Players On the Move

Media and entertainment giant Paramount hired Makan Delrahim, who held senior legal roles in the first Trump administration, as chief legal officer. Delrahim served as deputy counsel to President Donald Trump from January 2017 to September 2017, when Trump tapped him to become antitrust chief for the Department of Justice, a role he held until January 2021. Most recently, Delrahim has been serving as a partner at Latham & Watkins, where he advised clients on transactions, regulatory and government compliance and complex litigation. One of his Latham roles was advising Santa Monica, CA-based Skydance Media on its purchase in 2025 of New York-based Paramount Global — the $8 billion deal that created Los Angeles-based Paramount. Delrahim succeeds Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon, who’d been serving as acting chief legal officer and general counsel. She will stay on as GC and report to Delrahim. Paramount, like other media and entertainment companies, is trying to redefine itself as consumers flock to streaming options and cancel cable, altering the economics of the industry and spurring a spate of mergers. More deal-making may be in the offing for Paramount, with the company reportedly considering submitting a bid to acquire New York-based Warner Bros. Discovery for as much as $48 billion. Paramount, which is valued at about $20 billion, is smaller than Warner Bros. Discovery. … Frank Saviano, global head of Latham & Watkins’ entertainment, sports and media practice, moves to Kirkland & Ellis in New York. Saviano, who was at Latham for about five years, was recruited to lead Kirkland’s sports practice, working with another practice head, Michael Considine, sources said. Saviano works with professional sports franchises on investments and sales, sports-related M&A, joint ventures, sports gambling transactions and a litany of other elements. According to his Latham bio, he has previously worked with Sixth Street in its investment in Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants, Dynasty Equity in its investment in Premier League club Liverpool F.C. and Shadid Khan in his acquisition of the National Football League’s Jacksonville Jaguars, among others. Before his time at Latham, he was a partner in Proskauer’s sports group for over a decade. … Weil, Gotshal & Manges has hired litigator James “Bo” Pearl from Paul Hastings as a partner in the firm’s complex commercial litigation practice. Pearl, who spent nearly 22 years at O’Melveny & Myers prior to joining Paul Hastings in 2020, is a trial lawyer representing media and entertainment companies in commercial disputes, including antitrust, employment and intellectual property issues. Pearl said, “I anticipate continuing to do a lot of my work in the entertainment and sports area, representing talent agencies, studios and other entertainment companies,” adding that his work with Weil will also include “representing large technology companies in antitrust disputes, which is where I've been for most of my career.” Pearl declined to comment on whether his Paul Hastings clients would migrate with him from Paul Hastings to Weil.