US media law firm SmithDehn LLP is to open an office in Derry, Northern Ireland, where it will look to expand its involvement in film and TV.

The US company, which has clients include Twentieth Century Fox, HBO, Channel 4 and ITV has partnered with production outfit Social Construct Films to form Social Construct Media, with the ambition to branch into TV development, financing, production and sales.

At a Derry launch event this week, the company unveiled plans for a film project which it described as a “positive, uplifting, scripted drama about Northern Ireland”.

Social Construct Media’s creative director and Founder Zak Kilberg said the company has three feature films and three television series in development for production in the UK.

SmithDehn partner and Social Construct Media chief executive Russell Smith said: “This is a natural progression for our law firm, as we’ve developed both expertise and extensive contacts in the business, from Los Angeles to the UK and Ireland. Our tie-up with Social Construct Media is a match made in heaven, allowing us to merge those strengths with the proven talents of our new film and television collaborators.”

SmithDehn has previously worked on TV shows including Da Ali G Show and Borat, and features such as Searching for Sugar Man and The Imposter.

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