Some of the key areas in which we provide legal counsel to sports and entertainment clients are:

• Employment contracts and negotiations
• Endorsement deals
• Establishing and structuring business entities
• Event contracts and negotiations
• Intellectual property management
  • Copyright disputes
  • Fair use issues
  • Right of publicity matters
  • Trademark prosecution and enforcement
• Investments
  • Acquisition or sale of teams
• Providing counsel on Internet and new media ventures
• Purchasing, selling, and leasing of real estate

Representative Experience

Sports

• Represent a professional sports team with a variety of intellectual property matters, including trademark prosecution and management, trademark enforcement, copyright disputes, fair use issues, and right of publicity matters.
• Represent sporting venues, sport associations, sports leagues, and other sports-related entities with respect to trademark management, prosecution, and enforcement.
• Outside general counsel to a community foundation operating a PGA Tour tournament, including negotiations related to event with PGA Tour and with event sponsors.
• Serve as outside general corporate counsel for a professional sports hall of fame organization, including governance revisions and developments, nonprofit tax matters, employment, real estate, intellectual property, and the operation of a major league tournament.
• Represent sports equipment company in multiple sponsorship deals with a major sporting event and a variety of other legal matters.
• Represent professional gaming and entertainment company operating as one of the largest owners/operators of pro e-sports teams and most popular producers of gaming lifestyle content.
• Represents pro soccer team in expansion, franchise agreements, and a variety of other legal matters.
• Assisted with bond financing for a professional football stadium.
• Served as local counsel for the buyer of multiple hockey rinks in the New England area as well as the acquisition of the amateur hockey clubs that serve as tenants in such hockey rinks.
• Represented lenders in the purchase of private jets.
• Represented seller in sale of multiple ski resorts.
• Involved in negotiations to purchase European soccer teams.
• Represented winning bidder in purchase of a MLB team.
• Represented ownership group of a AA minor league baseball franchise in negotiations with the city and developer regarding the development of real estate adjacent to the sports stadium.
• Represented seller in the sale of minority ownership interest in a AAA minor league baseball franchise.
• Represented seller in the sale of a AA minor league baseball franchise.
• Represented ownership group in concessions/food & beverage services agreement for sports stadium.
• Represented sports apparel company with respect to contracts, buy-outs/buy-ins, and disputes.
• Assisted with the purchase of real estate, negotiation of contracts, pre-litigation disputes, and buy/sell matters related to the ownership of a notable dirt racetrack.
• Represented NASCAR Cup racing team with respect to buy-in and buy-out matters, disputes over sponsorship money, and contractual matters.
• Provided advice and guidance related to purchase and sale of an ownership interest in a professional tennis rating system organization.

Entertainment

• Manage global trademark portfolio for a variety of musicians, entertainers, performing groups, and a television producer.
• Negotiated a variety of entertainment contracts with major comedians and musical groups associated with key PGA Tour tournament.
• Represent newspapers and magazines, represented documentary filmmakers, podcasters, and bloggers in defamation litigation, pre-publication review, accessing information, and litigation over access to information.
• Represent newspapers in copyright matters.
• Represented a number of authors in negotiations with book publishers.
• Represented newscasters in employment agreements with television stations.
• Drafted right of publicity and liability waivers for entertainment venues.
• Handled the private placement syndication (financing) of several theatrical productions, including Broadway shows.
• Represented co-producer in multiple Broadway and off-Broadway theatrical production investments.
• Represented cartoon studio in a variety of pre-litigation trademark enforcement efforts for major cartoon and movie characters, including cease and desist letters, coordinating litigation efforts, and hiring investigators to investigate counterfeits.