THE US ambassador to Australia, who reprimanded Australians for pirating Game of Thrones, was a partner at the Hollywood law firm which counts Time Warner, the parent company of the popular fantasy TV series, as a regular client.

Jeff Bleich, who said on Facebook that he found it "troubling" Australia was a world leader in illegal downloads, spent 14 years at the law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson.

He was often named in the press as one of America's top attorneys and had "intellectual property" law listed as one of his specialties in an archived staff profile.

Mr Bleich told news.com.au there was no conflict of interest, adding that he cut all ties to the firm when he was appointed ambassador in November 2009.

"I have no connection with MTO anymore, and no economic interests in entertainment companies," he said.

Time Warner and its subsidiary companies, including Warner Bros and the fantasy series' producer HBO, have a longstanding relationship with the high-powered Los Angeles law firm - before, during and after Mr Bleich's employment.

Mr Bleich, often described as a close friend of US President Barack Obama, said he was previously unaware that Time Warner and Warner Bros were the parent company of Game of Thrones' producer and distributor HBO.

"I chose Game of Thrones as an example in my Facebook posts because it is popular and easily recognised, and because Australia tops the chart of countries pirating the show on a per capita basis," he said.

Munger, Tolles & Olson has racked up significant legal wins for Time Warner over the past five years. In 2011 it represented Warner Bros in its dispute with Charlie Sheen over his termination from Two and a Half Men.

In that same year, representing a conglomerate of record companies including Warner Bros and Sony Music, the firm helped bring about a $105 million settlement with the owners of file sharing service LimeWire.

While Mr Bleich was with the firm in 2009 the firm represented Time Warner in trying to fend off a lawsuit from Lord of The Rings founder J.R.R. Tolkein's heirs who were trying to obtain some of the profits from the series.

Californian court records obtained by news.com.au show Mr Bleich served as an attorney for major film distributor Village Roadshow at court while he was with the firm.

The ambassador's comments about illegally downloading the fantasy series – available for legal download online - sparked a fierce backlash, and Mr Bleich admitted he had "hit a nerve".

He took to Facebook again last week to address criticisms, including the question: "Don't ambassadors have anything better to do?"

"Several people wondered why a US ambassador would bother to complain about the pirating of Game of Thrones when there are so many bigger issues," he said.

"Actually, given the overwhelming response to the topic, maybe I haven't talked about internet piracy enough."

The premiere of the third season of Game of Thrones, released in March, was illegally downloaded more than one million times.

Twitter: @drpiotrowski @newscomauHQ