Established 38 years ago through the representation and protection of Norman Rockwell's artwork, CMG secured its position in the 1970s as the paramount authority on celebrity representation and valuation. Since its inception, CMG has worked with over 1,500 famous living and deceased individuals in the sports, entertainment, music, and historical fields, including Jackie Robinson, James Dean, Maya Angelou, Neil Armstrong, Rosa Parks, and Bettie Page. Today, CMG is internationally recognized and credited with breaking legal ground in expanding statutory recognition and establishing guidelines that control and impact commercial licensing of one's name, image, and likeness. It has come to dominate the licensing arena while expanding the legal footprint in providing precedent setting testimony and methodologies in the celebrity valuation realm. With respect to licensing, CMG has procured, negotiated, and executed over 18,000 right of publicity deals alone. Its celebrity clients often make it on Forbes' “Highest Earning Deceased Celebrities” list, with James Dean and Bettie Page consistently holding annual top-spots. Such consistent recognitions earned the company a top spot on 60 Minutes during a season premiere and a host of speaking engagements, appearances, and most notably, consistent expert witness retention on high-profile cases.

 

Mark Roesler is frequently called on by celebrities from Muhammad Ali to Princess Diana, corporate entities, and even government entities as an advisor and expert witness. In this capacity, Roesler's groundbreaking reputation and savvy legal foresight are often relied upon to determine fair market value in connection with damage assessments and estate taxation. For example, at the 1997 O.J. Simpson civil trial, Roesler received international acclaim as the authority whose testimony brought some closure to the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. There, Roesler definitively established Simpson's future worth as $25 million, and his credibility resulted in the jury's award of that exact amount, even at the appeals stage, being deemed a fair and accurate assessment. Later, in 2017, Roesler served as the expert witness on Estate of Michael Jackson v. IRS, a case is perhaps one of the largest disputes with the IRS in the history of federal estate taxation. While the disposition of the matter is still pending, the case is already affecting how celebrities, practitioners, and estate planners are categorizing, valuing and disposing of intellectual property.