Len Gaik is a senior legal and business advisor to companies and individuals operating at the highest levels of the entertainment, technology and commercial worlds. Across a career that spans private practice, senior in-house leadership and entrepreneurship, he has served as General Counsel of a global company, built and run a technology company as its Founder and CEO, advised global brands on intellectual property and commercial matters worth billions of dollars, and personally managed elite talent in music and in professional motorsport at the Formula One and IndyCar level.

Clients choose Len because he has sat on every side of the table. He understands not only the contract in front of you, but the business decision behind it and the relationship that has to last long after the deal is signed.

For thirteen years, Len served as General Counsel of a mid-size global entertainment and consumer products company, leading its legal and business affairs function as it grew to four international offices, approximately 120 employees, and roughly $120 million in gross annual revenue across North America and Europe. That in-house leadership, combined with his years in private practice and his experience as a founder and a personal manager, is why companies trust him with their most important matters and why individuals trust him with their careers.

Len works across the full spectrum of the entertainment, technology and commercial worlds. His clients range from emerging artists and first-time founders to established companies and global brands. Whether you are negotiating your first agreement or you are an in-house team that needs experienced senior help on a fractional or interim basis, Len meets you where you are and scales to what you need.

Len Gaik provides strategic legal and business advice to clients operating in the entertainment and technology industries, including the music, sports, e-sports and gaming, e-commerce, internet, mobile app, television, film, public relations, marketing, advertising and media industries.

His client base is diverse, and has included large multinational corporations, small to medium-sized companies, public and private companies, and exceptional individual entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, performers and athletes.

Whether a client’s needs are individual, organizational, strategic or transactional, Len applies his combined expertise in intellectual property and business law, with his business management and consulting acumen, to deliver effective, practical and efficient services.

Len’s law clients have relied upon him, in various scenarios, to act as their General Counsel / Legal & Business Affairs, in forensic audits, for due diligence, and in the structuring, negotiating, reviewing and drafting of contracts relating to a wide array of domestic and international activities, including:

  • Intellectual property licenses and transfers for global brands representing billions of dollars in international consumer goods and technology;

  • A variety of technology hardware and software/SaaS commercial agreements;

  • Personal Services and Product Endorsement agreements for athletes, fitness celebrities, worldwide chart-topping recording artists, and award-winning actors & actresses;

  • Artist, producer, studio, talent, touring, merchandise, licensing, publishing, agency, management, and product manufacturing, distribution and merchandising agreements, covering all aspects of the music and video industries;

  • Athlete and sports team agreements in both the physical and e-sports worlds;

  • Multi-media, online, video game and website production, licensing and distribution agreements with major game publishers;

  • Live theatrical, special event and concert production agreements;

  • Television and film production, licensing, broadcast and distribution agreements;

  • Advertising, promotion, contest, branding and marketing agreements;

  • Executive services and compensation agreements.

In the event a client encounters a legal dispute, Len assists by negotiating favorable settlements to avoid litigation, conducting research, performing legal analysis and developing strategy, and where necessary, by managing outside litigation counsel.

Len’s practice is deliberately broad. On the entertainment and sports side, he advises recording and performing artists at every stage, from newcomers building their first catalogue to artists regarded as industry royalty, along with songwriters, producers, managers, record labels, music publishers, and the many individuals and companies that make the music business run. His representation of talent extends to the highest levels of professional sport, including motorsport at the Formula One and IndyCar level, and he also acts for clients across film, television, advertising and media.

On the commercial and technology side, Len advises companies of every size on the agreements that run their business, from straightforward commercial contracts to complex technology and SaaS arrangements. This work is as deep as his entertainment practice. Over his career he has handled commercial, technology and marketing matters for a major North American mass retailer, a global automotive manufacturer, and venture-backed software companies, and he has guided independent entrepreneurs through the successful sale of their businesses.

Len’s work is international in scope. While he is proud of his roots in the Canadian entertainment community, his clients and the deals he handles routinely cross borders, and his experience spans domestic and global activities alike.

For established companies and in-house legal teams, Len offers something many firms cannot. He provides senior, business-minded counsel available on a fractional, interim or project basis. Having served for many years as General Counsel and as a company Founder and CEO, he integrates quickly, works the way an in-house lawyer works, and handles a broad mandate across commercial, technology, marketing and entertainment matters, without the overhead of a full-time hire or a large firm. Companies engage him to cover a gap, absorb a workload spike, lead a specific transaction, or add senior judgment to a lean team.

Len’s career reflects a rare combination of perspectives. He spent thirteen years as General Counsel of a global entertainment and consumer products company, where he built and led the in-house legal and business affairs function, oversaw matters across North America and Europe, and partnered directly with executive leadership on strategy, transactions and the company’s growth.

Prior to opening his firm in 2005, Len practiced in the Entertainment Law groups of multiple Toronto firms and in the areas of intellectual property, corporate, finance and tax law with leading national law and accounting firms.

Len holds a Master of Laws degree from Osgoode Hall Law School. Prior to that, he received his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Windsor.

Len also holds a Master of Business Administration degree (International Business & Marketing) and a Bachelor of Science degree, both from McMaster University.

Companies and in-house teams engage Len for senior commercial, technology and entertainment counsel they can rely on, from a single transaction to an interim or fractional mandate to an ongoing advisory relationship. His commercial and technology practice runs the full range, from day-to-day agreements to complex SaaS, intellectual property and cross-border deals, backed by decades of work for global brands and sophisticated companies. He brings that same standard of judgment to the artists, songwriters, producers, managers, athletes and founders he is equally glad to represent, at every stage of their careers.

If you need counsel who operates at a senior level and gets the business as well as the contract, Len would welcome a conversation. Reach out using the contact details below to begin the discussion.