Kenneth Ziffren Praised by Both Sides : Lawyer Steered Talks to Face-Saving Settlement

As the Hollywood writers strike lumbered into its 22nd week, the prospect of a settlement looked bleak. At a press conference Sunday, the producers described their talks with striking writers as hopelessly deadlocked.

But the swarms of TV cameras had barely taped those words at the producers’ Sherman Oaks headquarters when--somewhere on the Beverly Hills side of the Sepulveda Pass--attorney Kenneth Ziffren got back on the telephone.

Over the next three days, Ziffren, 48, accomplished what federal mediators couldn’t, despite dozens of hours of talks lasting late into the night. He adroitly charted a middle ground that would enable the writers and the producers to come to an agreement without losing face.

Ziffren’s effort was aided by rising fears on both sides of the bargaining table. If the strike continued, the Writers Guild was in danger of losing members. And the producers, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, were in danger of losing their fall TV season.

Moreover, other industry figures--primary among them agents Michael Ovitz and Bill Haber of the Creative Artists Agency--had laid much of the groundwork for a settlement through their mediation efforts.

But both writers and producers close to the negotiations credit Ziffren with bringing the two sides to a final settlement. As a result of his shuttle diplomacy over the last three days, Hollywood insiders like TV writer-producer Gary David Goldberg are calling Ziffren “the Philip Habib of Hollywood.”

“He could communicate through this haze of anger, vitriolic hatred and distrust,” said Goldberg, who was closely involved in attempts to seek a strike settlement.

Those who know Ziffren say he was effective at bringing the two sides together in part because of his diplomatic style and rapport with writers and producers. “His mind is so precise,” says Norman Steinberg, a screenwriter and Ziffren client. “He just clicks onto the salient facts and all the crap is swept away.”

Colleagues also say Ziffren has a remarkable facility with numbers--something that would serve him well in calculating complex residual formulas. “He carries all the numbers in his head,” Goldberg said.

Ziffren has clients on both sides of the issue. His law firm, Ziffren, Brittenham & Branca, represents a gamut of Hollywood talent: TV writers and writer-producers like Goldberg (“Family Ties”), Stephen J. Cannell (“Hunter,” “Wiseguy”) and Glen Larson (“Quincy,” “Magnum P.I.).

The firm also represents financiers like oilman Marvin Davis and broadcaster Ted Turner, and studio executives such as ABC’s Brandon Stoddard and Harris Katleman, president of 20th Century Fox Television Productions. Ziffren’s actor clients include Harrison Ford, Tom Selleck, Richard Pryor and John Ritter.

Together with his partner Harry M. (Skip) Brittenham, Ziffren has built a small law firm that does more than draft legal documents. The firm often packages deals, primarily TV shows, as well as providing career advice to clients.

“I would think that they’re involved in more hours of television than any other law firm in town,” said James Wiatt, president of International Creative Management. Added TV producer Andy Friendly: “They enjoy playing a low-key but powerful role.”

Irving Azoff, chairman of MCA’s music entertainment group, called Ziffren a “scholar” among entertainment attorneys. “He understands the financial end of the motion picture business better than anybody in town.”

Ziffren, who grew up in Beverly Hills and earned his law degree from UCLA, launched his legal career as an associate in the law firm of his father, Paul Ziffren. The elder Ziffren, now at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, is prominent in Democratic circles and has built an entertainment client list that includes names like Charlton Heston, Bob Newhart, Stephanie Powers and Robert Wagner.

Kenneth Ziffren is an intensely private man who avoids publicity. (He declined to return telephone calls for this story.) Though he isn’t as politically involved as his father, Ziffren has supported Democratic candidates like Gary Hart and Richard Gephardt.

Friends say Ziffren is a workaholic with few hobbies outside his collection of French red wines. But, they add, that may change with his new marriage to the former Marsha Koch. Ziffren’s wedding--like his 48th birthday--took place just weeks ago, during the depths of the writers strike.