Rake was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Encino, Los Angeles. He attended Harvard-Westlake School and graduated from Columbia University in 1990. He was the president of Columbia College Student Council during his senior year. At Columbia, he was also a classmate of television producer Gina Fattore and Academy Award-winning film producer Dede Gardner.
He received a J.D. degree from UC Berkeley School of Law, where he was a finalist in the James Patterson McBaine Honors Moot Court Competition and an executive editor of the California Law Review.
After graduating from law school, Rake clerked for two federal judges[which?] and joined one of L.A.'s top law firms[which?]. During his tenure as a lawyer, he took a leave of absence and wrote the musical Hound Dog: A hip hOpera, an alternative history of Elvis Presley starring Wayne Brady. The play premiered in 1996 in Los Angeles.

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