Molly M. Lens

Partner

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Molly M. Lens is Co-Head of O'Melveny's Entertainment, Sports, and Media Industry Group and the Lead Director of the firm’s Policy Committee. 

Molly is a versatile and accomplished lawyer with a broad litigation practice that spans a variety of areas, including entertainment, employment, intellectual property, business torts, and unfair competition. Clients routinely turn to Molly to represent them not only in high-profile litigation but also to advise them on sensitive internal matters, including allegations of misconduct and discrimination. Molly also devotes her time to pro bono matters.

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Honors & Awards

  • Recognized by Chambers USA in the category of Media & Entertainment: Litigation (2023)
  • Named to Variety’s Legal Impact Report (2019-2023)
  • Named to The Hollywood Reporter’s Power Lawyers list (2020, 2022, 2023)
  • Named to the “Top 250 Women in Litigation" list by Benchmark Litigation (2022-2023)
  • Recognized as a "California - Litigation Star” and a “Local Litigation Star” in Commercial by Benchmark Litigation (2022-2023)
  • Recommended by The Legal 500 US for Media & Entertainment: Litigation (2020-2023)
  • Recommended by The Legal 500 US for Copyright (2022-2023)
  • Recommended by The Legal 500 US for Sport (2023)
  • Selected to the National Law Journal’s “Trailblazers - Employment Law” list (2021)
  • Recognized as a Law360 Media & Entertainment MVP (2019)
  • Named to The Legal 500 US “Next Generation Lawyer” list in the “Media and Entertainment” category (2017-2019)
  • Named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Most Influential Women Lawyers in Los Angeles list (2017)
  • Named a “Rising Star” and one of “the top five media and entertainment attorneys under age 40” by Law360 (2015, 2016)
  • Named one of “Hollywood's New Leaders” by Variety (2015)

Admissions

Bar Admissions

  • California
  • New York

Court Admissions

  • US District Court, Central, Northern and Southern Districts of California
  • US District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
  • US District Court, Western District of Wisconsin
  • US Court of Appeals, Second, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits

Education

  • The University of Michigan Law School, J.D., 2003: cum laude; Article Editor, Michigan Journal of International Law
  • Macalester College, B.A., 2000: cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa

Professional Activities

Clerkships

  • Honorable Harriet O’Neill, Texas Supreme Court

Board Member

  • Constitutional Rights Foundation; Vice-Chair, Nominating Committee

Member

  • Los Angeles Copyright Society

Co-Author

  • “Selective Waiver and Privilege in the Southern District of New York,” 79 U.S.L.W. 1835, co-authored with Jeffrey A. Rosenthal (Jan. 4, 2011)

Entertainment and Media

  • Helped Fox overturn a $128.5 million punitive damages arbitration award to the stars and two producers of Fox’s longtime hit television show Bones
  • Obtained dismissal for Fox Broadcasting, FremantleMedia, CORE Media Group, and others of a putative class action complaint brought by former African-American male contestants who had been disqualified from American Idol
  • Represented Warner Bros. and The CW Network in a “vertical integration claim” relating to Smallville
  • Representation of studios in connection with various in profit participation matters

Employment

  • Represented Fox in litigation arising from Netflix's tortious interference with Fox's fixed-term employment contracts
  • Represented Activision in executive poaching litigation against Netflix
  • Represented FremantleMedia regarding Gabrielle Union's discrimination and harassment claims concerning her work as a judge on the hit television show America's Got Talent
  • Represented Fox in litigation involving claims of discrimination on the set of the primetime comedy television series The Grinder
  • Obtained dismissal for FremantleMedia in litigation involving claims of sexual harassment against a voice coach on American Idol

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In the News

The Hollywood Reporter: Marvel Winds Down Fight Over Avengers Characters

June 12, 2023

Reuters: Marvel Settles with Four Artists in Superhero Copyright Fight

June 9, 2023

Variety: Variety’s Legal Impact Report 2023: Meet Hollywood’s Top Entertainment Dealmakers and Litigators

April 19, 2023

The Hollywood Reporter: Power Lawyers 2023: Hollywood’s Top 100 Attorneys List

April 12, 2023

The Hollywood Reporter: A New Era of Noncompetes May Shake Up Hollywood Contracts

January 12, 2023

Daily Journal: Paramount Accuses ‘Top Gun’ Plaintiffs of Trying to Monopolize Historical Facts

November 30, 2022

Daily Journal: ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Facts Not Copyrightable, Studio Counters

September 30, 2022

Daily Journal: “Top Gun” Lawsuit Won’t Fly, Paramount Responds

August 30, 2022

Law360: Paramount Wants To Shoot Down ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ IP Suit

August 30, 2022

Deadline: ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Copyright Lawsuit Should Be Grounded, Paramount Says

August 27, 2022

The American Lawyer: More Than 2,000 Women Partners Issue Call to Action Post-‘Dobbs’

June 27, 2022

Variety: Variety’s Legal Impact Report 2022: Top Attorneys Winning Cases and Making Deals in Hollywood

April 20, 2022

The Hollywood Reporter: Power Lawyers 2022: Hollywood’s Top 100 Attorneys

March 30, 2022

Law360: Netflix Improperly Poached Fox Execs, Calif. Panel Says

December 3, 2021

The Hollywood Reporter: Netflix Can’t Recruit Disney’s Fox Executives, Appeals Court Rules

December 2, 2021

The Recorder: O’Melveny Reps Marvel in Copyright Dispute With Comic Writer’s Family

September 24, 2021

Reuters: Marvel Sues Comic Book Artists Over Rights to Iron Man, Spider-Man, Others

September 24, 2021

Press Releases