LEE RUDNICKI is a senior entertainment and technology attorney with over 25 years of experience representing producers, studios, financiers, talent, and digital creators across film, television, music, animation, and emerging media. His practice spans every stage of the content lifecycle—from rights acquisition and financing through production, distribution, and monetization—delivering strategies that protect his clients’ interests while positioning their projects for success in a competitive global marketplace.
​
Lee has served as production counsel on more than thirty-five films and series, including the $25 million international feature Wonderwell starring Carrie Fisher, ARK: The Animated Series for Paramount+, and the Netflix anime series Trese. He has produced more than ten independent motion pictures worldwide, giving him a rare dual perspective as both legal counsel and producer. His transaction work includes equity financing, private placement memoranda (PPMs), co-productions, and distribution agreements, with successful negotiations involving partners and counterparties in Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, Spain, Austria, Ireland, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, China, Korea, Vietnam, and beyond.
​
As a recognized authority in the field, Lee is an attorney contributor to LexisNexis, drafting entertainment contracts and practice guides relied upon by attorneys nationwide. He has also served as Head of Business Affairs and outside counsel to global animation studios, negotiating IP acquisitions, co-production structures, and high-value licensing deals for international series and franchises. Earlier in his career, he worked as in-house counsel for DreamWorks Animation SKG and as Head of Legal Affairs at Eleven Arts, where he represented the company for more than a decade in film finance, international distribution, and sales at major markets including Cannes.
​
Lee began his legal career as an entertainment litigator with the firms Idell, Berman & Seitel and Jacobs & Ferraro, where he represented major clients including Bill Graham Presents, Clear Channel, and the San Francisco Symphony. This early courtroom experience sharpened his ability to anticipate disputes and structure contracts that prevent them, giving his clients stronger long-term protection. In addition to his law practice, Lee has taught Entertainment Transactions at the University of West Los Angeles School of Law since 2012, preparing future lawyers for the realities of global dealmaking in film, television, and digital media. He is the author of How to Pass the California Bar Exam, How to Pass the New York Bar Exam, and the upcoming The Lawyer’s Journey, and he lectures on international production, financing structures, and the role of artificial intelligence in legal practice.
​