Matthew Syrkin

Matthew Syrkin is the global chair of Hughes Hubbard’s Media, Technology and Commercial Transactions Group and co-chair of the Data Privacy and Cybersecurity Group.

Matthew’s practice focuses on providing strategic business and legal counsel to clients across a wide range of industries on commercial and corporate transactions involving the convergence of technology, media, entertainment and financial services.

Clients levering cutting-edge and emerging technologies frequently turn to Matthew for his deep experience in structuring and negotiating innovative technology-driven agreements, including first-of-its kind and future-proofing transactions.

Recognized as one of the leading technology and media attorneys in the country, Matthew has repeatedly been named an “Elite Dealmaker”, “Impact Lawyer” and “NY Elite Dealmaker” by Variety Magazine. The Hollywood Reporter has named him to its “Power Lawyers” list of the top 100 lawyers in the industry, praising him as a “new kind of [industry] lawyer – an entertainment-tech hybrid”.

Matthew’s unique combination of tech expertise and “on the ground” industry experience working in-house, has been praised by Chambers and The Legal 500 for delivering “unique insights” to clients on complex business and operational matters.

Recent representative matters include:

• Roku in its acquisition of Nielsen’s advanced video advertising business (including its video automatic content recognition (ACR) technology and dynamic ad insertion (DAI) systems) and a long-term strategic media measurement and data licensing arrangement.
• Auction house Sotheby’s in launching its NFT marketplace, the “Sotheby’s Metaverse,” including an NFT platform development arrangement, a strategic investment transaction with NFT development studio, Mojito, and sports and entertainment licensing engagements.
• WarnerMedia in a variety of OTT platform-focused license, online payment, data analytics, platform service and subscriber agreements for the launch of HBO Max in its first international territory—Latin America. 
• Madison Square Garden Corp in the development of the next generation of film, music and entertainment technology for the “Sphere” venues, including development and manufacturing agreements for the world’s highest-resolution camera system for the largest LED screen ever created.
• Airlines Reporting Corp. (owned by the major U.S. airlines) in the development of a transportation industry-focused blockchain solution for the booking, payment and maintenance of ticketing and reservations, including collaborations with major airlines and blockchain technology developers.

Matthew is a recognized authority, speaker and author on the business and legal aspects of emerging technologies, interactive entertainment and intellectual property. He has co-authored books on technology transactions, contributed articles to major publications and been quoted in the New York Times on technology law. He has also served on high-profile panels and been a keynote speaker at industry conferences, including DCM East and the Global Latin America Marketing Summit.

Prior to joining Hughes Hubbard, Matthew worked on technology and media transactions in the legal departments at Major League Baseball, News Corporation and TiVo, Inc., and later served as lead counsel on secondment to acclaimed video game developer, Harmonix, creators of the “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band” franchises.