Brian Maida is a member of Pryor Cashman’s Litigation Group. His practice focuses on entertainment + intellectual property litigation and complex commercial litigation.

Brian has significant trial experience, including:

  • In May 2023, he was on the trial team that successfully represented Ed Sheeran, Warner Music, and Sony Music Publishing in a landmark copyright jury trial victory, defeating the claim that Ed’s hit song “Thinking Out Loud” infringes the song “Let’s Get It On,” written by Ed Townsend and Marvin Gaye. After the two-week trial in the Southern District of New York and after just hours of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict that Ed Sheeran independently created his musical composition “Thinking Out Loud.”
  • In August 2022, he was on the trial team that successfully represented a member of a Delaware LLC that was seeking to inspect the books and records of the LLC pursuant to Delaware’s Limited Liability Company Act. Brian worked on every aspect of the case, from the pre-complaint demand through the bench trial in the Delaware Court of Chancery, after which trial the member was granted the entirety of the relief it sought.

Other representative matters include:

  • Jermaine Dupri and Sony Music Entertainment in securing dismissal of a copy infringement claim.
  • Leading streaming service in defense of defamation claims in multiple matters stemming from television shows and documentaries.
  • Music technology company in litigation involving breach of contract claims.
  • Branding consultants to cannabis cultivator in JAMS arbitration involving breach of contract claims.

Brian also maintains a healthy pro bono practice, primarily focused on immigration matters. In 2019, he successfully argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, securing a unanimous, precedential opinion that expanded the scope of the “particular social group” under the Immigration and Nationality Act to include public cooperators with law enforcement. The opinion—Guzman Orellana v. Att'y Gen. United States, 956 F.3d 171 (3d Cir. 2020)—has been cited by courts over 40 times.

Prior to law school, Brian worked as a Mechanical Engineer for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

Education

  • Columbia Law School (J.D., honors, 2018)
    • Member, Mediation Clinic
  • The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (B.S., cum laude, 2011)

Recognition

  • Named to the Super Lawyers – New York Metro “Rising Stars” list for Intellectual Property Litigation (2024-25)
  • Named a “Legal Lion of the Week” by Law360 (2023)
  • Named a “Litigator of the Week” runner-up by The Litigation Daily (2023)
  • Named a “General Litigation Trailblazer” by The National Law Journal (2023)

Admissions

  • New York
  • U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Internships

  • Hon. Debra Livingston, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • Hon. Nicholas Garaufis, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York