Maria C. Lesinski

Maria advises in the areas of business and corporate law, focusing her practice on representing talent, influencers, startups and technology companies, in a broad range of corporate, business, and intellectual property transactions. Her work centers on advising emerging and growth-stage companies on brand protection, technology transactions, venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate matters.

After graduating cum laude from Syracuse University College of Law, where she concurrently earned her Master’s in TV, Radio and Film from the Newhouse School, Maria went on to work at Disney/ABC, FremantleMedia and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios, negotiating and drafting a wide range of commercial, talent, production, and intellectual property agreements for well-known unscripted television projects. Notably, Maria previously served as the point production legal contact for MGM Studios’ Emmy Award-winning television show Shark Tank, where she worked closely with physical production managers, producers, entrepreneurs, and talent, supervising all aspects of the day-to-day legal needs of the show.

Maria was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. After residing for a time in New York, New York, and Los Angeles, California, she made the decision to return to Syracuse in 2022 with her partner, Benjamin, and their rescue bulldog, Howard.