More on the Founding Attorney

Polina Ivko

Polina’s experience is based on her previous work for companies and law firms with art, entertainment, fashion and music focus, as well as clerkship for The Honorable Richard Arnold, Chancery Chambers, Royal Courts of Justice (London, England). As an accomplished commercial attorney with  a proven track record, Polina has advised clients not only on matters involving the U.S. laws, but also on cross-border transactions implicated by the laws in Asia, Europe and the U.K. 

Team Ivko

Stephanie Furgang Adwar - Of Counsel

Stephanie Furgang Adwar brings more than three decades of experience in both transactional and litigation matters in entertainment, new media, copyright, trademark, and unfair competition law. She represents a wide variety of clients in the entertainment field, in film, television, music, and publishing, and represents businesses in a wide array of industries. Stephanie looks at her client’s business and goals and takes a holistic approach to her advice and counsel. While protecting her client’s rights in their artistic works and brands, she also advises them on what are the best strategies and legal positions to take when leveraging those works and brands, always keeping up on the cutting edge of the newest opportunities available, such as NFT development and protection. When her client’s rights are challenged or infringed, Stephanie is an astute litigator who takes a pragmatic approach to litigation, zealously and vigorously representing their interests and guiding them to the best possible outcome.

Stephanie has been quoted in the news media, including appearing on ABC-TV Network's Nightline and BBC America, and in numerous publications, including most recently, Slate Magazine, as an expert in entertainment, copyright, and trademark law.

Stephanie began her career in entertainment at The Gersh Agency, NY, Inc., DeLaurentis Entertainment, and CBS/Fox Video in New York. She went on to produce music videos for Time Shift Video in New York. She has remained deeply committed to improving knowledge of entertainment and intellectual property law among both attorneys and entertainment industry leaders. She is active with her alma mater, Cardozo Law School, and regularly appears on panels there and judged the BMI Moot Court and Price Media Law Competitions. She lectures regularly at educational institutions like her alma mater, Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film and Television at Tisch School of Arts at New York University (NYU), as well as at Howard University School of Law, Rutgers School of Law, and the 92nd Street Y, and at industry events like AmericanaFest and the Cutting Edge Music Business Conference, and before professional organizations like the American Bar Association and at the North American Entertainment, Sports, and Intellectual Property Law Summit.

Stephanie has authored several articles, "Trademarks: What's In a Name," Hemp World, Winter 1996, Vol. 2 Issue 3; "Social Media Law for Musicians", “The Case Against Arbitration", Entertainment and Sports Lawyer 2015, Volume 41, Number 4; The Musicians’ Business & Legal Guide , Beverly Hills Bar Association Committee for the Arts (2017); and “How to Litigate Against A Copyright Troll," Bright Ideas, New York State Bar Association, Fall 2018, Volume 27, No. 2.

Stephanie serves on the Governing Committee of the American Bar Association's Forum on Entertainment and Sports Industries and has, in the past, served as its Membership Chair, its Communications Chair, and as Co-Sponsorship Chair. She is a member of the International Trademark Association, the New York State Bar Association's Entertainment and Sports Law and Intellectual Property Law sections, the Association of Intellectual Property Firms, and the Rockland County Bar Association. She also maintains active roles in entertainment professional organizations, including the prestigious New York Women in Film and Television, The Recording Academy, Women in Music, and the American Film Institute.

In 2012, Stephanie was appointed as the first female justice in the 218-year history of the Village of Suffern, New York, where she served until 2015. She was re-appointed to this position in 2019, and continues to serve in this capacity. She is also a New York Metro Super Lawyer in Entertainment (2021, 2022), a Hudson Valley Top Lawyer in Intellectual Property (2021, 2022) and has received an "AV" peer review rating from Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory (the highest rating) and is listed in the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers.

Education

• Yeshiva University, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (JD)

• New York University, Tisch School of Arts, Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film and Television (BFA, Film and Television Production)

Bar & Court Admissions

• New York

• US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

• US District Court for the Southern District of New York

• US District Court for the Eastern District of New York

• Appearance before the Federal District Court of California

Megan (Megg) Abner - Senior Associate

Robert (Robbie) Bartels - J.D. Associate

Emma Peters - Law Clerk (Case Western Reserve University School of Law)

John P. Benitez - Legal Intern (Brooklyn Law School)

Skylar Massella - Legal Intern (University of Miami School of Law)

Pantho Sayed - Legal Intern (Harvard Law School)