Zabi Yaqeen is a producer and entertainment lawyer in Toronto, Canada, and a member of the Law Society of Ontario since 2006. In addition to acting for and against chartered banks, multinationals and individual complainants and defendants in court, Zabi has helped producers, artists, and start-ups with various aspects of their projects. He has obtained degrees in both common law and civil law, and practices in English and French. Prior to starting his own practice, Zabi was an associate at Julian Heller and Associates practicing in commercial litigation and entertainment law. Zabi is a producer and partner in Wishing Step Pictures, a production company focused on making social impact films.
who are we
About
Entertainment and tech/internet law and advisory
Many independent filmmakers and start-ups forego legal advice, usually because of perceived high costs, and a lack of familiarity with the type of assistance a lawyer can provide. In our litigation practice, it became apparent that many of these filmmakers and start-ups often experienced the negative consequences of entering into agreements which were not properly scrutinized to protect their interests, leaving them at the mercy of unscrupulous distributors and business associates. The cost of remedying a problem at the litigation phase is often multiple times the cost of retaining a lawyer to help navigate the pitfalls from the outset.
We can help filmmakers with various aspects of their production, and also provide distribution strategy adapted to the new ways in which the audience consumes media. We can also help start-ups with the various aspects of their business, from business planning, to investment structuring, all the way to launch and growth strategies.
We are open to discussing alternative billing arrangements, and reduced fee schedules for independent filmmakers and social impact enterprises. Our contact information is further below. There is no charge for an initial consultation.
facts about yearly Canadian film and television productions
labour income generated by film and television (billions)
GDP generated by film and television (billions)
convergent media productions
The types of clients we represent
Clients
Our Team
Lawyers
Get in touch
Contact
Let's Keep In Touch
We’re happy to chat with you about your project, and if we can’t help you, we’ll try to refer you to someone who can. We won’t bill you for an initial consultation.