The 35th Annual Sports Lawyers Association Annual Meeting kicks off next month with a new president, many interesting panel discussions and a highly anticipated address from Jerry Reinsdorf, Chairman of the Chicago White Sox.
New SLA President Gordon I. Kirke of Toronto, Ont., Canada will open the event, which will be held at the Chicago Hyatt Regency on May 14-16. Kirke, who goes on at around noon on Thursday, May 14, will be followed by Stephanie Vardavas, 2009 Conference Chair and Managing Attorney for NIKE Inc., and then Gary R. Roberts who will offer up his popular “Overview of Recent Legal Developments in Sports.” Roberts is now the Dean and Professor of Law, Indiana University School of Law, Indianapolis, IN,
Among the panel discussions are:
• Negotiating Sponsorship and Endorsement Agreements
• New Media – Who Owns Which Rights?
• Are Their Days Numbered? – IP Protection for Player Names and Statistics
• Ethics – Agent Regulation
• Legal and Medical Issues Arising from the Care and Treatment of Athletes
• Antitrust Law and the Sports Industry: How Recent Antitrust Developments May Have a
• Significant Impact on U.S. Sports
• Regulating Professional Combat Sports
The annual SLA Luncheon on May 15 will serve as the platform for the talk by Reinsdorf.
As is traditionally the case at the SLA meeting, the last day, May 16, will feature a General Counsels’ Forum and Executive Directors’ Forum with representative from all the major sports.
