Once you hire us as a consultant you will be partnered with one of our qualified legal analysts who will take the lead on your current project.

We actually specialize in working with in-house legal departments. Much of our staff were in-house attorneys themselves so they know the workflow and particular issues. We would love to get to know your operations, systems, and goals so we can craft the perfect plan to tackle your legal delivery needs.

Of course! We would discuss with you and your attorney what duties you want them to handle and which ones you want us to handle. There are specific duties that you would need an attorney to handle. For the rest we’d be happy to help with, either under your attorney’s supervision or reporting directly to you.

That’s up to you. One factor is the type of  work that needs to be done and who is the best person to do it. Some attorneys handle legal delivery and some don’t. If they don’t it’s usually because they either aren’t familiar with it or don’t want to. 

Legal delivery is our speciality and we love it. And it’s not something that an attorney can necessarily easily pick up. There are idiosyncrasies, details, and company requirements that we’ve become experts in. We’ve developed working relationships with the people that will be deciding if your documents are approved or not. We’ve done this almost every day since 2008.

Another factor is cost. We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice so we don’t charge law firm prices. If you don’t need an attorney to do legal delivery you don’t have to pay attorney prices.  Hourly attorney fees add up quickly and legal delivery can require dozens of hours of work.

At some point you will need legal advice and legal services performed which only licensed attorneys can provide. You would either have to do these yourself, hire an in-house attorney, or hire outside counsel. While we do have experienced attorneys on staff, we are not YOUR attorney and are not providing legal advice to you.

Legal delivery is required once you’ve signed a deal with a sales agent or distributor, or another party that may become exposed to liability. They will need to review all your contracts and documents to ensure everything is in order which reduces the risk of legal complications or claims. Essentially, it’s about proving you’ve done all your paperwork properly so that no one will later challenge or sue the distributor.

A sales agent acts as an intermediary between filmmakers and distributors. Their job is to pitch your film to distributors and secure deals for its release. Sales agents have extensive networks and connections, helping them promote your film to the right buyers. They essentially help distributors filter through the vast number of films being made to identify the ones with the most commercial potential.

A distributor focuses on getting your film into a specific market or country, tailoring marketing and distribution strategies to local audiences. A sales agent, on the other hand, works to sell your film to these distributors across different regions. Sales agents convince distributors that your film has great market prospects, while distributors handle the local marketing and logistics to bring it to audiences. Some companies do both. They may distribute a film in a specific territory and handle the marketing and logistics there, in Canada, for example, and then they will sell the rest of the rights to distributors in various territories across the world.

When you sign a deal with a sales agent or distributor, the contract will have a list of requirements called a Delivery Schedule. This list details all the materials you need to provide, and you might not get paid until all items are delivered to their satisfaction. Since the filmmaking process, from inception to distribution, can span years, it’s crucial to properly manage and execute your paperwork throughout to avoid delays. Hunting down someone to sign a document you should have completed 1-3 years ago can be challenging, to say the least. Showbiz Consultants has shepherded many films from inception to delivery and all points in between with budgets from a few thousand dollars to eight figure studio movies.

Many producers handle legal delivery themselves by learning about the necessary documents and processes. Showbiz Consultants can consult with you to give you an idea of what you need to do and what cost might be involved. From there you can better decide how you will approach legal delivery.

The best time to start preparing legal documents is always “as soon as possible.” If you haven’t yet done so, begin collecting and organizing your paperwork immediately. The process is like a marathon—you need to prepare consistently over time rather than scrambling at the last moment. The sooner you start the faster you will finish, and the less stressed you’ll be.

Even as an online content creator, it’s important to have your documents in order to reduce risk and ensure payment in potential deals. The more valuable your content becomes, the more likely others will want assurance that everything is legally clear before investing in your work. You never know when you’ll go viral, and you don’t want to lose the opportunity to secure large deals because you’ve exposed yourself to legal liability. Proper contracts help protect you from lawsuits and also set clear expectations for payments and rights.

Documentaries are the projects that need the most legal delivery since they present a large array of legal risks. The voluminous use of stock footage, photos, interviews, and other assets that appear in a documentary require a large number of permissions in writing and distributors will 100% ask for these. Furthermore, if the subject is controversial or about a person that did not give their permission for the documentary then there is risk of a lawsuit. Even public domain and fair use assets, which would ideally be free to use, are a legal gray area. You will eventually need expert attorney opinions and additional insurance coverage to put a distributor’s mind at ease.

This is a bit of a double-edged sword. While an NDA can provide protection, many established industry professionals may see it as amateurish and refuse to sign. For people outside the industry, an NDA might be appropriate. For those inside the industry, focus instead on vetting their legitimacy rather than insisting on an NDA.

It’s important to have as many people read your script as possible, but always register your work with the U.S. Copyright Office first. You can register at copyright.gov. It only takes 20 minutes and about $65 (depending on what you’re copyrighting). This ensures you have proof of your intellectual property rights. Put the registration application number on the cover of the script whenever you submit it to anyone.

There’s always some risk when submitting to small competitions, especially regarding potential idea theft. Always read the terms carefully; avoid competitions that include exploitative clauses like exclusive options without payment. However, some version of “we may have similar ideas” is standard for most festivals, and should be expected. Register your work with the Copyright Office and keep a detailed submission record so you have a paper trail. That said, taking some risks is part of gaining exposure, so balance caution with the need to be read by as many legitimate industry figures as possible.