Raphaël Dela Cola

Raphaël Dela Cola is a New York and California lawyer and trusted advisor to businesses in the creative industries. Drawing on experience across contentious and advisory work, Raphaël helps clients anticipate risk, structure transactions intelligently, and resolve disputes in a way that protects both their position and their reputation.

A particular focus of Raphaël’s practice is film finance and the broader screen sector. He advises producers, financiers, talent, and production companies on the legal and commercial aspects of development, financing, production, and exploitation. Raphaël understands both the creative and financial pressures of creative projects and works to align the legal framework with the realities of production and investor expectations.

Raphaël’s wider practice covers the full lifecycle of a creative business: strategic structuring and governance, contracts, investment and M&A, regulatory and compliance questions, as well as the negotiation and resolution of complex disputes. Whatever the context, the focus is on clear, practical advice that decision-makers can act on.

Outside of his legal practice, Raphaël is an active musician and woodworker. He plays in numerous bands spanning Latin fusion to contemporary music and brings the same hands-on creativity to building and refining sound. Raphaël is also the founder of Bonardo System, an innovative quadriphonic system designed to deliver a new kind of performance and studio playback experience for musicians.