Susan Grode is a senior partner in the Los Angeles office of the law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, where she is Co-Chair of the national Entertainment and Media Department. Ms. Grode represents major motion picture and animation studios, numerous production and toy companies, Internet game companies, online content companies and digital e-book publishers and authors as well as the creators and producers of some of the most well-known television series and motion pictures. She is also recognized as one of the leading authorities on domestic and international animation and in the field of global licensing and merchandising . Her extensive work in the book publishing industry also includes representing major book publishing entities , bestselling authors and individual entrepreneurs. Ms. Grode also represents award-winning independent filmmakers, producers and financiers, from the development and funding of their projects through to distribution. She is a frequent speaker at legal and entertainment industry conferences and is active in a range of professional and nonprofit organizations , including the Board of Directors of Center Theatre Group at the Los Angeles Music Center, The Ms. Foundation, First Book and the International Women’s Media Foundation. Ms. Grode earned a BFA degree at Cornell University and a JD from the USC School of Law.