Wendy Heimann

Wendy is co-founder and managing partner of Nolan Heimann and the force behind our reputation as the premiere law practice serving the location based, experiential, and immersive entertainment industry worldwide. Her entire 30 plus-year career has been solely dedicated to this unique vertical.

client roster includes:

• Intellectual Property Licensors & Licensees

• Developers

• Owners & Operators

• Specialized Industry Service Providers

• Technology Developers

• Designers & Storytellers

Wendy’s in-depth, front-line knowledge of the location-based, experiential, and immersive entertainment industries, coupled with an unusually far-reaching network,  gives her a unique “crow’s nest” view of this diverse and rapidly evolving business. Her counsel is grounded in that perspective: pragmatic, aggressively strategic, and forward-looking. As an attorney, entrepreneur, producer, and former business executive, Wendy approaches legal issues through the lens of business reality.

After a stint as a talent agent, it was in the Windy City where she began her legal career as an intellectual property transactional attorney with the international law firm Mayer Brown. As an attorney committed to Chicago’s theater community, including as an original board member of the renowned Lookingglass Theatre Company, Wendy was tapped by Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs, under the inventive Mayor Richard M. Daley, to helm the landmark Chicago Theatre as its Executive Director. In that role, she grew net revenues by 200% and developed a conviction that would shape the rest of her career: entertainment could do far more than entertain. It could create destinations, revitalize communities, and change the way people experience place. That conviction ultimately brought her to Los Angeles.

In Los Angeles and Orlando, Wendy served as an executive at Universal Studios, heading up Business and Legal Affairs for Universal Creative, the division responsible for the concept, design, and development of Universal’s domestic and international theme parks, resorts, and attractions.The role placed her inside the creative, commercial, operational, and legal complexities of bringing ambitious entertainment experiences to life. 
Wendy has been an active member and pro-bono counsel to the Themed Entertainment Association for more than two decades. She received the Peter Chernack Distinguished Service THEA Award in 2020, and has served on the TEA’s International Board of Directors since 2023. She is also a Council Member of the World Experience Organization (WXO).

In addition to her dedication to immersive entertainment, Wendy is a passionate drummer. Her LA-based band, Crinoline, plays throughout Southern California with an occasional jaunt to the Double Down Saloon in Vegas, the longest-running punk club in the US and most definitely her favorite venue. In addition to playing with Crinoline, Wendy joined The Durgas for their Summer 2024 European Tour and was subsequently invited to join the roster of official drummers for this activist indie rock band.And, lastly, with whatever time remains after husband and kids (ha ha), Wendy ventures into the ever-masochistic, but profoundly rewarding world of producing live entertainment. So, not only does she care deeply about her clients, she occasionally shares their pain as well.

Bar Admissions

• California

• Illinois

Education

• University of Chicago Law School, J.D.

• Northwestern University, B.S., Communications

• City of London Polytechnic, Television and Film