Jeffrey Adam Payne

Jeff Payne focuses on First Amendment and intellectual property matters, including copyright, trademark, and trade secret disputes. Jeff has significant experience litigating anti-SLAPP motions in state and federal court, including on appeal. He has also advised clients on pre-broadcast content review, vetting, and clearance, with concentrated experience involving true-crime programming and documentaries, and provides production legal services.

Jeff has represented clients in state and federal trial and appellate courts and arbitral forums nationwide. His matters involved entertainment, intellectual property, defamation, securities, consumer fraud, corporate governance, employment, and unfair competition claims.

Prior to joining Ashurst Perkins Coie, Jeff served as director of business and legal affairs at a leading premium entertainment network. In that role, he structured, negotiated, and drafted studio-side and network-side agreements for original scripted and documentary programming. His work included rights-option, production services, license, coproduction, talent, and music and composer agreements. He also advised on prelitigation demands and legal clearance for programming and marketing materials. Jeff has also served as a part-time secondee on a global media company's in-house litigation team in New York and Los Angeles. There, he focused on media and First Amendment litigation, intellectual property claims, and reporter subpoenas, including matters involving journalist privilege.

After law school, Jeff clerked for Judge Arthur L. Alarcón of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Judge Otis D. Wright II of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.