Henry Shields, Jr.

Partner

Los Angeles

(310) 203-4026 phone
(310) 229-1285 fax

Henry Shields, Jr. is a member of the Commercial Litigation Practice Group based in the firm's new Los Angeles office in Century City.  Before joining Drinker Biddle, he spent over thirty-three years at Irell & Manella LLP, where he became a partner in 1980.  His work focuses on civil jury trials in state and federal courts, representing defendants and plaintiffs in a broad array of commercial disputes.  He is a highly experienced litigator who has represented major entertainment companies in cases concerning First Amendment, copyright, right of privacy and business-related issues.

Henry is a former chair of the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference and of its Executive Committee. During the time that he was a member of the Ninth Circuit Executive Committee he was also a member of the Ninth Circuit Gender Bias Task Force. Henry is also a former ex officio member of the Ninth Circuit Task Force on Racial, Religious and Ethnic Fairness.

In 2007, Henry was listed as one of the Hollywood Reporter, Esq.'s "Top 100 Power Lawyers Outside Counsel." He also has been included in The Best Lawyers in America since 2000, and in Los Angeles Magazine's Southern California "Super Lawyers" list every year since it has been published.  The Century City Bar Association recently named Henry as its Entertainment Lawyer of the Year.

Representative Matters

  • Caruso Affiliated v. General Growth Properties, Inc., representing Caruso Affiliated in an unfair competition action concerning the development of a regional shopping center in Glendale, California (after an eight week jury trial, Caruso Affiliated received a favorable verdict and a damage award of $89.2 million).
  • Tracy Keenan Wynn v. National Broadcasting, Co., Inc., representing NBC in age discrimination actions brought by a group of writers.
  • Pederson v. National Broadcasting Company, Inc., representing NBC in an age discrimination case (the court granted NBC's motion for nonsuit after close of plaintiff's case).
  • Simtel Communications, Inc. v. National Broadcasting Company, Inc., representing NBC in an invasion of privacy case arising out of a hidden camera investigative report featured on the NBC's program "Dateline" (the court granted NBC's summary judgment motion).
  • Eastwood v. National Enquirer, representing the National Enquirer in a two-week jury trial in federal court.
  • Varela v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., representing CBS Broadcasting, Inc. in a class action alleging discrimination against Hispanic writers (the writers' claims were dismissed).
  • Rosen v. Smeed, representing the plaintiff in an action for unfair competition (the jury ruled in favor of the plaintiff on all issues).
  • Hollywood Film Enterprises v. Kaplan, representing sellers of a large and well-established Hollywood film laboratory in a fraud action (the court found in favor of the sellers on all issues).
  • Louis Glasier Trust v. Clinical Data, Inc., representing the plaintiff in a damages action concerning the unauthorized addition of certain sound stages (the court found in favor of the plaintiff; the case was affirmed on appeal).
  • SBD Group, Inc., et al. v. South Bay Club Apartments – Van Nuys, representing Herb Alpert and Jerome S. Moss in an action arising out of the sale of their interest in a California industrial real estate complex (the case was settled).
  • Sander/Moses v. National Broadcasting Company, representing NBC in a "profit participation dispute with one-time executive producers of the television program Profiler. NBC received a favorable jury verdict following a three week trial."
  • Crystal Park Hotel & Casino Development Company LLC v. Compton Entertainment, Inc., representing plaintiff Crystal Park in connection with a breach of contract action arising out of the operation of the Crystal Park Casino by Compton Entertainment (the court ruled in favor of the plaintiff).
  • Barry Levinson, et al. v. NBC Studios, Inc., representing NBC Studios in a profit participation action brought by Barry Levinson and Thomas Fontana concerning the television series "Homicide: Life on the Street" (the case was settled).
  • Jack Deamer v. National Broadcasting Company, Inc., representing the National Broadcasting Company, Inc., NBC Studios, Jason "Max" Mutchnick and David Kohan in a misappropriation and breach of contract action in connection with the creation of the television series "Will & Grace" (the case was partially dismissed).
  • Caruso Affiliated v. General Growth Properties, Inc., representing Caruso Affiliated in an unfair competition action concerning the development of a regional shopping center in Glendale, California (after an eight week jury trial, Caruso Affiliated received a favorable verdict and a damage award of $89.2 million).
  • Tracy Keenan Wynn v. National Broadcasting, Co., Inc., representing NBC in age discrimination actions brought by a group of writers.
  • Pederson v. National Broadcasting Company, Inc., representing NBC in an age discrimination case (the court granted NBC's motion for nonsuit after close of plaintiff's case).
  • Simtel Communications, Inc. v. National Broadcasting Company, Inc., representing NBC in an invasion of privacy case arising out of a hidden camera investigative report featured on the NBC's program "Dateline" (the court granted NBC's summary judgment motion).
  • Eastwood v. National Enquirer, representing the National Enquirer in a two-week jury trial in federal court.
  • Varela v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., representing CBS Broadcasting, Inc. in a class action alleging discrimination against Hispanic writers (the writers' claims were dismissed).
  • Rosen v. Smeed, representing the plaintiff in an action for unfair competition (the jury ruled in favor of the plaintiff on all issues).
  • Hollywood Film Enterprises v. Kaplan, representing sellers of a large and well-established Hollywood film laboratory in a fraud action (the court found in favor of the sellers on all issues).
  • Louis Glasier Trust v. Clinical Data, Inc., representing the plaintiff in a damages action concerning the unauthorized addition of certain sound stages (the court found in favor of the plaintiff; the case was affirmed on appeal).
  • SBD Group, Inc., et al. v. South Bay Club Apartments – Van Nuys, representing Herb Alpert and Jerome S. Moss in an action arising out of the sale of their interest in a California industrial real estate complex (the case was settled).
  • Sander/Moses v. National Broadcasting Company, representing NBC in a "profit participation dispute with one-time executive producers of the television program Profiler. NBC received a favorable jury verdict following a three week trial."
  • Crystal Park Hotel & Casino Development Company LLC v. Compton Entertainment, Inc., representing plaintiff Crystal Park in connection with a breach of contract action arising out of the operation of the Crystal Park Casino by Compton Entertainment (the court ruled in favor of the plaintiff).
  • Barry Levinson, et al. v. NBC Studios, Inc., representing NBC Studios in a profit participation action brought by Barry Levinson and Thomas Fontana concerning the television series "Homicide: Life on the Street" (the case was settled).
  • Jack Deamer v. National Broadcasting Company, Inc., representing the National Broadcasting Company, Inc., NBC Studios, Jason "Max" Mutchnick and David Kohan in a misappropriation and breach of contract action in connection with the creation of the television series "Will & Grace" (the case was partially dismissed).