Danielle S. Van Lier

Founder / Managing Partner

Email danielle@vanlierlaw.com

Phone +1-424-265-5564

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Bar Admissions

California
U.S. Supreme Court
Ninth Circuit
Second Circuit
Central District of California

Biography

Strategic Counsel for the Creative Frontier.

Van Lier was in the room where it happened. As SAG-AFTRA’s internal AI expert during the historic 2023 dual-strike negotiations, she helped shape the contract provisions that now govern how studios may use performers’ digital likenesses — making her one of the most authoritative voices on what worker protection in an AI-transformed industry actually requires. Today, as founder of Van Lier Law, she brings that rare combination of institutional knowledge, frontline negotiating experience, and academic expertise to a boutique practice serving creative professionals and businesses navigating the legal frontier of AI, synthetic media, and emerging technology.

Danielle is a past chair of the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Sports and Entertainment Network and a former board member of its Southern California chapter. During her tenure on the board, she chaired and expanded the chapter’s annual In-House Counsel Conference, a two-day program presented at multiple venues, and its annual Sports and Entertainment Law Conference, hosted in coordination with the global ACC network. In her final year on the board, she launched an In-House Boot Camp, a full-day program designed for experienced attorneys transitioning to in-house practice and for general counsel leading small law departments. The Boot Camp was live-streamed to ACC members nationally, before the COVID pandemic made that the norm, making it among the first programs of its kind to reach a broader audience in that format.

Professional Experience & Expertise

Boutique Practice

Van Lier advises creative professionals and businesses on the complex legal implications of AI, synthetic media, and modern entertainment law — with particular focus on name, image, and likeness (NIL) protections, digital replicas, and the rapidly evolving landscape of rights in the age of generative AI.

Institutional Insight: SAG-AFTRA

Prior to launching her practice, Van Lier spent over two decades at SAG-AFTRA, rising to Senior Assistant General Counsel for Contracts and Compliance. She was the union's recognized internal expert on emerging technologies and generative AI — researching and writing on the topic as early as 2019, years before most of the industry was paying attention. She played a central role in the 2023 strike negotiations and helped develop the AI guardrails now embedded in Hollywood's most consequential collective bargaining agreements.

Academic Leadership

A dedicated educator, Van Lier is an adjunct professor at three major Los Angeles law schools (USC Gould School of Law, Loyola Law School, and Southwestern Law School) where she teaches some of the first courses in the country on AI and the entertainment industry. She also teaches courses on the entertainment guilds, and is the author of the AI chapter in Entertainment Law: Legal Concepts and Business Practices (Thomson Reuters).

Key Professional Accomplishments

Pioneer in AI & Entertainment Law:

One of the first legal experts in the entertainment industry to focus on the impact of generative AI, with research dating to 2019. Van Lier played a critical role in SAG-AFTRA's 2023 negotiations, helping draft the landmark contract provisions establishing guardrails for the use of AI in film and television.

Architect of Modern Creative Contracts:

During her tenure at SAG-AFTRA, Van Lier was instrumental in developing several of the union's most innovative, tech-forward agreements, including the Influencer Agreement, Podcast Agreement, Microbudget Project Agreement, and the Tiered-Budget Interactive Media Agreement.

Legal Advocacy & Writing:

Author of amicus curiae briefs submitted to the United States Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the California Supreme Court on issues including the right of publicity and copyright. Author of the AI chapter in Entertainment Law: Legal Concepts and Business Practices (Thomson Reuters).

International Expertise & Education:

Van Lier holds a J.D. from Washington University School of Law, an LL.M. in Innovation, Technology, and the Law from the University of Edinburgh (with a focus on deepfakes), and an MBA from Oxford Brookes University. Her undergraduate degree in Japanese Language, Literature, and Cultural Studies from UC Santa Barbara isn't just on the résumé — she lived in Japan and still speaks conversational Japanese.

Sought-After Speaker:

A frequent presenter at bar association conferences and major industry events including San Diego Comic-Con and CES, speaking on artificial intelligence, deepfakes, rights of publicity, copyright, and the entertainment guilds.

Practice Focus

AI & Synthetic Media:

Advising on the legal implications of generative AI, digital replicas, and deepfakes for creative professionals and businesses.

Entertainment Guilds:

Navigating the complex landscape of SAG-AFTRA, WGA, and other union regulations for studios, producers, and talent. Advising unions on AI issues impacting their members.

Name, Image & Likeness (NIL):

Protecting individuals and brands from unauthorized use of digital likenesses and synthetic performances.

Contracts & Transactional:

Drafting and negotiating agreements for the modern creative economy.

Intellectual Property:

Advising on copyright and trademark issues in the age of synthetic media and AI-generated content.

Selected Publications & Speaking

“The People vs. Deepfakes” — Cover Story

Los Angeles Lawyer, May 2020

Chapter 24 — Artificial Intelligence

Entertainment Law: Legal Concepts and Business Practices, Thomson Reuters

Panelist — “Rights of Publicity and Commercial Speech in the Age of AI”

Practicing Law Institute, Artificial Intelligence Law 2025

Panelist — “Generative AI and Intellectual Property”

CodeX FutureLaw Conference, Stanford Law School, 2024