Lee Rudnicki, Esq. - Professional Biography
Last updated May 14, 2025
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 use of AI and emerging technologies to streamline dealmaking, improve legal workflows, and enhance client outcomes. His expertise includes production legal, 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 at the intersection of creativity, commerce, and technology. Fluent in Italian and globally connected, he navigates complex deals, safeguards rights, and delivers high-value content to global audiences, managing risk while maximizing value.
Lee also serves as a contributing expert for LexisNexis, the premier authority in legal research and publishing, developing entertainment contract templates and practice guides used by attorneys nationwide. He is also outside counsel to Lex + Otis Studios, a boutique animation studio where he previously served as Executive Vice President of Business Affairs. In that executive role, Lee drove legal strategy, IP acquisitions, and production legal on global franchise projects, including ARK(Paramount+) and Trese (Netflix). He continues to advise on legal and business strategy as the studio builds its next generation of global content. Lee leads cross-border strategy as a board member of the Roma Hollywood Cinema Club, an international venture dedicated to producing feature films in Italy and bridging Hollywood and Europe through finance and production partnerships.
From 2010 to 2018, Lee served as General Counsel of Strange Quark Films, overseeing the legal execution of the $25 million feature film Wonderwell starring Carrie Fisher and the television pilot Rome14. Based in Rome, Lee navigated the production through complex cross-border logistics, tax incentives, and international financing, taking the project from development to delivery. His leadership led to expanded production authority, allowing him to step into the role of Producer.
From 2004 to 2010, Lee served as General Counsel of Eleven Arts, where he led the expansion of the company’s global footprint through international co-productions such as Haunted Highway (dir. Junichi Suzuki) and The Harimaya Bridge (exec. prod. Danny Glover). He led high-stakes negotiations with Japanese studios, structured multi-jurisdictional financing deals, and managed worldwide rights, delivery, and distribution. Representing the company at top global markets, including Cannes and AFM, Lee positioned Eleven Arts as a competitive player in the international film sales and production space.
Lee began his legal career in Silicon Valley as Corporate Counsel at Vividence, a fully financed technology startup, 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 both legal and operational firepower. He then transitioned to high-stakes entertainment litigation in San Francisco, representing major industry players including Clear Channel, Bill Graham Presents, and the San Francisco Symphony while practicing with Idell, Berman & Seitel and Jacobs & Ferraro. This combined experience in technology transactions and entertainment litigation gives Lee a tactical advantage in structuring agreements that protect clients long after they’re signed. In 2004, Lee 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. Since 2012, he has served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of West Los Angeles School of Law, where he bridges legal theory with real-world industry practice. Through his teaching, he prepares future lawyers with the legal expertise, commercial awareness, and professional discipline required for long-term success in a highly competitive field. Lee is also the author of How to Pass the California Bar Exam, How to Pass the New York Bar Exam, and the forthcoming The Lawyer’s Journey, a professional development guide for legal practitioners at every stage of their careers.
EDUCATION
Lee holds a J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law and a B.A. in Music Performance from San Jose State University. He completed specialized screenwriting training at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television, one of the world’s leading centers for entertainment education. Lee also pursued advanced studies in international business and law at Trinity College Dublin and Charles University in Prague, further strengthening his global expertise in both law and business.
CREATIVE AND PRODUCTION LEADERSHIP
Lee’s creative career began in music, where he built a world-class reputation as a DCI World Champion rudimental drummer and Percussion Director of the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum & Bugle Corps, one of the world’s most celebrated performing arts organizations. Under his leadership, the Vanguard won a DCI World Championship and three High Percussion awards, earning Lee recognition as one of the leading authorities in the field. His original compositions and arrangements have been performed by championship drumlines across North America and Japan, supported by ten national tours and endorsements from industry leaders including Zildjian Cymbals and Pearl Drums. From 1999 to 2009, he also served as President of the Board and Executive Producer of the San Francisco Renegades, one of the world’s top all-age drum and bugle corps.
Lee’s success in music naturally expanded into film, where he went on to lead the production of more than a dozen independent feature films, including the $25 million international production Wonderwell (starring Carrie Fisher and Rita Ora). Building on his creative foundation, he studied screenwriting at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television, one of the world’s leading centers for entertainment education. As a writer and director, he created the short film Fleur, demonstrating his creative vision behind the camera.
