The Firm's Founder
Admitted to practice law in New York in 1977 (as well as the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the United States Court of Claims), Robert V. Gaulin has for over twenty-five years held an “AV Preeminent” peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the organization’s highest recognition based on adherence to professional standards of conduct and ethics, reliability, diligence and other criteria relevant to the discharge of professional responsibilities, and performance in the areas of legal knowledge, analytical capabilities, judgment, communication ability, and legal experience.
Since 1980, Mr. Gaulin has concentrated in legal, business and employment matters in fields such as entertainment, media (including publishing and new media), fashion, advertising, and finance. Live theatrical stage productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, tours, and the like, were the mainstay during Mr. Gaulin’s early years in practice. When representing producers, playwrights, directors and actors in hundreds of productions (and even co-presenting a live show), a particular highlight was his handling of the first multi-production theatrical offering ever allowed under New York State law, which was also then the largest financial syndication in Broadway history (involving Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “Phantom of the Opera” and “Aspects of Love”). While working on behalf of modeling and advertising agencies, Mr. Gaulin had the occasion to structure, negotiate and document the most lucrative international deal (at the time) involving Isabella Rossellini. Mr. Gaulin also came to represent literary and music libraries of all types in their license and sale.
Among Mr. Gaulin’s partners from his large law firm years were Louis Nizer (legendary trial lawyer and defender of black-listed entertainment professionals during the McCarthy era), Louis Lefkowitz (heralded New York Attorney-General), Bowie Kuhn (long-standing Commissioner of Major League Baseball), and Arthur Krim (former chairman of United Artists and Orion Pictures).
In 1998, Mr. Gaulin conceived and produced a new adaptation of “Rear Window” with Christopher Reeve, the only film in which this “Superman” ever starred after his life-altering injury (raising several million dollars for The Christopher Reeve Foundation in the process). Since that time Mr. Gaulin has served as production counsel on motion picture and TV ventures, and occasionally as producer and advisor of other film and television projects.
In an attempt to “pay it forward,” since 1994 Mr. Gaulin has been a hands-on mentor/supervisor to nearly 100 law student interns interested in pursuing careers in the entertainment and media sector. In 2004 Mr. Gaulin accepted an invitation to join the faculty at Brooklyn Law School (as an Adjunct Professor of Law), and taught a seminar course in Entertainment and Media Law for eight years. An avid sailor, tennis and platform tennis player, traveler, and motorcycle enthusiast, Mr. Gaulin was a nearly thirty year resident of Rye, NY, and now lives in Greenwich, CT.