Sally Helppie

Helppie

Direct Dial: 214.979.7411

E-Mail: shelppie@vilolaw.com

EXPERIENCE:

        Sally Helppie is a graduate of the UCLA School of Law who focuses her practice on Entertainment Law and commercial litigation.

Sally’s entertainment law practice runs the gamut from representing high-budget Hollywood productions to small independent producers, as well as individual writers, actors and financiers. She negotiates acquisitions and distribution, drafts a wide variety of financing documents, advises on insurance and bonds, addresses Guild and Union matters, handles copyright and trademark issues, prepares production contracts and litigates disputes. Representative film matters include legal work for “The Tourist,” starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp; “The Young Victoria,” starring Emily Blunt; “Edge of Darkness,” starring Mel Gibson; and Martin Scorsese’s 3D feature, “Hugo.” Sally also represents both production companies and talent on multiple reality television series. She regularly counsels Texas production companies regarding cast, crew, equipment, location and union contracts, and provides legal services and advice from formation of entities through principal photography, post-production and distribution.

        In addition to Entertainment law, Sally is a seasoned trial attorney whose litigation work emphasizes contracts and business torts, trademark and copyright issues, software disputes, employment litigation, real estate cases and arbitration. Her practice encompasses all aspects of civil trials and appeals before the state and federal courts, as well as various arbitration panels. Sally has been lead counsel in literally hundreds of cases on behalf of Fortune 500 companies, smaller businesses and individuals. She has tried cases before juries in state and Federal courts, and has represented parties all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

EDUCATION:

UCLA School of Law, J.D. 1985

  • National Moot Court Team
  • Roscoe Pound Moot Court Winner
  • Moot Court Executive Board
  • Melvin Belli Award for Advocacy
  • Distinguished Advocate Award
  • Teaching Assistant, Legal Research & Writing
  • Writer, “The Docket” newspaper
  • Performer, law school musicals
  • National Order of Barristers

California State University at Northridge, B.A. 1982

  • Journalism major/speech communication minor
  • Summa Cum Laude graduate
  • Kappa Tau Alpha National Honor Society (top 10% graduate nationally)
  • Competitive Forensics Team (state and national awards for speech and drama)
  • Best Writer Award, Journalism Department, 1982

ADMITTED TO PRACTICE:

  • Texas, 1985
  • U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas
  • U.S. District Court Western District of Texas
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit
  • U.S. Tax Court

ACTIVITIES and HONORS:

Sally served as the 2011 Chair of the Dallas Bar Association’s Sports & Entertainment Law Section and is a Council Member for the State Bar of Texas Entertainment & Sports Law Section. She was Chair of the Dallas Bar Association’s Business Litigation Section in 2009, which won the award for Section of the Year under her leadership, and is a past co-chair of both the Judicial Evaluation Poll subcommittee and Bench Book subcommittee.

Sally is also an Adjunct Professor in SMU's Meadows School of the Arts, is a member of the College of the State Bar of Texas, has been named a “Super Lawyer” by Texas Monthly Magazine, and was recognized as one of the top Texas business litigators by Corporate Counsel Magazine. She has been featured in articles in the Texas Lawyer, Texas Bar Journal, DBA Headnotes, and numerous industry publications and newspapers. She is a sought-after speaker who has presented at the Austin Film Festival, Texas Entertainment Law Institute, Dallas International Film Festival, Dallas Screenwriters Association, Christian Media Association, KD College, Dallas Bar Association’s Entertainment Law Boot Camps, and multiple law-related conferences.  

In addition to her legal work, Sally is an award-winning producer and CEO of Advocate Pictures, LLC. Sally produced the 2008 action thriller, “Exit Speed,” which earned a platform U.S. theatrical run and wide release abroad; it screened on the Showtime Channel and currently is available on DVD and Blu-Ray. The film, shot entirely in Texas, stars Lea Thompson (“Back to the Future,” “Caroline in the City”) and Fred Ward (“Tremors,” “Sweet Home Alabama”). She also produced “The Beacon,” a supernatural chiller that won the top award for Best Feature Film at the 2009 Paranoia Film Festival and for which she was named Best Producer at the 2009 La Femme Film Festival. It has enjoyed wide release in numerous foreign territories as well as North America, where it played on the Showtime Channel and is available from all major DVD and Blu-Ray retailers. Renamed “Haunting at the Beacon” this movie also was shot entirely in Texas and stars Teri Polo (“Meet the Parents” franchise, “The West Wing”), David Rees Snell (from TV’s long-running “The Shield”), genre icon Michael Ironside (“Top Gun,” “Terminator Salvation”) and Emmy winner and SAG president Ken Howard (“The White Shadow,” “Gray Gardens”). Sally's third feature film, “Beyond the Farthest Star,” is a family-friendly feature shot in Texas. Starring Renee O’Connor (perhaps best known as Gabrielle from the “Xena” series) and Dallas-based actor Todd Terry, it presently is in post-production.

Sally was selected for the Producers’ Network at the 2009 Cannes Film Market and is a member of the Texas Motion Picture Association. She currently has two feature films in development.