Michelle Sawyer is an associate who brings extensive experience working with clients across the media and entertainment industries – from television networks and production companies, to individual athletes, models, authors, and talent. As production counsel, she is well-versed in all aspects of unscripted television and documentary films, from development and rights agreements, to talent and appearance releases, to pre-publication and fair use review.  Michelle is also experienced in handling matters ancillary to television production, such as employment handbooks and trainings, privacy and non-solicitation policies, and trademark and copyright management. Among her other responsibilities at the firm, she handles pre-publication review for the hit docu-series, “On Patrol Live.” Previously, Michelle was Counsel in the Business and Legal Affairs department at ITV America, where she served as production counsel on a variety of programming, including “Queer Eye” for Netflix, and “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” for Bravo.

Michelle received her J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law, and her A.B. from Duke University. During law school, Michelle was a member of the First Amendment Law Review and President of the Sports and Entertainment Law Association. While at Duke, she performed as a member of the Dancing Devils, Duke’s nationally renowned dance team.

Michelle is admitted to practice in New York. She is also accredited by the International Association of Privacy Professionals as a Certified Information Privacy Professional with a focus on US private-sector privacy law.