Gendler & Kelly Adds Sarah Cunningham To Company Name

Two years after Gendler & Kelly promoted attorney Sarah Cunningham to partner, the entertainment law firm is changing its name to Gendler Kelly & Cunningham.

Cunningham, who earned her J.D. from Stanford Law School in 2013, was a Federal District Court law clerk for the Honorable Fernando Olguin and a litigator at Gibson Dunn for four years before joining Gendler & Kelly in 2018. Three years later, she became the first new partner since the firm was launched in 1996 by founding partners Michael Gendler and Kevin Kelly.

Cunningham works closely with Gendler Kelly & Cunningham’s clients, including showrunners Shonda Rhimes, David E. Kelley, Alex Kurtzman, and Courtney Kemp. In addition, she negotiated deals for clients on a number of recent hit series, including Wednesday creators Al Gough and Miles Millar, Only Murders In the Building co-creator John Hoffman, and Jenny Han, creator of The Summer I Turned Pretty and XO, Kitty. She also works with actors Julianna Margulies, Steve Martin, Chris Pine, and John C. Reilly, and directors Rob Marshall and Neill Blomkamp.

Here is Gendler’s statement about the company’s new name:

Kevin Kelly and I left Irell & Manella in 1996 to found the transactional entertainment law firm that became Gendler & Kelly. In 2018, Sarah Cunningham joined our firm from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Since then, she has represented the firm’s clients with an intelligence, diligence, creativity, and insight rarely found in one lawyer. Her ability to navigate complex deals, coupled with her sensitivity to our clients’ diverse interests and career goals, are a tremendous asset to our firm. In 2021, we made the easy decision to ask Sarah to become the firm’s first new partner in our 26-year history. Today, we have the privilege to announce Gendler & Kelly is now Gendler, Kelly & Cunningham.

(Despite this change, all congratulatory gifts should be directed to Kevin or me.)”