Tom Ara

(Jenn Harrington)

Partner, Private Equity; Head of Entertainment, Sports & Media
Weil, Gotshal & Manges
Loyola Law School
Corporate

Named the recipient of the Law Firm of the Year Award for 2026 by the Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel, Tom Ara is a partner and head of entertainment, sports & media at Weil, Gotshal & Manges. He advises global entertainment and media entities on multibillion-dollar cross-border acquisitions and high-stakes intellectual property deals. He also advises private equity firms, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and institutional investors on high-value M&A, corporate transactions, and complex commercial matters in entertainment, media, and sports.

Ara recently advised Coral Tree Partners in its acquisition of minority stake in Innovative Artists, Concord Music on its acquisition of RKO Pictures, Cook Media Globa on its acquisition of Fair Trade Music and navigated the broadcasting partnership between Coupang Play and the Premier League. As a board member of the Blackhouse Foundation, he expanded opportunities for Black content creators through a nonfiction producing fellowship in partnership with Netflix. He also serves as a trustee of the U.S.-Asia Institute and editor-in-chief of LA Lawyer Magazine’s Entertainment Law Issue.