Lisa Callif

Lisa Callif is a partner at the entertainment law firm, Donaldson + Callif, LLP. She was named as a Hollywood Reporter Power Lawyer in 2016, by the Daily Journal as one of the Top 100 Women Lawyers in 2014 and 2016 and by Variety as one of The Best and The Brightest in 2011. Her primary focus is on representing independent filmmakers in all aspects of creating a project; including development, production and distribution. As part of her practice, Lisa does a significant amount of clearance work for documentaries and narrative projects, including rendering fair use opinion letters, which permits her clients to use limited amounts of unlicensed material in their films under the fair use doctrine. Lisa co-wrote with her law partner Michael Donaldson The American Bar Association’s Legal Guide to Independent Filmmaking and Clearance and Copyright, 4th Edition.

Lisa has rendered legal services on such films as 20 Feet From Stardom (2014 Academy Award and Film Independent Spirit Award Winner), Invisible War (2012 Film Independent Spirit Award Winner and Grand Jury Prize, Best Documentary, Sundance), Inside Job (2011 Academy Award winner), Insidious (from the producers of Paranormal Activity), How to Die In Oregon (2011 Grand Jury Prize, Best Documentary, Sundance), I’m Still Here (starring Joaquin Phoenix, 2010), Waiting for Superman (2010), and The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (2010 Academy Award nominee).