André Walters knows his limitations.
So if the man in the corner office of the Charlotte Bobcats organization ever started recruiting some of his executives for a friendly game of pickup basketball, Walters wouldn’t start looking for his sneakers.
“I’m not sure I would attempt to compete with our executives, particularly since a few of them have played basketball at an extremely high level in their life,” said Walters, senior director of legal affairs for Bobcats Sports & Entertainment. “And I stopped playing competitively after my sophomore year in high school.”
Walters’ strength resides on another court – the court of law. In the decades since his basketball playing days, Walters has charted a successful path that has delivered him to one of the sports law field’s preeminent positions. To learn a little more about that path and what his role is at the Bobcats, Sports Litigation Alert editor Holt Hackney conducted a brief interview with Walters, which follows.
Question: When did you know that you wanted to practice sports law?
Answer: Always had an interest in sports and entertainment and always felt that I had a good grasp of the sports business, but one day while I was working with Naka, Huttar & Oldhouser, I realized that I wasn’t that interested in the subject matter of the deals I was working on, and that thought prompted me to think about what I was actually interested in. It didn’t take me long to realize that the one subject matter I never get tired of is sports, and it just made sense to me to try and combine my love of sports with my legal training.
Q: What were your responsibilities as an associate at Naka, Huttar and Oldhouser, LLP?
A: I reviewed, negotiated and drafted agreements and served as the closing attorney for various muti-million dollar commercial lending and real estate transactions.
Q: How did you get your big break with the Charlotte Bobcats?
A: Sitting in my office one day in Baltimore and realized that I wanted to be a sports lawyer, and then thought that it would be even better if I could be that sports lawyer in Charlotte where a large number of my family members had recently been moving to. After visiting both the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte Bobcats websites to see if they had any job openings, I saw neither did, but I noticed that the Bobcats just hired a new general counsel, Jared Bartie. After reading his bio, I decided that it would be great if I could become his mentee and learn how to navigate the sports world the way he has in his career. I decided to call up the Bobcats and get his email address. They told me they couldn’t give me his email address, but that they could transfer me to his line. I was surprised, but said ok. When they transferred me, he actually picked up the phone. When I started to tell him who I was, he stopped me and said that I was just the guy he had been waiting to talk to. He thought I was another gentleman named André that makes suits. After we both realized it was a case of mistaken identity, I then proceeded to let him know I was a young lawyer in Baltimore, MD, saw he’d just been hired as general counsel, and really just wanted to get to know him. After a great conversation, he let me know that it was interesting that I was calling now because they had been interviewing for several weeks for a recently opened position. The position was designed to be the day-to-day lawyer that helped take a lot of the legal function off of Jared’s plate. To make a long story short, I ultimately interviewed for the job, they liked me and gave me the offer. I accepted obviously and relocated to Charlotte and have been here in this role ever since (that was March, 2007). The interesting part is that he was expecting a call from a guy named André that day, he just happened to get me. Definitely a blessing and gift from God.
Q: What are some of the typical legal issues you have to deal with on a day-to-day basis?
A: My responsibilities involve providing legal counsel and advice to Bobcats Sports and Entertainment’s (BSE) various departments, while also handling the organization’s risk management functions, including insurance and litigation matters. I also review, draft and negotiate many of the company’s agreements relating to arena events, sponsorships, ticket sales, labor and employment matters, television and radio broadcasting, marketing, and other key functional areas of BSE’s operations. There are a range of issues I come across within those business areas.
Q: How would you describe the community of NBA general counsels? Have other GCs been helpful since you took over the role?
A: I would describe the community of NBA general counsels as very talented and knowledgeable. Many have been a part of the NBA for a very long time. Since I joined the Bobcats in March, 2007, others have definitely been helpful.
Q: Who are some of the firms that serve as outside counsel?
A: I’ve used a number of firms at different times since I’ve been here, namely Moore & Van Allen, Alston & Bird, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, King & Spaulding and Arent Fox.
