Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP houses a group of lawyers capable of advising on a broad spectrum of sports mandates, ranging from team acquisitions to antitrust and employment disputes. The group is led by Jeffrey Moorad in Orange County, alongside a leadership team consisting of Andrew White in Boston, Andrew Rocks in Philadelphia, Dana Gross in Washington DC, and New York–based Austin Lilling. Boston-based attorneys David McManus and Jonathan Bernstein are well versed in the intricacies of labor and employment disputes and debt and structured financings, respectively. In Los Angeles, Nicole Buffalano has an established practice focusing on employee activism and union organizing, while Alison Gargano, who operates out of New York, regularly handles private equity investments in sport.
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘They have expertise in both M&A, strategic investments, and commercial transactions, which is fairly unique in the sports industry. Their key capabilities are representing buyers, sellers, teams and investors as well as sponsors of teams in key sponsorship agreement transactions.’
‘Andrew White and Doneld Shelkey are very commercial attorneys and good people. I genuinely enjoy interacting with them on transactions and have found collaborating with them to be a productive experience for all clients involved.’
Key clients
- US Soccer
- Huntington Bank
- X Games
- Boston Legacy
- Unrivaled (FKA Sandlot Youth Sports Holdings, LLC)
- Bolt Ventures I LLC
- Avenue Capital
- YardRink LLC
- MSP Sports Capital
Work highlights
Represented a family investment group and major equity holder in the acquisition of a majority control position in the 18-time NBA Champion Boston Celtics by an investor group led by William Chisholm of STG Partners, LLC.
Represented Bolt Ventures and a consortium of others in selling a controlling interest in RSL Football Holdings (RSL) to Utah-based Miller Sports + Entertainment (MSE) for $600 million.
Represented the National Women’s Soccer League’s Boston Legacy FC and its affiliates in the securing of $100 million in financing to fund the development and construction of the White Stadium project.
Practice head
Jeffrey Moorad; Andrew White; Andrew Rocks; Dana Gross; Austin Lilling
Other key lawyers
David McManus; Jonathan Bernstein; Doneld Shelkey; Nicole Buffalano; Allison Gargano