ATLANTA – Stephen Opler, partner in Barnes & Thornburg’s Corporate Department, and Steve Weizenecker, partner in the Entertainment, Media and Sports Practice Group, have been named to Georgia Trend Magazine’s 2018 Legal Elite List. The annual list honors top attorneys in 16 different practice categories across the state.
Opler advises private equity funds, strategic acquirers and entrepreneurs on liquidity transactions. This includes the buying and selling of entrepreneur-owned businesses and related issues, including joint ownership, workforce integration, performance incentives and minority owner rights. His clients span a range of industries, including broadcast, manufacturing, finance and professional services.
Active in the local community, Opler is an advisory board member of Kate’s Club; a founding member of the board of TechBridge, Inc.; and has served on the boards of the Anti-Defamation League,
Hands on Atlanta, Jewish Family and Career Services, and The Temple.
Weizenecker counsels clients in the entertainment industry on tax incentives, financing, mergers and acquisitions, and intellectual property matters. Notably, Weizenecker assisted in drafting the Georgia Music Investment Act, Georgia’s first-ever tax incentive specifically for the music industry, which was signed into law in 2017.
Weizenecker has been recognized nationally for his entertainment work, most recently in Variety’s 2018 Dealmakers Elite New York List. He is also a member of the Georgia Governor’s Advisory Commission on Film, Music, and Digital Entertainment and serves as chair of the State Bar of Georgia’s Entertainment and Sports Law Section.
Each year, Georgia Trend, a statewide monthly business publication, compiles its Legal Elite list via attorney nominations.
With more than 600 attorneys and other legal professionals, Barnes & Thornburg is one of the largest law firms in the country. The firm serves clients worldwide from 14 offices in Atlanta, California, Chicago, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Minneapolis, Ohio, Texas and Washington, D.C.
