There aren’t many opportunities for sports law practitioners to connect as a group and tap into some of the latest insights on issues of the day.
In fact, there is only one – the Sports Lawyers Association Annual Conference.
This year’s conference will be held May 10-12, 2012 at the Hilton Bayfront in San Diego.
The conference program kicks off on the 10th with an overview of sports law developments for the year, starting at 12:30 and lasting until 2 p.m. This year’s overview will be given by Gabe Feldman, Associate Professor of Law, Tulane Law School and Director of the Tulane Sports Law Program. Feldman will have a tough act to follow as a replacement for Gary Roberts, Dean of the Indiana School of Law and a long-time fixture at the dais for the annual overview.
Other talks to follow on the opening day include:
• College Conferences and Their Own Networks: Will College Sports Be Changed Forever?
• Counseling Your Client in a Crisis Situation
• Collective Bargaining: Winners and Losers
Thursday’s sessions kicks off with a talk about “Ethics for Sports Lawyers, The Lawyer’s Dilemma: Ethics vs. Reality.” That session will be followed by:
• Title IX: 40 Years Later
• The Olympic Games as a Showcase – Anticipated Issues
• Gambling and Corruption in Sports
• Breakout Sessions (Workers’ Comp Issues Unique to Pro Athletes; Insurance Coverage for Live Sporting Events; Teaching Sports Law; Hot Topics in NCAA Legal Issues: Agents and Amateurism; Professional Sports Team General Counsel – Legal Update; ADR Issues in the Olympics and the Major Sports; and Legal Issues Involving Immigration and Sports)
Saturday’s sessions keep with tradition as the executive directors of the various players associations (Moderator Richard A. Berthelsen, General Counsel, NFLPA; Donald M. Fehr, Executive Director, NHLPA; William ‘Billy’ Hunter, Executive Director, NBPA; Dominique Foxworth, President, NFLPA; and Michael Weiner, Executive Director and General Counsel, MLBPA) will discuss important issues.
Later Saturday morning, the general counsels take the stage, including (Moderator Dennis Curran, Senior Vice President / Labor Litigation and Policy, NFL; Daniel S. Rube, Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, NBA; William Daly, Deputy Commissioner, NHL; Gary Gertzog, Senior Vice President-Business Affairs and General Counsel, NFL; and Thomas J. Ostertag, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, MLB).
To learn more about the conference, visit http://www.sportslaw.org/events/index.cfm or call 703.437.4377, Ext. 4085, 4070 or 4071.
