Bio

Christopher Brien helps clients create value through corporate transactions across a wide range of industries, including entertainment and media. Chris represents multinational and regional corporations, established companies, and nascent enterprises on a wide range of business transactions, including company formation, mergers and acquisitions, financings, and joint ventures. He is also co-founder and a co-chair of Venable’s Blockchain and Digital Currencies Group. As a trusted advisor, Chris frequently serves as outside general counsel for his clients. Chris understands business goals. He has an insider’s perspective from his years as a senior in-house attorney for Fortune 500 toy company Mattel, Inc., where he handled the sale of The Learning Company software division. He served as general counsel to a mobile telecom and entertainment startup, privately valued at $1 billion, where he raised $120 million in equity financing. He also served as general counsel of a publicly-traded restaurant company with $700 million in revenue. Chris has worked with early-stage companies across many industries, including blockchain, financial services, and healthcare. This diversity of client service is a major reason the Los Angeles Business Journal named him one of the most influential attorneys practicing in digital media and e-commerce law. Throughout his career, he has led matters with significant international components. Early in his legal practice, he worked in the Prague and Helsinki offices of a prominent international law firm. He has since handled critical legal matters in every major international market.