An exclusive multi-year agreement, a production company with no active projects and no California talent agency license, and a visa status tied to continued US employment. We dismantled the contract without a lawsuit.
Esme signed a four-year exclusive representation agreement with a boutique production company her first month in Los Angeles. The company promised packaging, distribution, and a clear path to union membership. Two years in, it had produced nothing.
Its principal was unreachable for weeks at a time. Her O1 visa required continued employment in her field, and the exclusivity clause was suffocating every legitimate opportunity coming her way.
A reputable new agency wanted to sign her. Her current representative was threatening litigation if she moved. Her immigration counsel flagged the timing as a material risk to her status.
We pulled the California Labor Commissioner and Secretary of State records in 24 hours and confirmed the production company held no talent agency license, a material breach under the California Talent Agencies Act. We drafted a formal termination notice citing unlicensed solicitation, failure to perform, and wage-law violations on deferred commissions. We set a seven-day response deadline.
We coordinated with her immigration counsel to ensure the transition to new representation preserved her O1 filing timeline. We prepared a short companion memo for Esme explaining the risks, the law, and the leverage, so she could make the decision with both eyes open. No injunction was ever filed. The agreement was formally released within 11 days of the letter going out.
"I was told I could not leave. Brandon showed me I had already won, I just needed the letter."
— Esme
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