Hollywood’s legal landscape has a notable new entrant. Devin McRae, a veteran entertainment litigator with a long track record in high-stakes disputes, has officially launched McRae LLP, a new boutique firm built around the needs of the film, television, and broader media business.
The move marks a significant next chapter for Devin McRae after 16 years at Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae, where he served as a name partner. With McRae LLP, he is positioning his new practice as a focused litigation shop serving clients across the entertainment industry, intellectual property matters, and insurance coverage disputes.
Devin McRae starts McRae LLP in Hollywood
The creation of McRae LLP reflects a broader trend in the industry: high-level lawyers leaving large or established firms to build specialized practices with a sharper identity. In this case, Devin McRae is leaning into what has defined much of his career: representing talent, production companies, rights holders, and entertainment-adjacent clients in complex disputes where business strategy matters as much as legal analysis.
According to the announcement, the firm will concentrate on three core areas:
- Entertainment industry litigation
- Intellectual property disputes
- Insurance coverage matters
That combination is particularly relevant in today’s TV and video economy, where rights questions, production conflicts, profit participation claims, and coverage battles can quickly become central to a project’s future.
What McRae LLP will focus on
As a litigation boutique, McRae LLP is not trying to be everything to everyone. Instead, the firm appears designed for disputes that sit at the intersection of creative work and commercial pressure. That includes the kinds of conflicts faced by:
- Writers and showrunners
- Actors and comedians
- Directors and producers
- Studios and production companies
- Talent representatives and media businesses
McRae has emphasized that entertainment disputes require more than courtroom skill. They also demand a practical understanding of how Hollywood actually works, including relationships, deal structures, credits, publicity concerns, and the fast-moving economics behind film and television production.
That industry fluency is often what separates a general commercial litigator from a lawyer who is truly effective in media and entertainment law. For clients in TV and video especially, legal disputes can affect distribution, release timing, insurance recovery, contractual leverage, and reputation all at once.
Why a boutique model makes sense
The boutique structure can be appealing for entertainment clients because it often offers:
- More direct partner attention
- Narrower industry specialization
- Strategic flexibility in high-profile disputes
- A brand built around a defined practice rather than a broad corporate platform
For someone like Devin McRae, whose reputation is closely tied to entertainment litigation, launching a dedicated firm may allow for clearer positioning in a highly competitive legal market.
Devin McRae’s track record in entertainment litigation
One reason this launch is drawing attention is Devin McRae’s history of handling matters involving major names and recognizable industry players. Over the years, his work has been connected to clients and cases involving The Walking Dead, Legendary Pictures, Verve, the family of baseball icon Roberto Clemente, the late Shannen Doherty, and other notable figures and companies.
His client roster has also included comedian Nate Bargatze and actor LaKeith Stanfield, underscoring the breadth of his entertainment-facing practice. In addition, he has represented numerous former Pacific Palisades residents who lost homes in the 2025 fires, a detail that highlights the insurance coverage side of his work.
That mix of entertainment and insurance experience is especially timely. As production budgets rise and physical risks to property, sets, archives, and personal assets become more significant, insurance disputes are increasingly part of the business conversation in media and television.
The relevance for TV and video businesses
For professionals in TV and video, this kind of legal specialization matters because disputes in the sector rarely stay neatly confined to one issue. A single disagreement can involve:
- Contract interpretation
- Copyright and underlying rights
- Talent compensation or backend participation
- Defamation or publicity concerns
- Insurance recovery after production delays or losses
That makes firms like McRae LLP worth watching, particularly for producers, streamers, talent teams, and rights holders navigating a more fragmented entertainment market.
Who is joining McRae LLP?
Devin McRae will not be building the firm alone. He is being joined by Peter Scott and Lisa Boswell, both of whom also previously worked at Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae. Their arrival gives the new venture immediate experience and continuity, which can be critical for a boutique trying to establish itself quickly in Hollywood.
In practical terms, bringing over trusted colleagues can help a new firm offer clients stability from day one. It also signals that McRae LLP is launching with an actual team and a coherent practice, rather than as a solo nameplate.
Background and industry credentials
Devin McRae’s professional profile combines legal training, business literacy, and entertainment industry involvement. He is a graduate of UCLA School of Law and also holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of New Mexico. He is additionally a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, a credential that reinforces his connection to the television business beyond the courtroom.
That background matters because entertainment litigation often turns on more than pure doctrine. Understanding valuation, revenues, rights exploitation, and the internal dynamics of studios and production entities can shape both settlement and trial strategy.
What this means for Hollywood’s legal market
The launch of McRae LLP suggests continued demand for elite, niche legal services in entertainment. As studios evolve, streaming economics remain under pressure, and intellectual property stays central to company value, disputes are unlikely to get simpler. If anything, the legal needs of creators and media companies are becoming more specialized.
For Hollywood, Devin McRae’s new firm represents both a personal career milestone and a market signal. There is room for focused firms that understand the business of storytelling, the pressure points of production, and the financial stakes behind every credit, contract, and claim.
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Conclusion
Devin McRae is entering a new phase with McRae LLP, and the launch could resonate well beyond the legal industry. For clients in TV, film, and digital media, Devin McRae’s new boutique offers a targeted approach to entertainment litigation, intellectual property, and insurance disputes at a time when specialized counsel is more valuable than ever. If the modern content business is built on rights, relationships, and risk, McRae LLP is clearly aiming to operate where all three meet.
