including the launch of the genre-defining The Bachelor and its numerous progenies and the launch of “The Voice”. In all, Mr. Zucker has addressed all legal issues attendant to the development, production and distribution of thousands of hours of programming.
Because of WBTV’s leading role as an unaffiliated independent producer that serviced all outlets, Mr. Zucker also had the singularly unique opportunity to negotiate and draft cutting edge license agreements with then-emerging SVOD services, including Netflix, Amazon and Apple, as well as with a wide variety of Cable and Broadcast networks. Mr. Zucker was also an instrumental player in navigating the studio through the 2007 WGA strike, as well as the complicated process of ensuring the continuation of production through the 2020 pandemic, when WBTV was one of the first major studios to safely recommence production. In addition, Mr. Zucker oversaw the overhaul and implementation of an updated “participation” definition for WB that addressed the rapidly emerging technologies redefining the industry, successfully negotiating this highly complex document with all of the major talent agencies and boutique law firms in Hollywood. In October 2022, Mr. Zucker retired from WB. As Of Counsel to The Roth Law Firm, he acts as its west coast office, specializing in providing services for virtually any and all types of entertainment transactions as well as all manner of contractual and employment disputes arising in the course of the acquisition, development, production and licensing of programming.
