Darwin Bruce
Darwin J. Bruce has extensive domestic and international experience in commercial transactions, media and entertainment transactions, business organization, strategic planning, operations, and mergers and acquisitions. His practice focuses on commercial transactions, media and entertainment transactions, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions transactions, finance, and real estate transactions. Darwin has been featured in D CEO Magazine in a profile about lead executives operating non-profit companies. His publications include the book “The Map to Entrepreneurship.”
Darwin has experience in all phases of business organization and management. He has handled several high stakes commercial, corporate and finance transactions in a broad range of industries, including media and entertainment, finance, technology, consumer goods, and real estate. He works with entrepreneurs, business executives, and other leaders in their quest to manage all matters affecting corporate structure, strategic planning, and operations of their organizations. He has been a guest speaker at events in the United States and abroad.
Darwin has served as the chief operating officer and general counsel for a media and entertainment company where he was responsible for managing all business operations for the organization and its affiliated entities. He handled a wide variety of transactions in the media and entertainment industry. He has also served as senior vice president and general counsel for a private equity company. Darwin provided management oversight for companies in the private equity portfolio and handled all mergers and acquisitions. He handled complex financial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, corporate and securities matters, employee relations, general commercial transactions, and other related business matters.
- Drafted and negotiated fifty domestic and international television production and distribution transactions for media and entertainment programming (with an average value in excess of $100 million) that consistently reached millions of people around the world on many media platforms throughout the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, South Africa, and South America.
- Drafted and negotiated domestic and international event production transactions for several large-scale events produced by an influential media and entertainment company with each event attracting from 30,000-100,000 attendees, maintaining multiple production sites, and each producing an average economic impact in excess of $50 million.
- Drafted and negotiated multiple talent agreements, influencer agreements, endorsement agreements, releases, and related transactions with world renowned artists and celebrities for influential media and entertainment companies.
- Drafted and negotiated multiple joint venture and co-production agreements between media and entertainment companies.
- Drafted and negotiated agreements for a $30 million live event and production facility and handled several venue and hospitality transactions for large scale production events.
- Drafted an Entertainment Transactions Playbook for a client’s intellectual property team for use in understanding and negotiating the company’s media and entertainment transactions.
- Drafted and negotiated aircraft service agreements for several clients.
- Negotiated air charter services agreements for several clients.
- Part of the deal team representing a manufacturer of light-duty, emissions-free electric vehicles, in a $5.5 million registered direct offering of its common stock.
- Drafted and negotiated aviation transactions including service agreements and the sale of a Gulfstream IV private jet valued at $20 million.
- Drafted and negotiated Aircraft Maintenance Services Agreements.
- Drafted and negotiated Transportation Services Agreements with aviation management companies.
- Drafted and negotiated Wholesaler Supply and Logistics Services Agreements.
- Reviewed and drafted agreements for a commercial transaction involving fractional ownership interest in a Praetor 500 aircraft including General Terms and Conditions Agreement, Interim Lease Agreement, Purchase Agreement, Management Agreement, Dry Lease Exchange Agreement, and Owners Agreement.
- Drafted and negotiated Brand Merchandising Agreements.
- Executive Board of Directors, Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law
- Advisory Board of Directors, Salvation Army of North Texas
- Recognized by the Dallas Business Journal, American City Business Journals, as a “40 under 40” honoree, which recognizes the top 40 business executives and entrepreneurs under the age of 40 in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, 2010.
- Recipient of a Distinguished Alumni Award from SMU Dedman School of Law, 2009.
- Featured in the October 2010 issue of DCEO Magazine, D Magazine Partners, in a profile about lead executives operating non-profit businesses.
- Fellow, Texas Bar Foundation
- Leadership Dallas 2020, Dallas Regional Chamber
Education
J.D., Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, 1995
B.A., Texas A&M University, 1993, President's Achievement Award
Admissions
Texas
Court Admissions
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
United States Supreme Court
The Media and Entertainment Practice Group of Haynes and Boone, LLP represents a broad range of clients in all facets of media and entertainment, intellectual property, open government and First Amendment litigation, counseling and legislative matters. View the full version of the June 2023 Media, Entertainment and First Amendment Newsletter. Is This the Real Deal? Legal Issues Around Artificial I [...]
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