David Donovan caught up with an old friend a few weeks ago.
The Washington Redskins.
For the first time in six years, the former general counsel for the Skins got to watch a game from start to finish.
“It was impossible before,” said Donovan, who recently left the Skins to join the law firm of WilmerHale. “On Sundays, my work day started at 7 a.m. and ended at 2 or 3 a.m.”
Donovan had fond memories of his time with the Skins, while at the same time talking passionately about his new role at WilmerHale (www.wilmerhale.com) in an interview with Sports Litigation Alert.
“It was great fun for the most part,” he said. “It was incredibly varied. As is the case with most in-house general counsel, I was involved in every area of law, whether it was construction, contract, employment, securities, ADA, etc. For example, you might go to work in the morning with a list of things you wanted to do. But by 9:30, your day had been swallowed up by a handful of new crises that you have to deal with. Every day it was something new.
“That experience gave me a much better and greater deeper appreciation for challenges and needs of corporate general counsel. Until you are in the role, you just don’t understand the pressures.”
WilmerHale made the formal announcement that Donovan had rejoined the firm’s Washington DC office as a partner in the Litigation/Controversy Department and member of the Business Trial Group on September 6.
“We are very pleased to welcome Dave back to WilmerHale,” said Howard Shapiro, chair of WilmerHale’s Litigation/Controversy Department. “He is an exceptionally talented lawyer and a trusted colleague and counselor, and we are very proud to have him return to the firm.”
Shapiro agreed that Donovan enhanced his legal skill set by “representing clients in complex commercial and regulatory disputes and investigations. His tenure with the Redskins broadened his expertise in employment and collective bargaining; securities; insurance; corporate governance; trademark and copyright licensing and protection; media rights; and press relations, among other issues.”
Donovan comes full circle at WilmerHale after spending the previous 20 years, prior to the Skins tenure, at the firm. This time, however, his practice may be different.
“I hope to maintain a sports law practice,” he said. “Clearly, I would like WilmerHale to continue to help the Redskins where possible. But principally, it will be general litigation. I really enjoy the areas of law around securities, directors, internal investigations, and crisis communications.”
The latter is an interesting area for Donovan, given his academic background.
In 1980, he graduated with honors from Iowa State University with a BS in journalism and political science, before earning his JD, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center in 1984. At both schools, he had editorial responsibilities over school publications. That experience has helped his legal career, he said.
Why Leave and the Future
So why leave the glamour job of general counsel in the NFL?
“It was a combination of things,” Donovan said. “I am 53. I would like to be able to retire some day. When you are general counsel for an NFL team, you can expect that from August until January that it is pretty much a 7-day a week job.”
And what are the most pressing legal issues for NFL general counsel going forward?
“Now that the League has the labor issues behind them, that is a major weight off the backs of their GCs. There were still some issues to be resolved before the CBA was finalized, but most of this is done. Going forward, in this economic climate, the teams and their lawyers are faced with new and renewing marketing and sponsorship deals that are more complex and difficult. Teams have to be more creative in dividing up marketing rights and working with sponsors to make sure they get value.”
