Deborah Morales is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Iconomy, LLC, an international consulting firm dedicated to helping celebrities and prominent business personalities position themselves in the marketplace to reach their highest financial and most noble philanthropic goals.
Ms. Morales is also President of Iconomy Multi-Media & Entertainment, exclusively focused on developing, producing, distributing and managing for her clients, multi-media channels in film, best selling books, music and audio sound tracks, and special events.
For a decade Ms. Morales has been the business manager and strategist for legendary basketball icon Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, wherein she has generated and signed lucrative endorsement deals with national and international brands and entities, developed prestigious consulting/coaching contracts, raised capital for and directed & produced Kareem's highly acclaimed and internationally distributed film "On The Shoulders Of Giants".
She has negotiated publishing deals, providing editing and inspiration to Kareem in the writing and publishing of two incredible books that reached the New York Times Best Seller list.
Under the management of Ms. Morales, in 2012 Kareem was able to transform from basketball superstar to being named a Global Cultural Ambassador for the United States by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Ms. Morales currently serves on the Los Angeles Advisory Board of the Jackie Robinson Foundation and as Director of the Skyhook Foundation. Both Foundations are dedicated to improving the lives of children by integrating sports, literature, technology, media, and innovation to inspire them to pursue higher education.
Mr. Anapoell, a partner in the international law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP, focuses his practice on the formation, organization and operation of limited partnerships, limited liability companies and corporations, as well as private equity and venture capital fund formation, venture capital and strategic finance, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, public and private offerings, joint ventures, cross-border transactions and other types of business transactions. Steven represents companies and investors in a variety of industries, including hospitality, real estate development and related services, entertainment, software, intellectual property licensing, sporting goods and medical devices.
In addition, he has substantial experience in representing start-up and emerging growth companies and regularly advises private company clients on such issues as capital formation and financing strategies, general corporate governance and tax planning.
Former Chair, Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies Committee of the State Bar of California
Co-author, Chapter 2 Venture Fund General Partner Limited Liability Company Agreement (to be published) Venture Capital & Public Offering Negotiation (Aspen_ed., 2005)
Steven has lectured extensively on limited liability companies and limited partnerships for the California Continuing Education of the Bar, the Orange County Bar Association and the National Business Institute
Michael Lebovitz concentrates on international business and tax planning. He has advised on the tax aspects of international joint ventures, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, post-transaction integration, international corporate finance, capital market transactions and general international tax planning matters. His clients include leaders in media and entertainment, life sciences, high technology, consumer products and private equity.
His career was the recent focus of a feature article in the "Southern California Super Lawyers" issue of "Los Angeles Magazine," upon which he appeared on the cover. He began his career as a litigator with a focus on copyright law. He went on to be certified by the National Basketball Association as a players agent and complimented his representation of athletes by serving as consultant to various broadcast sports and entertainment entities, including DirecTV and Magic Johnson Promotions.
Steve Weerts, an associate in the Tax practice, is experienced in international tax and transfer pricing matters. He concentrates in international business and tax planning. He has advised on the tax aspects of international joint ventures, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, post-transaction integration, international corporate finance, capital market transactions, and general international tax planning matters.
Mr. Weerts comes to DLA Piper from KPMG, where he was a manager in the International Corporate Tax Services group. He has also worked with the IRS Chief Counsel's Office and in the tax department of Ascent Media Group.
Anna Waterhouse's feature-length scripts (released) include Worldwide Films' Power Play and Sony's The Lost and Found Family, along with nearly a dozen sold and optioned screenplays. Her script consultant work includes projects with producer/director Barnet Bain, producer James Hart, and screenwriter/director Robert Towne (for Without Limits, Mission: Impossible II, and scripts in the works for HBO and FX),
She was the subject of a Los Angeles Times column, "This Reward Wasn't in the Script," by Dana Parsons. Author/script coach John Truby acknowledges her editing and suggestions in his book, The Anatomy of Story. Waterhouse teaches screenwriting to undergrad and grad film students at Chapman University.
Projects