Stephen has been providing strategic legal advice to performers, advertisers, merchandisers, recording artists, songwriters, multimedia creators, broadcasters and film and television producers as an entertainment and copyright lawyer since 1979.
Stephen is Executive Producer of the television series Instant Star and Degrassi: The Next Generation and their related webisodes, mobisodes, and web sites. He is Executive Producer of the telecast of Canada's music awards show, The Juno Awards and was Executive Producer of the lifestyle television series Savoir Faire and Room Service. Stephen was also Executive Producer of Riverdale, English Canada's first prime-time soap opera as well as two feature films, Me? and The Clown Murders.
He has worked in the entertainment industry for over 40 years commencing with part-time appearances as a performing artist and continuing with active work as a songwriter (including two songs that reached the Canadian Top 10, Maybe Your Heart and Once In A Long Time).
Industry Recognition
- Recognized as a leading practitioner of entertainment law by the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory and Woodward/White's The Best Lawyers in Canada
- One of eight entertainment lawyers named in the 2007 Lexpert American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada.
Professional Activities
- Active in lobbying for reform of Canada's copyright laws
- Has co-chaired numerous entertainment law conferences under the auspices of the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Canadian Bar Association
- Has appeared as an expert witness before the Copyright Board of Canada.
- Chair of The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences
- Director of The Ontario Media Development Corporation, The Orange Record Label and The Canadian Retransmission Collective
- Has participated as a director, committee member or founder of a number of cultural industry associations
- Former director of Motion Picture Distribution Inc. (General Partner of Motion Picture Distribution LP)
- Member of the Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Association of Canada (SOCAN)
Education
- Called to the Ontario Bar – 1979
- University of Toronto, JD. – 1977
- Trent University, B.A. – 1969