ESA Confirms Departure Of General Counsel

The Entertainment Software Association confirmed to Gamasutra on Friday that SVP and general counsel Kenneth Doroshow has left the trade group. His departure comes after he worked with the ESA and the video game industry to battle a California video game law that aims to place government control over the sale of violent video games. The high-profile case went before the U.S. Supreme Court in November last year. "We can confirm that Ken has left the ESA," a spokesperson for the organization said in an email. "He will be greatly missed, but we are thankful for his work in the industry’s case before the U.S. Supreme Court along with his other accomplishments here." "He's a remarkable advocate with an outstanding legal mind. We wish him every best and look forward to announcing his replacement in the near future," the rep added. The Cornell alumnus is now with Burford Group, the investment adviser to Burford Capital, a commercial dispute financier. He will serve as a managing director and will be based in Washington, D.C. Doroshow, who also served as a lawyer for the Recording Industry Association of America, appeared pleased last year with the ESA's and game industry's arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court. If the court upholds the California game law, it could have major implications across all forms of media in terms of government regulation of violent content. "It was gratifying to hear all the themes that we expressed in our papers to be echoed by the justices during the day," Doroshow said just following the hearings in November. But he added, "there's still no way to know for sure how this will come out." The ruling is expected to arrive by the end of June this year.