Overview
Patricia Glaser is head of Glaser Weil’s Litigation Department and tops the short list of trial attorneys in the nation sought after for high-stakes litigation. Respected as a business trial lawyer, she also provides general legal counsel to publicly and privately held companies across a range of industries, including entertainment, intellectual property, real estate, banking and securities. Her clients include Fortune 500 companies, major studios, real estate investors and developers, financial institutions, and high-profile entertainers and public figures.
Patty’s impact on Glaser Weil is indisputable. Her tenacious style of litigating, unmatched level of personal attention to clients, and effectiveness in managing and training her teams has distinguished and defined Glaser Weil’s litigators and built the Firm into what it is today. Glaser Weil’s Litigation Department includes 40+ attorneys, making up nearly half of the Firm. Under Patty’s leadership, the Firm’s attorneys have cemented a premier market reputation, earning victory after victory for a broad range of clients.
Patty is consistently ranked as one of California’s top business trial attorneys. Chambers and Partners describes her as a “trial icon” and gives her top California rankings in both general commercial litigation and media and entertainment litigation. Benchmark Litigation identifies Patty in its rankings of “Top 20 Trial Lawyers California,” “Top 100 Trial Lawyers” and “Top 250 Women Litigators.” Benchmark has named Patty “arguably the firm’s most celebrated figure and a ‘fearless’ trial lawyer,” considered “a first-call among her wide-ranging client base.” Since its inception, Lawdragon has consistently recognized her in their list of the “500 Leading Lawyers in America.” The Los Angeles Business Journal awarded her the “Legal Excellence (Lifetime) Specialty Award,” named her “Business Leader of the Year” in the Services category, and lists her among the “Most Influential Women Lawyers in Los Angeles” and the “Los Angeles 500,” a guide to the most influential individuals in LA. She has also earned the prestigious honor of “Legal Legend,” “Power Lawyer” and “Hall of Fame Legend” by The Hollywood Reporter and inclusion in Variety’s “Legal Impact Report.” Year after year, Patty is included in the Daily Journal’s lists of “100 Leading Attorneys in California,” “Top Women Litigators” and “California’s Top Entertainment Attorneys.”
A highlight reel of Patty’s career spans decades. From handling a major government antitrust case as a very junior lawyer to representing MGM Grand in a suite of multidistrict cases related to the tragic 1980 casino fire, Patty has been engaged in some of the most consequential matters of our time.
Patty is particularly sought after for:
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General commercial litigation
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Entertainment litigation
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Intellectual property litigation
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Real estate litigation
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Banking and securities litigation
Patty serves on the Board of Directors of several prominent arts organizations, including the Los Angeles Music Center Theatre Group and The Geffen Playhouse. Her interest in the arts extends to producing plays and other theatrical pieces. Her leadership positions include serving on the Board of Trustees of AltaMed Foundation, serving on the Board of Governors of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, as vice chair of the Western Region of the American Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and on the UCLA Israel Studies Program Advisory Board. She previously served on the Board of Trustees for The National Judicial College. In addition, Patty is a member of the Advancement Project Leadership Council (now known as Catalyst California), a next-generation civil rights advocacy organization, and is active in fundraising for a large number of charities, political issues and candidates.
Patty received her bachelor’s degree from The American University and her law degree from Rutgers University. At Rutgers, she served on the Law Review and as president of the Student Bar Association. She currently serves on the Rutgers Dean Advisory Counsel. After law school, she clerked for Hon. David W. Williams, district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Results
Patty's recent high-profile work includes her representation of:
- The Yucaipa Companies LLC in litigation arising out of the attempted purchase of the assets of The Weinstein Company.
- Jeff Zucker in connection with his very public exit from CNN, where he had served as president since 2013. Patty helped negotiate the terms of Zucker’s separation agreement and in other litigation arising from his former CNN role.
- Karyn McCarthy in a wrongful termination lawsuit with “Star Wars” producer Lucasfilm after her discharge from the Disney+ series “The Acolyte.”
- The Lemieux Group, a partnership that owns and operates the Pittsburgh Penguins National Hockey League franchise, in a third-party ownership dispute related to Lemieux’s sale of a controlling interest to the Fenway Sports Group.
- Bill Nye (aka “Bill Nye, the Science Guy”) in his long-running lawsuit against The Walt Disney Company and a variety of its affiliates. The case is significant because it could be precedent setting in terms of whether Netflix and other streaming services are considered “video devices”—a term used in older distribution contracts negotiated prior to the advent of streaming.
Additional notable experience includes representing:
- The Yucaipa Companies LLC, in securing the client’s first—and, ultimately, complete—victory in an almost decade-long case arising from its 2007 investment in a company.
- Entertainer Miley Cyrus and her holding company in securing the dismissal of a class action lawsuit seeking $4 million in damages.
- Members of the Guess? Board of Directors, who were sued by two Jane Doe plaintiffs under a novel theory of law.
- Herb Simon, the prominent shopping center developer and owner of the Indiana Pacers, in securing two unanimous jury verdicts (both after less than an hour of deliberation) and a bench verdict in three related wrongful termination and wage/hour claims filed against him.
- An executive in successfully dismissing a case related to his removal from a multinational media and entertainment corporation over an affair and an extortion attempt against him.
- An executive in his successful vindication after being wrongfully terminated by a multinational media and entertainment corporation over #MeToo claims.
- A former Creative Artists Agency agent in a high-profile case against CAA claiming that it owed him more than $5 million in bonuses and vacation pay.
- Online legal document service LegalZoom.com against a class action alleging violations of the California Business and Professions Code.
- A co-founder of Broadcom Corp. in securing a $27.8 million judgment arising out of a loan he made to a real estate developer.
- CB Richard Ellis, an international real estate brokerage firm, and one of its executives in a trial where the plaintiff was claiming more than $15 million in lost profits. The jury deliberated for less than an hour before delivering a verdict in favor of the client.
- Gehry Partners, LLP, the design firm of well-known architect Frank Gehry, in obtaining the dismissal of a breach of contract lawsuit claiming more than $22 million in damages.
- An international toy manufacturer and distributor in successfully defending a trademark infringement in a jury trial.
Results
Insights
News
Speaking Engagements
Thought Leadership
Awards and Recognition
Awards and Recognition
Media & Entertainment: Litigation, California (Band 1), Chambers USA, multiple years
Litigation: General Commercial, California (Band 2), Chambers USA, multiple years
Recommended Lawyer, Legal 500, multiple years
Top 100 Lawyers, Daily Journal, multiple years
Top 100 Trial Lawyers, Benchmark Litigation, multiple years
500 Leading Litigators in America, Lawdragon, multiple years
500 Leading Lawyers in America, Lawdragon, multiple years
500 Leading Global Entertainment, Sports & Media Lawyers, Lawdragon, 2025
Thomson Reuters Stand-out Lawyer, Thomson Reuters, 2025
Legal Excellence (Lifetime) Specialty Award, Los Angeles Business Journal, 2022
Power Lawyers, The Hollywood Reporter, multiple years
Legal Legend, The Hollywood Reporter, multiple years
Legal Impact Report, Variety, multiple years
Most Influential Women Lawyers in Los Angeles, Los Angeles Business Journal, multiple years
Hall of Fame Legend, The Hollywood Reporter, 2020
Business Operator of the Year, in the Services category, Los Angeles Business Journal, 2018
Lawdragon Legend, Lawdragon 500, 2017
Lawyer of the Year finalist, Los Angeles Business Journal, Leaders in Law Awards, 2016
Top 250 Women in Litigation, Benchmark Litigation, multiple years
Women in Entertainment: Power 100, The Hollywood Reporter, 2015-2017
Honorary Doctorate from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2014
Top Women Litigators, Daily Journal, multiple years
Senior Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
The Best Lawyers in America®, multiple years
Top 100 Southern California Super Lawyers and Top 50 Women Southern California Super Lawyers, multiple years
Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Peer Rated
Bruce I. Hochman Maimonides Torch of Justice Award, The Jewish Federation of Los Angeles Legal Division, 2009
National Scopus Award, The American Friends of the Hebrew University, 2013
Related links
Leadership and Community
Member, Board of Directors, Los Angeles Music Center Theatre Group
Member, Board of Directors, The Geffen Playhouse
Member, Board of Trustees, AltaMed Foundation
Former member, Board of Trustees, The National Judicial College
Vice chair, Western Region of the American Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Member, Advisory Board, UCLA Israel Studies Program
Member, Advancement Project Leadership Council (nka Catalyst California)
Member, Los Angeles Superior Court Central Civil Bench/Bar Liaison Committee
Member, The Paley Center for Media
Member, World’s Jewish Museum Advisory Council
Member, Association of Business Trial Lawyers
Member, Trial Law Institute
Services
Education
Rutgers Law School, J.D.
The American University, B.A.
Admissions
- California
Insights This just in.
Award |The Hollywood Reporter Names Glaser a 2025 Legal Legend- Award |
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“She is very thorough and helpful, very strong in oral and written advocacy, very comprehensive about thinking through all the avenues and advocating strongly for me.”