Davis Polk has hired the global head of Skadden’s global media and entertainment group as it builds out its recently-launched Los Angeles office.
Glen Mastroberte has joined as a partner in Davis Polk's M&A practice after seven years at Skadden, where he recently advised Netflix in its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. for $82.7bn and Hailey Bieber’s rhode in its $1bn acquisition by e.l.f. Beauty.
Neil Barr, Davis Polk’s chair and managing partner, said Mastroberte's hire was "a significant next step" in the growth of the firm's LA office, which it intends to develop into a full-service practice.
“Glen strengthens our LA platform with elite transactional experience and enhances our ability to serve clients on sophisticated matters across media, entertainment and sports, sectors that increasingly are a focus of private capital investment," Barr added.
The move reunites Mastroberte with civil litigation partner Jason Russell, who joined Davis Polk earlier this year to launch its LA office after 24 years as a partner at Skadden. Mastroberte brings the office to seven lawyers, including finance partner Robert Morison, who joined from White & Case in 2025.
Alongside M&A, Mastroberte’s practice spans financings, strategic partnerships, joint ventures, strategic alliances, branding, licensing and endorsement transactions. He has acted for SharkNinja in connection with several endorsement and branding deals, including with Tom Brady and David Beckham, and former Warne Bros. Records CEO Todd Moscowitz in a JV with Sony Music to form Santa Anna Label Group. His clients include investors, investment funds, PE firms, financial institutions, studios, production companies, producers, music labels, music catalogue owners, talent agencies and individual talent.
“Davis Polk is building something very special in Los Angeles,” Mastroberte said. “I am thrilled to join such an exceptional firm at this time of exciting growth.”
Davis Polk – one of the most profitable firms in the US, with profit per equity partner approaching $10m – boosted its deals bench in Washington DC in June with the hire of legacy Hogan Lovells' global M&A chief, Bill Curtin, and last year picked up Michael Diz in San Francisco from Debevoise & Plimpton, where he had been co-chair of M&A.
The firm and Skadden were among Big Law’s top 10 M&A dealmakers in the first three quarters of 2026. Skadden's lawyers steered deals worth just over $$38bn, while Davis Polk worked on $277bn of deals according to London Stock Exchange Group data.
The firm's LA move followed several major law firms expanding into Southern California in recent years, driven by high-stakes litigation, technology and corporate growth. Last year, Brown Rudnick opened in LA with a four-partner team covering entertainment, disputes and corporate law, hired from California firm Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, while in March, Goodwin Procter secured a trio of litigation partners from Jones Day to launch in Orange County.
Also in March, Chinese firm King & Wood launched an affiliated office in LA targeting cross-border investment and trade work, just before it formally split from Australia’s Mallesons.
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