Latham & Watkins LLP handles strategic M&A investments, contentious work for sports governing bodies, and assists firms investing in professional sports leagues. A standout transactional mandate for the firm was its advice to Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital on the acquisition of Chelsea Football Club for £4.25bn. The firm has also increased its work for sport associations, and recently represented the NFL Players Association in a restructuring matter. Based in Los Angeles, ‘exceptional transactional lawyer‘ Adam Sullins is now the practice head, following the retirement of Joe Calabrese, and advises clients on the full range of sports law issues. Kendall Johnson in Los Angeles and Frank Saviano in New York are also key names to note in the team, and often operate at the intersection between sport and media/entertainment. New York-based Justin Hamill concentrates on high-value M&A and private equity deals.

Proskauer Rose LLP has a strong track record in sports law matters and is known for providing sector specific advice and working on high profile corporate and commercial matters in sport. Heading up the team is transactions expert Joseph Leccese, who is co-chair of the firm’s renowned sports group, and recently represented the sellers and related entities in the $4.65bn sale of the Denver Broncos to the Walton-Penner family. Elsewhere, fellow practice head Bradley Ruskin is a go-to practitioner for litigious issues and recently represents the MLS in various matters. An area of recent growth for the firm, in line with the wider market, is sports betting work, and Jason Krochak is a standout name in this area. Jon Oram is a key name to note when it comes to advising private equity firms on their first ventures into sports sector investment. All named practitioners are based in New York.

Among the clients advised by the team at Winston & Strawn LLP, which is praised for its ‘legal expertise, experience, professionalism, strategic thinking and diversity‘, are major players’ associations, sports franchises and leagues, professional athletes, financial services firms with sport-industry clients, and intellectual property licensees/licensors. Alongside established strength in litigation, the firm also advises clients on transactional issues through every phase of development and financing matters. The trio leading the team out of the firm’s New York office are prominent sports litigators Jeffrey Kessler, David Feher, and David Greenspan, with Kessler described as ‘an exceptional attorney with whom you feel like you are in the best possible hands‘. Jason Goldstein, also based in New York, is a key team member when it comes to transactions and is experienced in handling multi-use sports stadium and arena transactions. Associate Adam Dale, also in New York, is a key name to note for litigious matters.

The full-service group at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP has a strong record representing large professional sports teams and leagues, with practice group head Brad Karp, a seasoned trial lawyer, has been a longtime adviser to key clients such as the NFL. Claudia Hammerman also counts the NFL as a longstanding client and the group as a whole continues to represent the NFL in important matters such as a race discrimination putative class action. Other key lawyers include Lynn Bayard and Chris Boehning are also experienced litigators and trial lawyers. The group also offers a wide range of transactional and restructuring advice. A key recent matter for the group is for FIFA, for whom Boehning often acts as outside counsel. Other standout matters for the group include representing sports teams in significant litigation, licensing and other transactional matters. Lawyers mentioned are in New York.

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner HRO is commended for its ‘the breadth and depth of its resources in the sports business’, and its global network includes experts in sports litigation. The team’s industry specific litigation has been particularly noteworthy, with members recently representing NCAA athletics in lawsuits in relation to precedent-setting concussion legislation,e. Another area at the forefront of the practice is naming rights transactions, with the team recently assisting Acrisure with a 15-year naming rights deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team is led by Ryan Davis and Steve Smith out of St. Louis and Colorado Springs respectively.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP offers a multidisciplinary practice encompassing contentious and non-contentious issues for sports industry clients, with a strong capability in corporate and commercial agreements for sport sector clients. Directing the practice out of New York are Richard Birns, who co-chairs the firm’s private equity group and handles high profile transactions in the sports industry, and Maurice Suh, who acts for a diverse range of household-name clients, and is particularly active in litigious matters in the federal and state courts.

Loeb & Loeb LLP‘s ‘biggest strength is the experience of its partners’, with practice heads Arash Khalili in Los Angeles and Brian Socolow in Washington, DC/New York providing clients with extensive experience across litigation and transactional work. Socolow is especially well versed in the expanding sports technology and data industry, and Khalili has particular experience in unique corporate transactions, with the firm increasingly active on behalf of esports clients. A standout recent mandate for the team was representing the Chicago Bulls in its multiyear partnership with Chicago-based technology company Motorola Mobility, an example of the firm’s work for household-name sports teams, associations, and individuals. Chicago-based Douglas Masters is a key name when it comes to IP issues in the sports arena and has a strong relationship with National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Practitioners at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, who are described as ‘knowledgeable across the board‘, include Washington DC-based Andrew Tulumello, New York-based Yehudah Buchweitz and Eric Hochstadt. The trio run a group whose varied workload comprises litigation, contract negotiations, corporate transactions, restructurings, and financings, as well as litigation. Key clients for the team are major league athletes, and the group continues to represent Zion Williamson in the long-running dispute between the NBA star and his former agent. Other key clients are sports associations, who Tulumello regularly assists, and sports leagues, including recently representing the National Women’s Soccer League Players Association in a contentious matter.

Leading the practice at Arnold & Porter are Scott Lent in New York and Dan Cantor in Washington DC, the latter of whom specialises in high-profile complex intellectual property and royalty litigation issues impacting the finances of major sports leagues. Elsewhere, the team advises clients on such issues as IP, bankruptcy, environmental, tax, and licensing. Another key team member is Daniel Asimow, who has deep experience in sports litigation, and recently represented Oakland Raiders in an antitrust case.

‘Responsive, commercial‘ New York boutique Herrick, Feinstein LLP concentrates on a range of mandates, including corporate, real estate, tax, intellectual property, employment and litigation matters, primarily advising eagues, teams, owners, banks and investors. Leading the team are sports group co-chair Irwin Kishner, finance group co-chair Eric Stabler, corporate department chair Morris DeFeo, and Daniel Etna, who is influential in the team’s work concerning the financing, construction and development of arenas and stadiums.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP is particularly noted for its work on sports industry private investment deals; one such deal was assisting The Family Office of David Blitzer in its investment in the Cleveland Guardians and in other deals to add to his investment portfolio. A key team member, based in Orange County, is the chairman of the firm’s global sports industry initiative Jeffrey Moorad, whose role as a consultant and former sports agent enables the team to handle a wide range of mandates for key clients in the sports sector. Moorad leads the team alongside Andrew White in Boston and Andrew White in Philadelphia.

Thompson Hine LLP‘s Columbus-based team is well known for its provision of advice on the development, design and construction of professional sports facilities in the US and elsewhere in North America, notably advising on a number of arena projects of stadiums for teams in diverse national sports leagues. Construction expert Jeffrey Appelbaum heads up the team, and is well supported by an experienced transactional lawyer Patrick J. Sweeney, who regularly acts for sports owners in a range of construction projects and sports transactions.

Wilkinson Stekloff in Washington DC is a litigation boutique which represents by major sports leagues, including the NCAA and NFL in major antitrust matters, as well as repesenting a diverse range of other major professional sports leagues and associations in contentious proceedings. Leading the team are Beth Wilkinson, Brian Stekloff, Kosta Stojilkovic, Rakesh Kilaru, and James Rosenthal, with Kilaru and Stekloff being key members in a litigation matter for the NFL.