Staff Bios

William E. Rattner, Executive Director

William Rattner has been the Executive Director of Lawyers for the Creative Arts since May 2000. Mr. Rattner graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Law School. He practiced law in Chicago for over 37 years, most recently as a senior partner at Hopkins & Sutter. Specializing in business and litigation, Mr. Rattner practiced in state and federal courts throughout the country. He is also a certified mediator and arbitrator. He has served as an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern University School of Law; Columbia College Chicago; Illinois Institute of Technology Graduate Studies Program; and the Graham School of Continuing Studies at the University of Chicago.

Mr. Rattner has served as Chairman of the City of Evanston Board of Ethics; as President of the Chicago Chapter, and a National Director of the American Jewish Committee; and as a Trustee of the Evanston Arts Center. Mr. Rattner is a member of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs’ Arts Management Service Network and City Arts Grants Review Panel, the Legislative Committee of the Illinois Arts Alliance, Advisory Board of the Chicago Music Commission and is a frequent speaker and lecturer on the legal aspects of arts and entertainment and nonprofit corporations.

 

Marci A. Rolnik, Legal Director

Marci Rolnik joined Lawyers for the Creative Arts in 2004. She has advised clients in all areas of art and entertainment and specializes in intellectual property rights protection for motion pictures. She is a former Chairman of the Chicago Bar Association's Media and Entertainment Committee and currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts Division of the ABA Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries. Ms. Rolnik serves on the Board of Directors of Independent Features Project (IFP/ Chicago) and is an adjunct professor in the Film & Video Department at Columbia College where she teaches Legal and Business Affairs and Harper College where she teaches Intellectual Property.

Ms. Rolnik is a frequent speaker in the areas of copyright, rights acquisition and transfer, contracts, incorporation, and business planning for the literary, visual, and performing arts. Ms. Rolnik graduated from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, and Loyola University School of Law in Chicago. She is licensed to practice law in the state of Illinois and in the United States District Courts for the Northern District of Illinois.