Simpsons Solicitors

Ausfilm Member since 2018

Ausfilm Members
Simpsons is one of Australia’s most highly regarded, specialist film and TV law practices.

Simpsons are in the unique position of advising on a majority of Australian drama productions – about 50 each year. This means Simpsons can offer a wealth of legal experience, provide unparalleled market insight and draw on an extensive network of contacts.

Experience: Simpsons cover all aspects of film and TV legal work and have very likely dealt with any issues you will need to negotiate in this market, including procuring local production incentives. They can tailor a team to meet your needs from their eighteen specialist lawyers and have the resources to manage larger transactions, including dispute resolution.

Insight: Simpsons’ market perspective provides clients with informed strategic and commercial advice often saving time and money. They make sure their local knowledge is informed by an awareness of international trends by regularly attending markets in the U.S. and Europe.

Connection: Simpsons’ clients are involved in all facets of financing, creating and commercialising content and include producers, studios, distributors, platforms, financiers and government agencies. Their relationships can assist clients to access opportunities and to structure deals in a way not always apparent to others.

MARK BAMFORD

Director
mbamford@simpsons.com.au

JANINE LAPWORTH

Senior Consultant
jlapworth@simpsons.com.au

www.simpsons.com.au
+61 02 8014 5050

The legal work Simpsons cover includes:

  • Set-up and structuring for local production; tax and regulatory advice; company set-up;
  • Facilitating and procuring local production incentives – Location, PDV and Producer Offsets, as well as investment and grants from federal and state screen agencies. We do this work on a daily basis and have strong working relationships with the relevant authorities;
  • Production finance transactional work; negotiating and contracting the deals necessary to procure funding against a finance plan – multi-party, equity, debt, gap and associated security. We use a unique logging and project management system so that our clients can monitor the status of their project in real time;
  • Co-productions, both official and unofficial;
  • Liaison and negotiation with local unions and, in particular, MEAA; visas; SAG Global Rule 1; contracting cast and crew;
  • Production legals; contracting with providers; completion guarantors; insurers; FX risk management; locations, clearances, releases. We have an extensive suite of precedent documents and a clearances package.

Production/Financier – legal credits:

  • Three Thousand Years of Longing
  • The Power of The Dog
  • The Dry
  • 100% Wolf
  • Lion
  • Breath
  • Hotel Mumbai
  • The Railway Man
  • Tidelands
  • Pacific Rim 2