“We can only optimally service the business if we conform to
how they think business needs to be addressed,” Braverman says.
“We have to ask if our lawyers have the right knowledge base to guide clients
through transformative times. The lawyers have to understand the technology,
consume it and participate in it to understand shifts in consumer sentiments.”
“it’s a small world” ride for 40 minutes; by a man who claimed a
breach of contract for his contestant appearance on Who Wants
To Be A Millionaire, claiming that the $16,000 question—which
he responded to incorrectly—was not “an absolute question with
a singularly correct answer”; and by a woman who claimed her
script was used to develop Desperate Housewives, citing, in part,
the similarity between both works including the similar use of the
word “fun” and that they both contained a red car.
Braverman gets a report on every suit, and pays personal
attention to any case with a significant financial, reputational
or principle risk, such as one that might set new parameters on
intellectual property protection. Much of his attention, though,
is focused on even more strategic matters in the rapidly evolving
entertainment and media landscape.
“We are going through an amazing, interesting, transformational
time,” he says. “When I was at ABC, the most driving issue was the
strength of our prime-time schedule. If we had great shows, the
business took care of itself.”
His CapCities boss had a motto: You want to be No. 1; it’s OK to
be No. 2; and you hate to be No. 3—but you still make money even
if you come in last place.
“Today you could have wonderful creative success with a program
and not have it work because there are too many alternatives,”
Braverman says. “Warren Buffett, who was on the board of CapCities,
was fond of saying, ‘We’re not in the TV business; we’re in the
business of competing for people’s leisure time.’ As much as I loved
the old CapCities days, this is an unimaginably more exciting time.”
With technology’s constant evolution, it’s certainly a more
challenging one. Concerns for Braverman, he says, include “the
rapid emergence of new platforms for content distribution, and
the way that relates to things like copyright and intellectual
property protection.”
Pepper praises Braverman for his judgment on not just legal
issues, but also on matters of strategy and business ethics. “He
doesn’t mince words, but he’s not bombastic. He’s calm and
confident, which makes the information easier to receive,” Pepper
says. “He works very hard to make sure the board understands
all the ramifications of an issue without becoming boring. Some
people would cover the subject faster, but I’d rather have the
feeling that he is erring on telling us more than we need to know.”
That diligence, Pepper says, applies to topics as diverse as laying
out the risk in acquisitions and ensuring Disney employees were
thoroughly prepared for the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. “He
is a zealot in making sure the training was in place, because he
understands the consequences if it’s not done correctly,” Pepper
says. “It isn’t just something that he checks a box.”
Iger, who has worked with Braverman for 30 years at ABC and
Disney, says, “While the advice Alan gives is legal, he always puts
it in a business context. I view Alan as a partner at many levels,
and I consult him on matters that go well beyond the purview of
most general counsels, such as personnel, M&A and strategy. He’s
recognized that the business we’re in is very dynamic and changing
almost right before our eyes.”
In areas like intellectual property and the digital landscape,
Iger says, “you need a legal perspective that gives really strong
advice that takes into account the unknown. It’s important to be
less doctrinal and more flexible. He’s done a good job adapting
to change, adapting his advice, and exhorting the legal side to
recognize that change and be more expansive in their thinking.”
In Braverman’s view, the transformational time in an
innovative culture “should be the golden age of business-legal
cooperation.” In recent years, Disney has significantly reorganized
its studios, parks and resorts to allow the divisions to work
more cooperatively. That has caused Braverman to rethink the
organization of Disney’s legal department, which has some 350
attorneys companywide.
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