His career script took a 
sudden change when in-house attorney Doug Jacobs, who had served as senior counsel for A+E Networks, left the legal department for a law firm. Jacobs, who also was general counsel of A+E and Court TV (now TruTV) for almost 20 years combined, is now on the air as a partner at entertainment boutique firm Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard.

Jacobs started at the firm in January and is based in its New York offices. “I respect them a lot,” he says of his new colleagues. “They have top-notch lawyers in the industry and clients that I love.” Jacobs worked with the firm when its attorneys served as outside counsel to A+E.

Another part of the appeal is that Jacobs will be practicing with attorneys of like minds and like experiences. Cowan DeBaets has a number of former general counsel from major media companies in its stable of lawyers, including Aileen Atkins, the former GC of Napster Inc.; Ellis Levine, a former GC of Random House Inc.; and Alex Gigante, a former vice president of legal affairs for Penguin Group. (Random House and Penguin merged in 2013.)