ALEXANDRIA, Va., November 20, 2002 -- The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) announced that James F. Guerra, Senior Vice President, Program Business Affairs, will become PBS's outside counsel as of January 1, 2003, when he assumes the position of partner in the Los Angeles, California-based firm of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP. In his new role, PBS will be a principal client of Mr. Guerra. Mr. Guerra will be responsible for negotiations concerning PBS program development, production and distribution, output agreements as well as international investment funds.
"Jim has been a tremendous asset to PBS for more than a decade," said Pat Mitchell, President and CEO of PBS. "He has made a significant and lasting contribution through his intelligent and even-handed business negotiations on behalf of PBS. Jim's understanding of the issues and his commitment to long term value for the whole enterprise has served PBS, its member stations, viewers and all the stakeholders in public broadcasting well."
"In this era of profound change in the media landscape, insightful business affairs counsel is more important than ever before," said Katherine Lauderdale, PBS Senior Vice President and General Counsel. "I am pleased that we will be able to continue to benefit from Jim's wealth of experience and we are looking forward to developing a deeper relationship with Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, a prestigious firm that has served us well in the past."
"We look forward to growing our longstanding relationship with PBS," said Thomas Lambert, Managing Partner of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP. "Jim is an ideal addition to our Washington, DC office which focuses on entertainment, media and intellectual property matters."
Mr. Guerra joined PBS in 1992 as Assistant General Counsel. In 1995, he became Director of Program Business Affairs and was promoted to Vice President two years later. He was appointed Senior Vice President in 2000.
During his tenure, Mr. Guerra was responsible for structuring and executing PBS's investment in program development, production and distribution as well as all other business affairs matters for PBS programming, home video, online and related businesses.
Prior to joining PBS, Mr. Guerra practiced law at Dow, Lohnes & Albertson. He received a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and earned an A.B. in philosophy and political science, magna cum laude, from Boston College.
Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, founded in 1908, is Los Angeles' premier mid-size law firm, with practice groups in complex litigation, intellectual property and technology, labor and employment, entertainment and new media, corporate and business transactions, environmental law, immigration, benefits, tax, charitable sector and family wealth planning. WWW.MSK.COM http://www.MSK.COM
PBS, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, is a private, nonprofit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 349 public television stations. Serving nearly 100 million people each week, PBS enriches the lives of all Americans through quality programs and education services on noncommercial television, the Internet and other media. More information about PBS is available at pbs.org, the leading dot-org Web site on the Internet.
# # #
Contact:
Jan McNamara, PBS
703-739-5028
Gail Reysa, MSK
310-312-3285