ATLANTA (CelebrityAccess) — Joel Katz, a prominent Atlanta entertainment attorney who co-founded Greenberg Traurig LLP’s media and entertainment division, has died. He was 80.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Katz died after a battle with progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare, degenerative neurological disorder that affects movement, balance, vision, speech, and thinking.
With a career that spanned decades, Katz represented some of the biggest names in music, including artists such as James Brown, Alan Jackson, George Strait, and Lil Wayne, among others.
He was ranked Billboard magazine’s No. 1 entertainment attorney in its “Power 100” list of influential music executives and was presented with Recording Academy Trustee Award in 2024.
Katz was also known for his philanthropic work supporting cancer research, including serving as chairman of the board for the T.J. Martell Foundation for Leukemia, Cancer and AIDS Research.
At the University of Georgia campus at Kennesaw State University, his alma mater, Katz endowed and begun a commercial music program which grew to become one of the largest music education programs in America with over 500 students.
He was also an active participant at industry events, where he served as a panelist and guest speaker at events such as the The Recording Academy’s “Grammy in the Schools Program,” the Atlanta Downtown Partnership’s “Music Industry Symposium,” and the Entertainment and Sports Industry Forum of the ABA, among others.
Katz is survived by his wife, Rikki, as well as two daughters and grandchildren.
