Elsa Ramo is the Founder and Managing Partner of her boutique firm, Ramo Law, with offices in California and New York. At the forefront of entertainment dealmaking, Ramo represents clients in all aspects of content (films, non-nonfiction, television series, podcast & audio, branded content and beyond). Ramo guides her clients into innovative terms that optimize their reach and prevalence in today’s ever changing marketplace.

Ramo works with established content-creating powerhouses such as Imagine Entertainment, Concordia Studios, The Comedy Store Studios, Hello Sunshine, Skydance, Lion Forge, Boardwalk Pictures and Scout Productions.

She also represents prolific producers (Jamie Patricof, Anne Clements, Yale Productions), directors (Liza Mandelup, Zackary Drucker) and content creators, developers, producers and distributors.

Ramo is also a Forbes contributor, speaking to current issues and topics in the entertainment industry. She was recently recognized among Variety’s 2023 Legal Impact Report and 2022 Dealmakers Impact Report, Daily Journal’s Top 100 Women Lawyers, and Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2022 Women of Influence; she was nominated for the LA Times B2B Inspirational Women Awards; and her Firm was featured among Los Angeles Business Journal’s Most Admired Law Firms in 2020 and 2021.

Select Clients

Corporate Deals

• Imagine Entertainment, Imagine Documentaries, Imagine Kids & Family, Imagine Television, and Imagine Impact
• 2023 Emmy Nominated “Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming with Dave Letterman” (Disney+)
• Apple TV's 2023 "The Beanie Bubble" Starring Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook
• Podcast division negotiation of slate deal with iHeartMedia
• 2023 Sundance premiere “Judy Blume Forever” (Amazon)
• 2022 TIFF premiere “Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues” (Apple TV+)
• 2022 Sundance premieres “Lucy & Desi” (Amazon) and “Downfall: The Case Against Boeing” (Netflix)
• 2022 Golden Globe nominee “Tick, Tick… Boom” starring Andrew Garfield (Netflix)
• Imagine Impact first-look deal with Skydance (Feb 2021) and development partnership with Netflix
• 2021 Julia Child documentary, “Julia,” acquired by Sony Pictures Classics (2021 Telluride Film Festival & TIFF)

• HartBeat Productions
• Sundance Institute “Women Write Now” screenwriting fellowship
• Apple TV’s “Number One on the Call Sheet” documentary with Jamie Foxx, Kevin Hart, Datari Turner, Dan Cogan
• SiriusXM multi-platform deal, including top-performing podcasts “Straight from the Hart” and “Hart to Heart”
• Peacock and Tubi streaming deals such as “2021 and Done With Snoop Dogg & Kevin Hart” 
• Roku’s “Die Hart” (season 1 and 2) with Kevin Hart & John Travolta
• Hello Sunshine
• Counsel for 2022 Amazon Original film, “Something From Tiffany’s” directed by Daryl Wein starring Zoey Deutsch (Amazon)
• Counsel for Hello Sunshine Kids & Family division
• 2023 Emmy nominated “Daisy Jones & the Six” (Amazon)
• Boardwalk Pictures
• Emmy-winning Netflix series “Chef’s Table” and “Cheer,” as well as “The Goop Lab,” “Last Chance U”
• FX’s 2023 Emmy nominated series "Welcome to Wrexham" with Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney
• Showtime’s “We Need to Talk About Cosby” (2022 Sundance)
• Amazon’s 2021 Cannes premiere and Critics’ Choice winner “Val” (July 2021)
• Hulu’s “We Are Freestyle Love Supreme” (2020 Sundance)
• 2020 Emmy-nominated documentary “The Black Godfather”
• Scout Productions
• Emmy-winning Netflix series “Queer Eye”
• 2023 Netflix series “MerPeople” 
• 2023 FX mini-series “The Secrets of Hillsong” 
• Max's “Legendary” (2020-2022)
• Concordia
• Sundance 2023 premiere and 2023 Emmy nominated “STILL: A Michael J. Fox Story” (Apple TV+)
• Campfire Film & TV
• “Muscles & Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators” (2023-2023)
• BondIt
• Anna Kendrick’s upcoming directorial debut “Dating Game,”
• “Blood for Dust,” 2023 Tribeca
• “Dual,” 2022 Sundance
• “Paradise City” starring John Travolta & Bruce Willis, 2022
• Balboa
• The Jim Henson Company
• Skydance
• Unified Pictures
• New Line Cinema
• Good Deed Entertainment
• 828 Media

Rising Content Creators

• Yale Entertainment
• Handled financing, production, and distribution for several productions including "Parachute," "As They Made Us, “Rare Objects,” "Banshee,” “Panama,” and “The Survivalist"
• Yale Entertainment’s newly established sales arm Great Escape
• Katie Holmes’ Lafayette Pictures partnership with Yale Productions 
• JuVee Productions
• Handles various entertainment projects for Viola Davis’ JuVee Productions
• Closed interactive exclusive deal with Verizon

Independent Artists, Directors, Producers, and Writers

• JaQuel Knight - choreographer for 2020 Emmy winning Super Bowl halftime show starring Jennifer Lopez and Shakira; featured on the cover of Billboard
• Female directors Zackary Drucker (“The Stroll”), Vera Maio (“Two Sentence Horror Story”), Amber Sealey ("No Man of God"), and Carmen Marrón (“Queen Sugar”)
• Producer Anne Clements whose recent credits include “Chick Fight” and 50 Cent’s Starz series “Black Mafia Family” (2021) and “Fantasy Island” (2022)

Select Production Legal

• “A Man Called Otto,” (2023)

Select Financing and Distribution Deals

Indie Packaging, Sales and Monetization

• “Joyland,” Un Certain Regard Jury Prize Winner at Cannes 2022 and Pakistan’s official submission for the 2023 Academy Awards – helped bring partial financing and EP’d
• “The Card Counter,” directed by Paul Schrader, EP’d by Martin Scorsese, starring Oscar Isaac, Tiffany Haddish, Willem Dafoe and Ty Sheridan – brought in partial financing and EP’d, sold to Focus Features (premiered Sept 2021, Venice Film Festival & Telluride Film Festival)
• “Prisoner’s Daughter” directed by Catherine Hardwicke starring Kate Beckinsale on behalf of financing producer Oakhurst (TIFF 2022) 
• 2022 Sundance US Grand Jury: Documentary winner “The Exiles”
• “Sweet Sue” financing
• “Chick Fight” starring Malin Akerman & Bella Thorne
• “Honest Thief” starring Liam Neeson
• “Four Good Days” starring Glenn Close and Mila Kunis
• “Diane,” a 2020 Spirit Award nominee for best first feature
• “Freaks” directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein
• “Arkansas” starring Vince Vaughn and Liam Hemsworth
• “Collection” starring Alex Pettyfer & Mike Vogel
• “The Undertaker’s Wife,” produced by David Brown
• “Clemency,” 2020 Spirt Award nominee
• “Call Me By Your Name,” represented all three producers, including Memento Films, on their sale of film to Sony Pictures Classics
• “Dragged Across Concrete,” dedicated closed equity film fund for movie starring Mel Gibson & Vince Vaughn

Awards/Recognitions

• "Super Lawyer," Super Lawyers, 2020-2024
• "Women’s Leadership & Symposium Awards 2023,” Los Angeles Business Journal, 2023
• "Legal Impact Report,” Variety, 2023
• “Top 100 Women Lawyers,” Daily Journal, 2022
• "Dealmakers Impact Report," Variety, 2022
• "Legal Impact Report,” Variety, 2022
• “Women of Influence,” Los Angeles Business Journal, 2022
• "Women's Impact Report," Variety, 2021
• Super Lawyers, 2020-2022
• "Most Influential Women Attorneys," Los Angeles Business Journal, 2021
• "Innovator of the Year" nominee, LABJ Women's Leadership Awards, 2021
• “Dealmakers Impact Report,” Variety, 2020
• “Legal Impact Report,” Variety, 2020
• “Dealmakers Impact Report,” Variety, 2019
• “International Insiders in the US,” Screen Daily, 2019
• “Women of Influence,” L.A. Biz Journals, 2019
• “Legal Impact Report,” Variety, 2019
• “Most Influential Minority Lawyers,” Los Angeles Business Journal, 2019
• “Trailblazers Elite Boutique,” The National Law Journal, 2018
• “Hollywood’s New Leaders in Law and Finance,” Variety, 2017
• “Most Influential Minority Attorneys,” Los Angeles Business Journal, 2017
• “Power List: Laying Down the Law in Hollywood,” The Story Exchange, 2015
• “Women’s Impact Report,” Variety, 2014
• “Artistic License Award,” California Lawyers for the Arts, 2010

Publications

• "Britney Spears’ Memoir Holds One Truth: The Shame In Fame For Women,” Forbes.com, 2023
• "4 Post SAG-AFTRA Strike Action Items For Actors,” Forbes.com, 2023
• “Four Things Writers And Their Reps Should Do Now That The WGA Strike Is Resolved,” Forbes.com, 2023
• "WGA Strike Might Be Resolved But Here Is What Stands in the Way of Your Favorite Shows Returning,” Forbes.com, 2023
• "Solidarity Over Celebration: The Strike’s Impact On The Upcoming Toronto, Telluride and Venice Film Festivals,” Forbes.com, 2023
• "‘Tetris’ And ‘The Blind Side’ Litigation Expose The Dark Side of Biopics,” Forbes.com, 2023
• "Here Is Why Taylor Swift Re-Recording Her Albums Is Every Artist’s Dream,” Forbes.com, 2023
• “The AI Future is Bright But You Gotta Look At Shades Of Perspective,” Forbes.com, 2023
• "How The DGA’s Tentative Agreement Impacts The WGA And SAG-AFTRA,” Forbes.com, 2023
• "Broadway Bound: WGA Strike Solidarity Takes To Tony Awards,” Forbes.com 2023
• "WGA Strike: Breaking Down The Fight,” Forbes.com, 2023
• "Investing In A Feature Film For A Reasonable Reason,” Forbes.com, 2023
• "5 Things Producers Should Do When They Can't Produce," The Wrap, 2020

Media Mentions

• "Back to Work! Studios Eye Post-Strike Plans to Prioritize Production on ‘Stranger Things,’ ‘Euphoria,’ ‘House of the Dragon’ and More,” Variety, 2023
• "Hollywood is bracing for a ‘land grab’ for production studios and a scramble to restart films and TV shows once the strikes end,” Business Insider, 2023
• "Striking Writers on Edge Waiting for Hollywood Studios to “Clean House”,” Vanity Fair, 2023
• "Hollywood studios might not be as unified as they’d want you to believe in the face of SAG-AFTRA, WGA strikes,” KNX News 1070, 2023
• "For Hollywood Attorney Elsa Ramo, ‘Creative’ Dealmaking and ‘Courage’ Are Key,” The Wrap, 2023
• "What Ryan Murphy’s and Harry and Meghan’s deals say about the state of Hollywood,” Los Angeles Times, 2023
• “Hollywood on Hold? What a Potential Strike Would Mean for Your Next Binge Watch,” Local 12 News, 2023
• “The Existential Threat Driving a Potential Hollywood Writer’s Strike,” The Washington Post, 2023
• "A Writers' Strike Might Grind Hollywood to a Halt: What You Need to Know," Vanity Fair, 2023
• “Independent Spirit Awards’ Acting Categories Dominated by Women as They go Gender Neutral for the First Time,” Deadline, 2023
• “Top Gun: Maverick’s connection to a Russian oligarch has activists calling for an Oscars shoot-down,” KNX News 1070, 2023
• “Hollywood studios plan for a writers’ strike—even before negotiations have started,” Los Angeles Times, 2023
• "What is Backwards Engineering IP? Elsa Ramo shares insight," Script Magazine, 2022
• "Elsa Ramo Nominated for the Los Angeles Business Journal's 2020 Leaders in Law Award," Los Angeles Business Journal, 2020
• “The coronavirus has infected the film industry…..and the patient will never be the same,” KNX News 1070, 2020
• A live conversation on A New California: The Future of Entertainment, Fox 11 News, 2020
• “Reopening Hollywood: What the film industry could look like in a new California,” Fox 11 News, 2020
• “KNX In Depth: brace yourself for… the challenges of restarting TV & film production,” KNX 1070, 2020 
• “Most Hollywood Companies Not Insured Against Pandemics, Will Have to ‘Absorb the Losses,” The Wrap, 2020
• “Why ‘Hustlers’ Real-life Stripper Has Uphill Battle in Lawsuit Against STX, Jennifer Lopez,” The Wrap, 2020
• “Why Eliminating the Paramount Antitrust Decrees Won’t Shake Up the Movie Business,” Variety, 2019
• “Hollywood writers fired their agents. Now agencies are sidelining writers in new deals,” Los Angeles Times, 2019
• “Hollywood rolls out the red carpet for Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, hoping to cash in on a new market,” Los Angeles Times, 2018
• “Women to Watch: Indie Attorney Elsa Ramo,” Indie Wire, 2014
• “5 Things a Producer Must Know about Hollywood Dealmaking,” The Wrap, 2013
• “Understanding Copyright Law in the Age of Content,” Forbes, 2013
• “Lady Lawyers from AFM,” Latino Weekly Review

Speaking Engagements

• Panelist for 2023 Stage 32 Global Film & TV Production Summit panel “Global Film Production – Producer Perspective”
• Instructor for 2023 UCLA Ziffren Institute SPLE event “From Script to Screen”
• Advisor for 2023 Sundance Intensive “Adapting Intellectual Property for Film & TV”
• Instructor for 2022 Sundance Master Class "Finding and Negotiating Distribution for Your Film with Elsa Ramo"
• Panelist for 2021 Sundance Master Class "How to Find Representation for Writers and Directors with The Hollywood Reporter's Rebecca Sun"
• Panelist for MPTF PAN panel "2021 Strategies For Furthering and Fostering Relationships Virtually"
• Moderator for “Stage 32 presents COVID-19 – A Conversation with Industry Professionals of the Current State of the Entertainment Industr,“ 2020
• Key Speaker for Film Financing Workshop with Women in Media, 2020
• SXSW Panel Moderator in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 for the festival
• Common Sexual Harassment Claims Issues – Reporting, Investigation, Settlements and Liability, Practicing Law Institute
• California Lawyers for the Arts
• Film Independent
• LawReviewCLE
• Institute for International Film Financing
• University of Southern California, American Film Institute, University of California Los Angeles
• SXSW V2V
• Slamdance Film Festival
• Digital Hollywood, most recently May 2019

Affiliations

• Producers Guild of America (P.G.A.)
• Co-Chair, UCLA Entertainment Law Symposium
• Founder, Professional Entertainment Female Attorneys (PEFA)
• Arts Circle Member, Film Independent
• Women in Film
• California Lawyers for the Arts
• American Bar Association
• Los Angeles County Bar Association
• Beverly Hills Bar Association

Bar Admissions

• State Bar of California
• The District of Columbia Bar
• New York State Bar
• Illinois State Bar

Education

• J.D., University of San Diego School of Law
• B.A., University of California, Riverside