Deena Kalai

Deena Kalai earned her law degree at the University of Texas at Austin. She is licensed in Texas and New York, and has offices in both Austin and Manhattan.

 

Deena represents artists and businesses engaged in various entertainment, intellectual property, and technology ventures, including film, music, television, fashion, literary publishing, and mobile/interactive media. Her transactional practice also provides counsel and representation on a diverse range of corporate issues related to entertainment projects; she has drafted private equity vehicles for independent film projects ranging in budgets from micro to multi-million dollar ventures. She has served as executive producer of several feature films, including the award winning jumping off bridges and is currently developing a Pulitzer Prize wining play for the screen. Deena has a particular interest in fair use and assists many documentary filmmakers each year in assessing the applicability of this copyright doctrine to their projects. 

 


Always active in her community, she is affiliated with or donates time to many organizations including, the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture, the Texas Motion Picture Alliance, the Austin Film Society, Volunteer Legal Services, The College of the State Bar of Texas, and other professional associations in Texas and New York. Deena frequently provides pro bono services for low-income immigrants, in addition to her pro bono activities for entertainment industry clients. She has been recognized by The Pro Bono College of the State Bar of Texas, and has been awarded the Judge Suzanne Covington Award in connection with her pro bono services. She has lectured at several legal workshops, at the University of Texas, and at film conferences, and serves on the board of Reel Women in Austin.

 

Deena has a masters degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin, with a concentration on hip hop and feminist film theory. She completed her undergraduate education at the University of Miami, where she graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.