Independent US film studio AGBO has appointed Lesley Freeman as chief legal officer to help drive its next phase of growth, replacing general counsel Rik Toulon.

Freeman joins from Amazon MGM Studios, where she was vice president for legal. At ABGO, she will oversee the company’s global business and legal affairs, including IP and copyright matters, corporate development and privacy. Her appointment is part of a strategic expansion of the legal team as the company seeks to grow its business globally.

Los Angeles-based AGBO is an artist-led media company founded by award-winning directors Antony and Joe Russo alongside partners Donald Mustard and Chris Brearton. It is focused on film, TV, gaming and interactive media, and has produced movies including Avengers: End Game, Oscar winner Everything Everywhere All At Once and The Gray Man.

Brearton said: “AGBO’s bold strategy of transcending the conventional boundaries of storytelling and exploring new creative frontiers in an ever-evolving media landscape necessitates leaders with sophistication, expertise and a history of success in high-pressure scenarios. Lesley, with her distinguished track record, visionary mindset and extensive background with leading media companies, is just that.”

Freeman arrives after just over a year and a half at Amazon, the latter few months in a scaled-back senior legal advisor role for global media and entertainment. Prior to that, she spent close to eight years as CLO at movie giant MGM, helping oversee it $8.45bn sale to Amazon. She also spent close to a decade at US TV company HBO, where she was senior vice president for East Coast business and legal affairs.

Before her in-house career, Freeman spent just under 10 years at O’Melveny & Myers in Century City, working her way up to senior counsel in its entertainment and media practice.

She said: “This is a transformative moment for the entertainment industry and an exciting time to join AGBO, a modern trailblazer relentlessly committed to its vision of an artist-led future. I look forward to joining the team and helping to shape a contemporary and forward-looking legal framework for this new era of innovation.”

She will oversee a team that includes recent hires Michael Bogner, who was previously at Netflix as senior vice president for business and legal affairs, and former Ubisoft lawyer Ilyssa Adler, as well as AGBO’s Porscha Lee, who has been promoted to manager of business and legal affairs. 


In other recent US in-house entertainment moves, last month Paramount parted ways with its long-time GC Christa d’Alimonte, with deputy Caryn Groce standing in as her replacement. And in April, Sony Pictures Entertainment hired Disney deputy GC Jill Ratner as its new legal chief, replacing veteran Sony lawyer Leah Weil.