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Richard Warren Rappaport is an attorney and principal in the law firm of Richard Warren Rappaport, Esquire, and is licensed to practice in Florida, New York and Washington, DC, with offices in Boca Raton and Miami Beach.
Mr. Rappaport practices in Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law, Media Law, Communications Law, Intellectual Property Law, Corporate Law and International Law and Trade, and advises clients in all aspects of the expanding world of entertainment, arts and sports law, domestically and internationally.
Mr. Rappaport’s book, “STAR! Finding Artistic and Commercial Success in the New Entertainment Industry,” is published by ABA Publishing, Chicago.
STAR! is about the world of entertainment for artists, artists’ attorneys, and industry professionals. It discusses the genesis of artistic creativity, the business of the entertainment industry, assembling a team, charting a career, professional introductions to the industry, artistic entrepreneurship, the development deal and success within the industry, including artistic leadership, the power of celebrity, education and mentoring, and charitable and civic involvement.
Mr. Rappaport represents the legal and business affairs of clients involved in the world of entertainment, including: Motion picture development, production, financing and distribution; Television broadcast programming development, production, financing and distribution, for first-run programming as well as syndication; Cable television and premium television programming development and production, and; Direct broadcast satellite television programming and development.
He also counsels producers, agents and managers in film, television, theater, music, the fine arts and the literary arts, and represents producers and directors in film and television, as well as producers and artists in music, including the genres of rock, pop, Latin, urban, country, standard, world, jazz, classical, classical crossover and operatic music.
Mr. Rappaport advises on the domestic and international career development of actors, actresses and artists in motion pictures, television, theater, music and the arts. He also advises screenwriters on the preparation of their scripts and pilots for film and television domestically and internationally.
Mr. Rappaport advises on content relating to motion pictures, television and music specifically designed for the Internet, and advises on career development of prominent novelists in the literary arts, and development and presentation of the work of visual artists in the fine arts nationally and internationally, including painting and master photography.
Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law
Mr. Rappaport is a Martindale Hubbell AV Preminent rated attorney and has been named in the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 Florida editions of “Super Lawyers” Magazine within the category of “Entertainment and Sports Law.” Mr. Rappaport has also been named in a past edition as one of Florida Trend Magazine’s Florida “Legal Elite”.
Mr. Rappaport is a former partner of Adorno & Yoss LLP and created and co-chaired the Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Practice Group at that firm.
Mr. Rappaport is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation (ABF), the honorary society of lawyers and jurists expanding knowledge and advancing justice and supporting empirical interdisciplinary research in law and social science.
Mr. Rappaport is a Presidential Appointee to the Board of Directors of the University of Miami Law Alumni Association.
Mr. Rappaport is a member of the Governing Board and Executive Committee of the American Bar Association Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries. He is also a co-chair of the American Bar Association’s annual International Legal Symposium on the World of Music, Film, Television and Sports, 2010-2017, presented by the American Bar Association Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries and the University of Miami School of Law Entertainment and Sports Law Society, Coral Gables, Florida.
Mr. Rappaport is an Honorary Member of the Golden Key International Honour Society, Miami Dade College Chapter, 2013.
Mr. Rappaport is a past member of the Legal Committee for the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), New York.
Mr. Rappaport is a past chair of The Florida Bar Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section (EASL), a past member of its Executive Council and a past co-chair of its annual Legal Symposium on the World of Music, Film and Television (1999-2009).
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Photo By: Lynn Parks |
Mr. Rappaport is a former member of the Board of Directors of The Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF) and also co-chaired the festival’s “FLIFF Uncorked” Gala in 2006.
Mr. Rappaport was a member of The Special Events Committee as part of the South Florida Super Bowl XLI Host Committee, and assisted the committee in preparations for the special events as part of the 2007 Super Bowl in Miami.
Mr. Rappaport is a producer and executive producer in music and television and is President and CEO of Rappaport Arts & Entertainment, Inc., and its divisions, A Top New York Label, and Rappaport Bros. Publishing (BMI).
Mr. Rappaport is the co-producer and host of “American Law,” a television vignette series on the law. “American Law” has been seen on the CBS Television Network stations WFOR-TV (CBS, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale and The Palm Beaches) and WCBS-TV (CBS, New York City) and has been nationally syndicated by The Television Syndication Company, Inc.
Mr. Rappaport also created and co-hosted the Steinway/BMI Music & Arts Showcase in Coral Gables, Florida, in conjunction with Steinway & Sons and BMI. The showcase featured talented individuals in genres such as pop, rock, jazz, urban, classical and classical crossover music.
Mr. Rappaport also founded and chairs the Entertainment Alliance International, a forum for distinguished speakers and guests on topics dealing with the continued development of the entertainment industry and the arts throughout Florida, a culturally rich and diverse state.
Bar Memberships
Mr. Rappaport is licensed to practice law in Florida, New York and The District of Columbia and is a member of The Florida Bar, The New York State Bar Association, The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, The District of Columbia Bar and The American Bar Association.
Bar Section and Committee Memberships
Mr. Rappaport is a member of The American Bar Association Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries and the International Law Section. He is a past member of The Florida Bar Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section. Other past Bar section and committee memberships include the ABA Forum Committee on Communications Law, The District of Columbia Bar’s International Law Section and The Arts, Entertainment & Sports Law Section, as well as The New York State Bar Association’s Entertainment, Arts & Sports Law Section and The Committee on Media Law.
Mr. Rappaport has been a member of The Florida Bar International Law Section and was a past two-term chair of The Communications Law Committee, which he helped to create. Mr. Rappaport has also moderated or has been a panelist on various other entertainment industry seminars, including the American Law Institute-American Bar Association seminar titled “Communications Law: The New Regulatory and Technological Framework” in Washington, DC; Miami Today’s “Entertainment Roundtable” panel, Coral Gables, Florida; The MIDAS Awards and Symposium, West Palm Beach; The EASL annual “Legal Symposium on the World of Music, Film and Television”; and EASL’s “From Hollywood to Hollywood: EASL at the Emmys,” Beverly Hills.
Court Memberships
Mr. Rappaport is a member of The United States District Court for The Southern District of Florida, The United States District Court for the District of Columbia, The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and The Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Entertainment Industry Memberships in Motion Pictures, Television and Music
Mr. Rappaport is a member of The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (The Television Academy and The Primetime Emmy Awards), The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (The Recording Academy and The Grammy Awards), The Country Music Association (The CMA Awards), The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (The NATAS Suncoast Chapter and The Daytime Emmy Awards), The Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (The Latin Recording Academy and The Latin Grammy Awards) and Women in Film, Los Angeles.(The Crystal and Lucy Awards).
Mr. Rappaport has been a member of the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) and is an attendee at NATPE’s annual conventions. Mr. Rappaport has also been a member of the special Advisory Board for the Department of Asian Studies at Florida International University and was on the Host Committee for the MIDEM Latin America Music Market in Miami Beach. Additionally, he acted as a special advisor to former State Film Commissioner Rebecca Dirden Mattingly on financing for motion pictures in Florida, and is a past member of the State Advisory Board for The DeSantis Center for Motion Picture Industry Studies at Florida Atlantic University.
Academic Degrees
Mr. Rappaport was awarded his Master of Laws degree with an emphasis on International Law and Trade from Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC, as well as a Juris Doctor from The University of Miami School of Law, Coral Gables, Florida. Mr. Rappaport received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the School of Management at Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts.
Washington, DC, New York and Miami Law Practice
Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Rappaport was a Cable Television Bureau Staff Attorney at The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Washington, DC, where he advised on matters relating to cable television system compliance with FCC Rules and Regulations.
Mr. Rappaport also practiced law as an Investigative Attorney with The United States International Trade Commission (USITC). At the USITC, Mr. Rappaport was involved in the administrative aspects of international trade disputes, including litigation. Mr. Rappaport was also co-counsel on the case involving alleged unfair trade practices in the importation into the United States of certain color television sets from Japan.
Following his government work experience, Mr. Rappaport maintained a private practice in Washington, DC, and then later practiced in New York City and Miami.
Articles Published
Mr. Rappaport has written numerous articles in the fields of entertainment law and communications law.
Mr. Rappaport co-authored “Inside Hollywood: The Reel Path to Success in the Motion Picture Industry,” re-printed in the Fall 2010 Newsletter of The American Bar Association Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries, and first printed in the Winter 2008 edition of Entertainment and Media Law Contract Strategies (Aspatore Books, Boston). Mr. Rappaport co-wrote the article with Dr. Kenneth J. Atchity, CEO, Atchity Entertainment International, Inc., and Emily P. Graham, Esq., Law Offices of Emily P. Graham.
Mr. Rappaport was the Guest Editor for a special issue of The Florida Bar Journal titled “Launching into the Age of Telecommunications” (Vol. LVI, No. 3). He was also appointed the representative for The United States International Trade Commission as part of the Interagency Committee on International Telecommunications Trade, and assisted in the report titled “United States International Trade Telecommunications Equipment”, through the Executive Office of the President, Office of Telecommunications Policy, Washington, DC.
Mr. Rappaport also authored “Launching into the Telecommunications Age: The Dawn of the Electronic Era” (The Florida Bar Journal Vol. LVI, No. 3); “The Emergence of Subscription Cable Television and Its Role in Communications” (Federal Communications Law Journal, Vol. 29, No. 3); and “Satellite Communications, Cable Television Systems and the Advent of the International Communications Grid” (Communications Engineering Digest, Vol. 1, No. 3).
Mr. Rappaport also created and co-chaired the first seminar on Communications Law with the American Law Institute/American Bar Association and has lectured extensively in the field of entertainment law, speaking at the University of Miami School of Law, Florida Atlantic University’s DeSantis Center for Motion Picture Industry Studies, and The Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival.
Media Interviews
Mr. Rappaport has been interviewed by, or has been the subject of articles in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Washingtonian Magazine and The Miami Herald, Spanish Language Edition (El Nuevo Herald). Mr. Rappaport has appeared on television, most recently on “Hello Hollywood,” on WHDT Television, West Palm Beach, and has guest lectured on communications and entertainment at The University of Miami School of Law as well as at The College of Business Administration at Florida Atlantic University.
Charities and Community Service
Mr. Rappaport has been involved in support of numerous charities and civic organizations involved in the arts. He has supported The Multiple Sclerosis “Dinner of Champions”, Los Angeles; The Miami Museum of Science and its Music/Musica Exhibit; The South Florida Science Museum; The H.O.P.E. Program within the Public Interest Resource Center at the University of Miami School of Law; The American Cancer Society “California Spirit” Fundraiser, Los Angeles; “Leaders in Furthering Education” (“LIFE”), Palm Beach; The Lupus Foundation, Palm Beach; The Simon Weisenthal Center, Los Angeles; UJA/Federation of New York and its “Evening of Dreams” Fundraiser; The NARAS’ MusicCares Program, Los Angeles; Women in Film, Los Angeles and Malibu; “Songwriters in The Round”, Miami, (sponsored by Warner-Chappell Music, ASCAP and Desmond Child, Destin Entertainment); The Palm Beach International Film Festival; the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival; The Miami City Ballet; The Miami Chamber Symphony Orchestra; The Palm Beach Opera; The Florida Grand Opera, and; The New World Symphony. |
