Steve Fraser is an entertainment lawyer in the film and television industries with international financing, co-production, distribution and business affairs experience with international production and distribution companies.

Steve founded FRASER – Entertainment Law in Toronto in January 2003 after a decade of working in law firms and entertainment-related organizations in Canada and the United States. In his years in practice representing producers and distributors, Steve has worked with a wide range of broadcasters, telecasters and streaming outlets. Steve was based in Manhattan from 2010 and is pleased to be based in Toronto again since the summer of 2019. That’s when he isn’t traveling the world, where his work frequently takes him.

The productions Steve works on are viewed internationally, often involving more than one production company and sources of financing.  Steve recognizes complexity is par for the course and meets the challenge. A lapsed musician with an ear for sound and sharp eye for rights clearances, Steve has acquired a breadth of experience that is rare among entertainment law practitioners.

In his years in practice, Steve’s clients have included broadcasters, cable networks, copyright collectives, feature and television writers and directors, multimedia artists, composers, performers and publishers.  The bulk of his work, though, is production. Steve proudly calls himself “production counsel”.

Steve is regularly asked to speak at industry conferences and events, notably on co-productions, production financing, E&O insurance and clearances. He represents insurance companies on their errors and omissions insurance files and has conducted E&O reviews for thousands of hours of television and features.

Originally from New Brunswick, Steve was raised and educated in French, and still has the Acadian accent to prove it. He works in English and French, is an active member of a number of industry associations and sits on the Industrial Relations and International committees of the Canadian Media Producers Association. Steve is licensed to practice law in the States of California and New York and is called to the bar of the Province of Ontario.

For more information about Steve’s background and education, you can read more at his LinkedIn profile.