At Ziliak Law we pride ourselves on our roots in the financial services industry and our tenancy within the Chicago Board of Trade. At the same time, since the inception of the firm in May 2013, we’ve branched out to service other industries, including music, film, theatre, and other media-related practice areas. At the core of our involvement in the entertainment law space is our presence at 2112, a Chicagoland creative industries incubator.
Back in March 2015, Forbes ran a great article on the blueprint for 2112. When the incubator opened its doors in July of the same year, Ziliak Law was one of its inaugural tenants. Last week ChicagoInno profiled all of the current members at 2112. Skimming down the list of companies, it’s great to reflect on the significant progress that’s occurred at the incubator in half a year. Some of the current members are clients of ours, and that’s in large part due to our presence there.
Perhaps the most exciting development for us at 2112, however, has been the integration of Ziliak Law and Zlatkin Law – a direct byproduct of the firms’ coexistence at 2112. As the name might imply, Zlatkin Law was my former practice, and I joined 2112 at the beginning of December 2015. By the middle of the month, we had already finalized our plan to combine forces.
The move was spurred by our simultaneous participation in the same legal spheres, as well as a slew of other synergies. While the two firms had been familiar with each other for over half a year, the situation almost certainly would have remained unchanged (and who knows for how long‽) if not for both firms’ involvement in the 2112 ecosystem. It’ll be interesting to observe what kind of mergers, acquisitions, and other developments occur at 2112 in 2016.
Article by Ilya Zlatkin