Usman Shaikh

Usman Shaikh serves as Managing Partner of Southern California at Romano Law and leads the firm’s Los Angeles office.  His practice focuses on corporate and entertainment transactions, bridging Wall Street discipline with Hollywood industry knowledge to advise clients at the intersection of finance, business and media.

Usman’s background gives him a distinctive vantage point on deals that sit between the capital markets and the entertainment industry, from structuring capital raises for film slates, to forming and structuring media investment funds, to advising production companies on governance and growth.  This crossover expertise allows him to bring corporate sophistication to entertainment clients who are often underserved by lawyers who specialize in only one side of the deal.

Usman’s practice encompasses production legal for film, television, digital media, live events and music festivals; equity and debt financings for independent productions; talent deals and creative rights arrangements; federal securities offerings under Regulation D and Regulation CF; venture capital financings; and M&A transactions.  He also serves as outside general counsel to startups, growth-stage companies and established businesses across a wide array of industries, advising on corporate governance, commercial agreements, equity compensation and day-to-day operational legal matters.

Among other accolades, Usman has been recognized as a Super Lawyers Rising Star, and featured in the LA Times’ Entertainment Business Visionaries and the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Leaders of Influence annual lists.

Prior to joining Romano Law, Usman founded and led U.S. Law Group, a Beverly Hills-based boutique law firm acquired by Romano Law in 2026.

Usman began his legal career in New York at Winston & Strawn and Seward & Kissel, where he worked on a range of corporate transactions.  He later joined ICM Partners (now part of CAA), one of the leading talent agencies in Hollywood.

In addition to his legal practice, Usman is actively engaged in public policy and civic affairs, focusing on issues affecting Los Angeles and its residents.  He has served as a policy advisor to a candidate in California’s 52nd Congressional District and currently serves as a policy advisor to a candidate running for Los Angeles City Council District 5.

Usman is a member of the National Society of Entertainment & Arts Lawyers (NSEAL) and the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce.

Education

• The University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D. (2003)
• The Wharton School, Certificate of Study in Management (2003)
• Rutgers College, B.A. in Economics (2000)

Accolades