SOPHIA YEN

Partner | Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Sophia Yen is a partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, and Leader of the Entertainment Transactions and Finance Group. She advises a broad range of entertainment clients — from production companies, talent and high-net-worth individuals to studios, financial institutions and international media companies — on strategic and legal matters. She is particularly known for her work structuring equity and debt financings, complex IP transactions and other deals across film, television and digital media.

Sophia works with projects throughout their life cycle, from development and production through distribution and licensing, with many of the films she has helped structure premiering at leading festivals including Sundance, SXSW, Cannes, TIFF and Tribeca. Her work has earned recognition from CAPE, including the 2024 Dealmaker Award, as well as consistent recognition on The Hollywood Reporter’s “Power Lawyers,” Variety’s “Dealmakers Impact Report” and “Legal Impact Report,” and Forbes’ “Top Women Lawyers,” among others.

A longtime advocate for the Asian American and Pacific Islander entertainment community, Sophia is also a frequent speaker on the business and evolving landscape of the entertainment industry. Before practicing law, she worked as a CPA and auditor at Ernst & Young LLP. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and a J.D. from Boston University School of Law.