Lights, Camera, Paperwork: Navigating Immigration & Entertainment Law in Hollywood

Swati Paul Khetani is the Founder and Principal Attorney of Paul Khetani Global (PKG), a boutique immigration law firm based in Newport Beach, California. Her practice primarily focuses on employment-based immigration as well as some family-based immigration matters. Her clients range from an unusually diverse range of profiles including individual founders, engineers, Latin Grammy Award-winning artists, Olympic-level athletes, tattoo artists, executives, veterinarians, software engineers, among others.

Swati is an alumna of Chapman University Fowler School of Law and UC Irvine. She is active with the Orange County Bar Association (OCBA) and serves on the board of the South Asian Bar Association of Orange County (SABA-OC). She also volunteers her time through SAHARA (South Asian Helpline & Referral Agency), providing pro bono immigration assistance to the community.

Kristi Ngo is a Senior Associate in Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP’s Los Angeles office, where she advises clients on a broad range of U.S. business immigration matters. Her practice focuses on employment-based immigration, with specialization in the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program and immigration solutions for professionals in the sports and entertainment industries. Kristi has extensive experience representing individuals, families, and businesses in a wide range of employment-based and family-based immigration matters. She advises clients ranging from start-ups and emerging companies to global enterprises across diverse industries, including technology, healthcare, finance, engineering, and hospitality. In addition, Kristi counsels foreign investors, project developers, and regional centers on all facets of the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, providing strategic guidance throughout the investment and immigration process.

Dr. Jon Xue Zhang is an actor known for Masters of the Universe and The Brothers Sun who has an extensive background as a former stunt man, including Marvel Eternals and Fast and Furious. Jon is a lifelong martial artist and instructor, having taught members of law enforcement, armed forces and was formerly the psychologist for a Saudi Arabia national team and continues to coach athletes and performers and is the author of The Martial Heart.

April Paredes is a business and entertainment attorney with deep roots in the creator economy and media industry. She co-founded Ascent Legal because she kept seeing the same problem: creators building real businesses without the legal support they needed to protect what they were building. Big firms were not accessible to independent creators, most general practice lawyers did not understand the industry, and the legal language in most contracts was not written for the people signing them.

April gained her foundational experience at Sheppard Mullin Richter and Hampton LLP, one of the country’s leading entertainment and media firms, where she focused on transactional matters related to the creation, production, and distribution of audiovisual content — including television, feature films, and podcasts. She advised clients on rights acquisition, licensing, and brand collaborations, working alongside producers, studios, media companies, and major brands entering the content creation space.

Tisha Morris, Esq. is the founder of Legacy Arts Law PC, dedicated to helping artists and creatives build and protect their legacies in entertainment and publishing.
Tisha is a bestselling nonfiction author and the host of The Entertainment Business Podcast, where the creative life meets the business of entertainment, turning dreams into reality.

As a Nashville, Tennessee native, Tisha began her legal career with two federal judicial clerkships before practicing law for over two decades. She also earned a fine arts degree in interior design and built a successful feng shui design practice, which led her to Los Angeles as a self-help author and ultimately into the entertainment industry.

Tisha is the best-selling author of five nonfiction books and has appeared on Netflix’s Depp v. Heard documentary, ABC’s Live with Kelly and Ryan, and KTLA and KCAL – Los Angeles, in addition to being featured on Hay House Radio, Today.com, Elle Decor, and Well + Good.

Tisha is actively involved in the entertainment and legal communities as a member of the Beverly Hills Bar Association, California Lawyers for the Arts, LGBTQ+ Lawyers LA, Women in Film, and Women in Music. She also serves on the board of the Ojai Film Festival and is a licensed attorney in California and Tennessee.

She resides in Ojai, California, with her wife, poodle, and stepcat. When she’s not practicing law, Tisha is working on her next creative pursuit—becoming a legal thriller novelist.