PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Lee Rudnicki is a senior entertainment and technology attorney with over two decades of experience in international co-productions, studio films, and global streaming series. He provides leadership from development to delivery, combining legal expertise with advanced applications of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies to streamline dealmaking, improve legal workflows, and enhance client outcomes. His expertise includes production legal services, IP strategy, cross-border financing, tax incentives, licensing, and talent negotiations. With hands-on production credits on major international projects, Lee serves as a go-to advisor for clients around the world at the intersection of creativity, commerce, and technology. Fluent in Italian and globally connected, he navigates complex deals, safeguards rights, and delivers high-value productions to global audiences while managing risk and maximizing value. Lee also serves as a contributing expert for LexisNexis, the premier authority in legal research and publishing, where he drafts entertainment and technology contracts, practice notes, and other resources used by law firms nationwide.
From 2019 through 2024, Lee served as Executive Vice President of Business Affairs for Lex and Otis Studios. In that executive role, he led legal strategy, IP acquisitions, and production legal affairs for global animation projects, including ARK (Paramount+) and Trese (Netflix). From 2010 to 2018, Lee served as General Counsel of Strange Quark Films and produced Wonderwell, a feature film starring Carrie Fisher that was filmed entirely in Italy. Based in Rome for nearly a year, Lee navigated the production through complex cross-border logistics, tax incentives, and international financing, taking the project from development to delivery.
From 2004 to 2010, Lee served as General Counsel of the Japanese-American production and sales company Eleven Arts, where he led the expansion of the company’s global footprint through international co-productions, including Lionsgate’s Haunted Highway, directed by Junichi Suzuki, and The Harimaya Bridge, filmed in the United States and Japan, directed by Aaron Woolfolk, and executive produced by Danny Glover. Lee led high-stakes negotiations with Japanese studios, structured multi-jurisdictional financing deals, and managed worldwide rights, delivery, and distribution. Representing the company at leading international film markets, including Cannes and AFM, Lee positioned Eleven Arts as a competitive player in the international film sales and production space. After graduating from the University of San Francisco School of Law, Lee began his legal career in Silicon Valley as Corporate Counsel at Vividence.com, where he led technology licensing negotiations and redesigned the company's sales contracting process to support rapid growth. His work helped position the company for a successful acquisition, establishing his reputation as a deal-closer with legal and operational expertise. Lee then transitioned to high-stakes entertainment litigation in San Francisco, representing major industry clients, including Clear Channel, Bill Graham Presents, and the San Francisco Symphony, while practicing with Idell, Berman & Seitel and Jacobs & Ferraro. This combination of technology transactions and entertainment litigation gave Lee a unique strategic perspective when he relocated to Los Angeles to expand his practice into film, television, and global content production.
LAW PROFESSOR
Committed to paying it forward, Lee is a recognized leader in legal education, dedicated to training and mentoring the next generation of entertainment attorneys. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law and the University of West Los Angeles School of Law, and serves as a panel attorney for California Lawyers for the Arts. Through his teaching, Lee prepares future lawyers with the legal expertise, commercial awareness, and professional discipline required for long-term success. He is also the author of How to Pass the California Bar Exam, How to Pass the New York Bar Exam, and the forthcoming System 7, a professional guide to entertainment transactions.
EDUCATION
Lee holds a J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law, a B.A. in Music Performance from San Jose State University, a screenwriting certificate from UCLA, and has completed advanced studies in international law and business at Trinity College Dublin and Charles University in Prague.
WORLD CLASS DRUMMER
Lee’s career began as a rudimental drummer and then Percussion Director of the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum & Bugle Corps, one of the world’s premier performing arts organizations. Under his leadership, the Vanguard won the DCI World Championship and three High Percussion Awards. His original compositions and arrangements have been performed by championship drumlines across North America and Japan. His career included ten national tours and endorsements from industry leaders, including Pearl Drums and Zildjian Cymbals. From 1999 to 2009, he also served as President of the Board and Executive Producer of the San Francisco Renegades, then one of the world’s top all-age drum and bugle corps.
WRITER/DIRECTOR
