Richard Warren Rappaport - Star!: Finding Artistic and Commercial Success in the New Entertainment Industry

Richard Warren Rappaport is an attorney licensed in Florida, New York, and Washington, DC, with offices in Boca Raton and Miami. He practices in entertainment, arts and sports law domestically and internationally, including motion pictures, television, music, theater, the classical arts, the literary arts, the fine arts, sports, fashion, media, intellectual property, and the Internet. He also practices in media law, communications law, corporate law, and international law and trade,

He is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center (LLM), the University of Miami School of Law (JD) and Boston University School of Management (BSBA). He is on the Governing Board of the American Bar Association (ABA) Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries, and is a co-chair for the forums annual conferences, From New York to Hollywood to South Beach: The International Legal Symposium on the World of Music, Film, Television and Sports.

Mr. Rappaport is a former partner at Yoss LLP (2001-11), a past chair of the Florida Bar Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Section, a former member of its Executive Council, and a past co-chair of its annual Legal Symposium on the World of Music, Film and Television. He is a member of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (The Daytime Emmy Awards), The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (The Primetime Emmy Awards), and The Recording Academy (The Grammy Awards). He is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell and has been named many times in Super Lawyers magazine, Florida edition, within the field of Entertainment and Sports.

Mr. Rappaport began his career as an attorney in the Cable Television Bureau at The Federal Communications Commission, and also worked as an investigative attorney at the United States International Trade Commission, both in Washington, DC. He then entered private practice in Washington, DC, and later opened offices in New York City, Miami, and Boca Raton.

He has lectured extensively on entertainment law and has authored or co-authored various published articles in that field, including Inside Hollywood: The Reel Path to Success in the Motion Picture Industry, Entertainment and Media Law Contract Strategies , Aspatore Books, Boston, reprinted in the ABAs Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries Newsletter.

Mr. Rappaport has spent his life in professional music, and is a BMI-affiliated recording artist, writer, and publisher. His music has been in film, and on television and radio. He has also performed live on television, radio and on stage, and at numerous events in support of the arts, including the Broward Center for the Performing Arts and the Steinway/BMI Music and Arts Showcase.

His soulful composition, Louisiana Way, was in the soundtrack of the CBS Television Movie of the Week, The Madams Family: The Truth About the Canal Street Brothel , and was placed in consideration for an Emmy nomination for soundtrack source music. His tropical ballad, Sail Into The Sun, charted into the Top 20 on the Friday Morning Quarterback (FMQB) national adult contemporary charts. And his pop classic, Great Rock N Roll , which first received airplay in Philadelphia, became the theme song for the television show Hello Hollywood, broadcast on WHDT, West Palm Beach, Florida, now on iStudioi.com .

He has produced in film and television and has been an on-air personality, hosting American Law, a series of television vignettes on the law, which aired in New York City and Miami. He also co-produced and co-hosted Hello Hollywood on television.

Mr. Rappaport made his film debut behind the camera in the documentary motion picture and docu-concert, Concert, which he directed and also co-produced with Robert Berkowitz and executive producer Ren Katz. The film was borne out of his live acoustic solo concert and benefit performance in Miami. The goal of the producers was to provide an introspective and reflective story of the genesis of original music, its importance to the creative process and the significance of the message to be delivered. Through the musical performances and interviews in Concert, art and creativity merge in a portrait of the inspiration that lives within music, the stories behind the songs and the songs behind the stories.

Concert premiered at the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival at the historic Cinema Paradiso. It also screened at the prestigious Women in Film Independent Film Series in Los Angeles, the ABAs International Legal Symposium on the World of Music, Film, Television and Sports in Miami, Beach, and The Boca Raton Museum of Art. Concert had its world premiere as the official opening night film at the acclaimed DocMiami International Film Festival.

Mr. Rappaport is active in civic, community and charitable organizations in South Florida, New York, and Los Angeles. He believes in the importance of ongoing discussions on topics and issues facing the entertainment industry today, and supports the film, television, and music industries and the emerging and established creative talent within it.

STAR: Finding Artistic and Commercial Success in the New Entertainment Industry is his first book.

The individuals below provided professional expertise and fascinating insights so that I may share some of their thoughts and comments with you. They are listed in alphabetical order.