A Rhodes Scholar with a Ph.D. from the University of Oxford and a J.D. from Harvard Law School, the impressively credentialed Elliott Portnoy is a new entrant into the Amusement Expo Hall of Fame.
Portnoy is the founding CEO of Dentons, where he led the creation of the world’s largest law firm, combining more than 60 firms across 82 countries with over 20,000 professionals.
AAMA was his first client when he began practicing law in the early 1990s. “His efforts spanned legislative advocacy on Capitol Hill, political engagement at the federal and state level, and precedent-setting litigation,” explained AAMA’s Executive VP Pete Gustafson.
“The most significant of these battles was American Amusement Machine Association v. Kendrick, in which the Seventh Circuit – in a landmark opinion – struck down a City of Indianapolis ordinance restricting minors’ access to what they alleged were violent video games on First Amendment grounds.”
That was the first federal appeals court decision to invalidate such a law, and its principles were ultimately affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court a decade later.
In 1987, Portnoy founded Kids Enjoy Exercise Now (KEEN), a nonprofit providing free, one-on-one recreational programs for children with disabilities. Over the past two decades, the American Amusement Machine Charitable Foundation has become one of KEEN’s most dedicated supporters.
“The partnership between AAMA, AAMCF and KEEN reflects the best of this industry, one that not only champions the power of play in its products but extends that spirit to the children and families who need it most.”