Fractional counsel. Full-time impact.
Legal services for the creative economy.
SERVICE AREAS
Integrated legal guidance tailored to your needs.
I provide strategic legal counsel at the intersection of talent, media, entertainment, advertising, and the creator economy. My services are grounded in industry fluency, business-minded judgment, and a deep understanding of how deals get done in fast-moving creative environments. Below is an overview of my core practice areas:
CREATOR ECONOMY & BRAND PARTNERSHIPS
I represent creators, founders, agencies, and brands in structuring, negotiating, and closing talent-led and content-driven brand partnerships. I’ve been working in this space since its infancy—before the term “influencer” was mainstream—and bring a deep understanding of the legal, strategic, and reputational factors at play. Services include:
Influencer service agreements (paid, organic, ambassadorships, long-term)
Platform-native content and UGC deals
Campaign structuring, IP licensing, exclusivity, and usage rights
Risk and compliance guidance (FTC disclosures, endorsements, SAG-AFTRA)
TALENT & CELEBRITY SERVICES
I advise an array of talent—both emerging and established—as well as the agencies and teams that represent them, on a wide range of business and brand opportunities. My work spans endorsements, licensing, intellectual property, appearances, and cross-platform media engagement. Services include:
Talent representation in brand, licensing, and media deals
Celebrity brand partnerships and long-term campaigns
Image rights, likeness licensing, and social media monetization
Entertainment and personal brand strategy
ADVERTISING, PRODUCTION & EVENTS
I counsel creative agencies, PR firms, event producers, content studios and business affairs firms on the legal framework behind advertising and experiential work—from pre-production to post. With experience across global campaigns and high-profile activations, I offer legal and strategic insight on:
Master services agreements and production contracts
Event sponsorships, activations, and talent booking
Insurance structuring and liability pass-through
Vendor agreements, location releases, NDAs, and clearance review
COMMERCIAL / CORPORATE
I work with growing businesses and founders to build strong legal infrastructure and scalable contract frameworks. I help protect the business while enabling growth, acting as a pragmatic partner across the full spectrum of commercial agreements. Services include:
Corporate governance, formations, and operating agreements
Commercial contracts, licensing, and joint ventures
Vendor and client agreements
IP structuring and brand ownership
Conflict management solutions, demand letters, cease and desists, etc.
SPORTS & NIL
In 2023, I launched KayKres Sports as a natural extension of my practice to advise athletes, sports professionals, agents, collectives and brands on the legal and commercial aspects of NIL deals and sponsorships. From college athletes to pros, I help clients navigate this fast-evolving space with a focus on protecting reputation and maximizing long-term value. Services include:
NIL representation for athletes and brands
Endorsement, licensing, and media rights agreements
School and league compliance considerations
Long-term personal brand development
FRACTIONAL GENERAL COUNSEL
As a truly Fractional GC, I embed as a strategic legal partner to my clients—advising on day-to-day legal needs, deal flow, risk management, and business strategy. Ideal for companies who need high-level legal insight without the overhead of a full-time in-house lawyer. Services include:
Ongoing legal counsel to founders, CEOs, and executive teams
Risk mitigation, contract management, and operations support
Conflict resolution and negotiation strategy
Team training and procurement consulting
Development of scalable legal solutions
Issue spotting, seeing around corners and being a trusted advisor in your boardroom
Proudly Trusted By
highlights
The legal hype-woman your vision deserves.
Over the course of my career, I’ve partnered with some of the most dynamic players in the brand partnerships, media & entertainment, creator economy, digital, and creative services industries. Here are a few examples of the high impact work I’ve led:
General Counsel & Strategic Advisor to Top-Tier Influencer Marketing Agency
Served as lead counsel and subject matter expert to the agency’s executive team, overseeing all legal and business affairs across talent, brand partnerships, creative services, and operations.
Architected Full Suite of Agency Contracts for Leading Influencer & Event Marketing Firm
Developed and managed a custom library of 15+ service agreements covering paid influencer activations, product seeding and showroom, event support & guest-listing, product licensing, talent and celebrity appearances, and content creation —built to scale and tailored for deal speed.
Led $10M Global Campaign with A-List Celebrities and Athletes
Acted as sole lead counsel on a high-stakes international campaign for a world-renowned rum brand (part of the largest privately-held spirits company), successfully securing deals with 20+ A-list celebrities and professional athletes.
Closed Major Global Licensing Deal for Celebrity Consumer Brand
Negotiated a multimillion-dollar global licensing and manufacturing agreement for a celebrity dentist’s direct-to-consumer teeth whitening product.
Retained by Leading Talent Agency for Multi-Creator National Campaign
Brought in by a top talent agency as subject matter expert and lead counsel for the SC Johnson x Mrs. Meyer’s “Summer Camp” campaign, handling all contracts and negotiations with 15+ creators and their representatives.
Structured a Complex Production Insurance Offering
Designed and drafted a multi-layered insurance contract stack for a client’s bespoke production insurance offering, navigating a pass-through liability model involving multiple parties and intricate indemnity considerations.
Built End-to-End Contracts for Experiential Event Powerhouse
Created a complete legal framework—including MSAs, vendor agreements, NDAs, renewals, and talent services agreements—for a leading experiential production company known for producing immersive branded activations.
Advised Fintech Leader on Product Strategy & Risk
Provided comprehensive legal and regulatory guidance to a fast-scaling personal finance app and its consumer credit card product, addressing product counseling, disclosures, and compliance strategy.
Closed 450+ Talent Agreements at Premier Hollywood Talent Agency
As in-house counsel for a major Los Angeles agency, negotiated and executed over 450 deals across film, television, literary, music touring, digital content, IP licensing, branding, and endorsements.
Fractional General Counsel to Integrated Communications Firm
Currently serve as fractional GC to a leading corporate communications agency, advising its founder and CEO on business strategy, conflict resolution, risk, vendor management, and legal infrastructure—spanning influencer, event, and on-camera talent services.
KELLY KRESEN
Principal Attorney & Consultant, KayKres Counsel
Kelly Kresen is a seasoned attorney and strategic legal advisor with over a decade of experience counseling a broad variety of clients at the intersection of creator & talent services, media & entertainment, digital and advertising. As the founder and principal attorney of KayKres Counsel, Kelly serves as a trusted legal partner to creatives, founders, brands, agencies, and talent navigating today’s fast-evolving business and media landscape.
Kelly’s practice is rooted in deep subject matter expertise in brand partnerships, influencer and talent services, creative services, social and digital media, and emerging media platforms. She has been practicing in this space since its earliest days—structuring and closing influencer deals before they were even called that—and is recognized for her practical, business-minded counsel and her ability to drive deals to the finish line efficiently and effectively.
Over the course of her career, Kelly has reviewed, negotiated, and closed thousands of agreements totaling nearly $500 million in value.
Kelly brings her sharp judgment and nimble deal-making to the table as the go-to legal advisor for more than 40 dynamic and diverse clients. She is regularly tapped by talent agencies – emerging and elite – as a subject matter expert in high-profile, high-budget multi-influencer brand campaigns and initiatives. She also advises numerous founders and small businesses in the agency, PR and production services space, where she builds custom and common-sense legal frameworks from the ground up.
Known for her responsiveness, adaptability, and clarity, Kelly is a trusted extension of every client team. Whether she is negotiating a major celebrity endorsement, structuring an agency's template suite, or advising talent on long-term brand partnerships, Kelly brings an invaluable combination of legal depth, commercial perspective, and industry fluency.
In her spare time, Kelly love to travel, attend music festivals and play beach tennis, and prefers to be near an ocean whenever possible.
State Bar of California
Pepperdine Law
Penn State University
CONTACT
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