Patricia Glaser Knows How to Wield the Power of Law

Early in her career, Patricia Glaser was fortunate to land at a law firm led by attorneys who defined what it
meant to be well-connected, influential and respected in Los Angeles’ legal, social, civic and political circles. She learned well.

The lessons Glaser absorbed as a young associate at Wyman Bautzer have served her well for more than 50 years. Glaser is now the top name on the door in Century City at Glaser Weil Fink Howard Jordan & Shapiro, and she has had top billing there for nearly 20 years. In recognition of her long run as a leader of one of entertainment’s top firms and her reputation as a fierce litigator, Glaser is Variety’s 2026 Power of Law Award honoree at the annual Power of Law breakfast set for April 8.

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In her professional life, Glaser is feared and respected in equal measure. She’s often called with urgency on time-sensitive matters that require quick thinking — whether it’s a deal going south or an executive in hot water for personal behavior or any number of other crises. In these times, Glaser is in her usually in her element.

“In a very abstract sense, a lawyer’s job is to walk into a dark room and find the light and not walk into a wall,” Glaser says. “That’s what I like doing. That’s why I became a lawyer.”

Glaser has represented a long list of heavy hitters such as business magnates Kirk Kerkorian and Ron Burkle, producer David Permut, the family of Frank Sinatra and even the now-convicted Harvey Weinstein, briefly, as his criminal prosecution on sexual assault charges began.

In recent weeks, Glaser has found herself in the unusual position of being in the headlines herself as a result of her involvement in meetings with R.J. Cipriani and Paramount Skydance president Jeff Shell. Cipriani, a self-styled whistleblower and producer who was previously repped in unrelated dealmaking by Glaser Weil, has filed a lawsuit against Shell, and in it he accuses Glaser of having a conflict of interest. Glaser would not comment on matters involving Cipriani or Shell.

Glaser is known to be tough to the point of seeming icy in charged situations such as depositions and settlement negotiations. But she does not forget the human element required of guiding people through difficult legal processes.

Director Jennifer Lynch experienced this firsthand when Glaser represented her and the producer of the 1993 film “Boxing Helena” in a legal battle against Kim Basinger, who dropped out of the film on short notice.

“Patty was a force of nature but did not blow the doors down,” Lynch tells Variety. “She was gentle with me, but encouraging aging. I felt seen and supported, and so that makes it much more collaborative.”
when she put me on the stand, I was able to simply speak the truth. I know I am one of many hundreds of clients she has had, but her voice and her guidance continues to echo in me.”
 
 Glaser credits her skill at building relationships and trust to the grounding of her formative years at Wyman Bautzer. Partner Gregson Bautzer was a larger-than-life showbiz lawyer straight out of central casting who also had strong pull in California and Los Angeles political circles.

“He was one of those guys who returned every phone call every day. Didn’t matter how many. And I try to do the same. We’re service people. That’s what we’re supposed to be doing,” Glaser says.
 
Glaser met her longtime law partner Peter Weil early on in her 15 years at Wyman Bautzer. The pair had a nearly instant simpatico that endures to this day.
 
Glaser, Weil and a handful of other partners exited Wyman Bautzer in 1988 to launch the firm that is today Glaser Weil.

Glaser’s enduring partnership with Weil as well as fellow founding partner James Schreier and others is indicative of her belief that “the practice of law is largely collaborative.” Glaser Weil at present has about 100 lawyers, split between those who work in litigation and transactional deals in entertainment, as well as real estate, banking and other business sectors.

“We don’t have a system where it pays to not share your clients. We want you to share your clients,” Glaser says, noting that although she may bring a client in, it’s not “her client.” “They’re the firm’s client.
Everybody gets to work on that client, and that makes it much more collaborative.”

A native of West Virginia, Glaser graduated from Rutgers Law School in 1973, and clerked David Williams, a federal judge in Los Angeles. Not long after, she joined Wyman Bautzer. Glaser learned two important truths about the art of being a lawyer in her early years of walking the halls and observing the veterans in action.
 
For one, “being a good lawyer is hard work, and you should do something else if you don’t want to put the hours in,” Glaser insists. “I can remember when I was a baby lawyer and I’d walk by somebody’s office and they’d be talking on the phone, giving advice to somebody. I would think to myself, ‘That is so cool. That’s what I want to do.’ But you don’t get there without doing the grunt work and all the stuff before you give advice on the telephone.”
 
Her other awakening was this: She loves trying cases. She loves the puzzle and the challenge of crafting and executing a litigation strategy. She’s not shy about pointing out the deficiencies of rival firms that say they have trial lawyers but really don’t have much real-world traction in courtrooms.

“It is a skill set that you only learn from experience,” she assures. Glaser has told Variety (more than once over the years) that going to trial is “so much fun.” She likens it to being on stage.

“It’s the show. You have a script called the facts, right? So your job is to convince somebody that the facts that you’ve been given are appropriate and winnable,” Glaser says. “Yes, it’s hard work. But there’s a payoff with trials, in my opinion, because all that hard work that you put in — now it comes to fruition.”

Glaser has had a starring role in a real- life courtroom drama more than once. The case that vaulted her into Hollywood’s A-list — and also changed the way Hollywood does business — came in 1993 when
she represented Main Line Pictures, Lynch and producer Carl Mazzocone in the “Boxing Helena” case.
 
The dispute hinged on whether the oral agreement that Basinger and her team reached with Mazzocone and Lynch was enforceable. Basinger dropped out of the indie film weeks before filming was set
to begin after having second thoughts about the script.

Against high odds, Mazzocone and Lynch prevailed in a jury trial that awarded $8.9 million in damages (later reduced to $8.1 million) to Main Line. The verdict was overturned on appeal and the sides wound up settling in 1995 rather than go through a second trial.

“I actually thought I was a pretty good lawyer before the Kim Basinger lawsuit, but apparently nobody knew it except me,” Glaser says with a laugh.

With the passage of more than 30 years, Glaser allows herself a mischievous grin at the memory of the case that no one thought she would win, given the tendency of juries to side with stars. Basinger at one
point during cross examination referred to Glaser as “Miss Glacier.” The actor’s future husband, fellow actor Alec Baldwin, came to court most days and became a fixture in the front row.

“Baldwin sat right behind the barrier in court every day,” Glaser recalls. “My goal, which I failed at, was to get him to leap across and try to strangle me in front of the jury.”

Baldwin may not have lost it on her, but the “Boxing Helena” case did significantly tighten up Hollywood practices on sealing finished contracts around movies and TV roles. Call it the Glaser effect.

***

In the decades since the “Boxing Helena” case made headlines in Variety, Jennifer Lynch has grown into a busy career as a director with a long list of TV episodic credits from recent network and streaming series ranging from CBS’ “Matlock” and ABC’s “The Rookie” to FX’s “American Horror Story” and “The Strain.”

Here, Lynch reflects for Variety on how the years-long experience of being part of a high-profile litigation process shaped her early professional life. Lynch was a magnet for media attention as the daughter of renowned filmmaker David Lynch.

“I watched her spit fire and make dust of lies,” Lynch recalls of Glaser’s performance at the trial. “And not one moment did she resemble a man.”

Here is Lynch’s full statement when asked to comment on her experience working with the veteran litigator.

I was just 22 and although brave in the ways adolescents are, I was emotionally and psychically new and raw.

Patty was a force of nature, but did not blow the doors down. She entered rooms with grace, and made it OK that I knew what I did, and didn’t know what I couldn’t.

She was gentle with me, but encouraging. I felt seen and supported, and so when she put me on the stand, I was able to simply speak the truth. I know I am one of many hundreds of clients she has had, but her voice and guidance continues to echo in me. I was always going to be honest. I was always going to stand up to the bully… but it was with Patty listening and acknowledging my experience that I felt able to share it, without shrinking.

The witness stand is an incredible place. You are on stage, you are naked, you are challenged, you are exposed. Patty, because she is who she is, and because of the conversations we had before, invisibly held my hand, and made it less frightening to speak of what happened. I was young and new, and I will always remember thinking of Patty as someone to aspire to. To resemble. To echo when I crossed a room and was perhaps seen by a younger girl. It seemed that without effort, she was able to calm people. She actually listened… and in that, was able to actually respond. My days with Patty were invaluable. I know what it is like to be held safe in the claws and belly of a dragon. I watched her spit fire and make dust of lies, but always from the safety of her side. She is and was incredibly strong, and not one moment did she resemble a man. She was always grace and strength, wise and safe. I will forever feel fortunate that is was with her that I took that frightening journey. I was always going to tell the truth, but because of Patty, I was able to do it without fear.

Jen Lynch