It has been a year to forget for the San Antonio Spurs on the basketball court, as the proud franchise has struggled in the win column.
But you couldn’t tell that from watching Bobby Perez, the team’s Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel. The Spurs were playing the Portland Trailblazers in an otherwise meaningless game at the Moody Center in Austin last month. However, Perez’ positive disposition was infectious as he looked out on a sellout crowd. He hinted that the Spurs will be back in Austin to play games. Weeks later, the organization made it official.
Perez, a lifelong San Antonio resident who received his Juris Doctor from St. Mary’s University School, is also confident the Spurs will return to relevance in the standings. A favorable bounce of the lottery ball on May 16th would certainly help. We wanted to learn more about Perez’ approach, which led to the following interview.
Question: How did you get your start with the Spurs?
Answer: As you probably know, the Spurs didn’t really have an in-house lawyer for the first few decades of the franchise’ existence. All the team’s legal affairs were being handled by Tullos Wells (formerly a partner at Bracewell). About 20 years ago, I got the opportunity to assist Tullos and the Spurs as an outside lawyer on various matters. I am a San Antonio guy and Spurs had always been my team. There was no way I could pass that up. Then, in 2013, when Tullos stepped away and the Spurs offered me the opportunity, I became the team’s first in-house chief legal officer. Along the way, Tullos has been a friend and mentor as well as others.
Q: What are your responsibilities within the organization?
A: I sit with our leadership team and we work with Peter J. Holt, our controlling principal. So, in my vertical, it’s all our facilities, the legal affairs and governance of the entire organization. We’re a family of eight companies, and I work with each on risk-related and government-related matters. Structurally, we’re similar to most pro sports teams. We have local government relationships in our facilities, which are publicly owned facilities with long-term operation agreements. I’m the direct point of contact for our county and city government officials, as well as, in rare times, state and federal government.
Q: What does your internal legal team look like?
A: I have a very senior assistant general counsel, with about 11 years of experience. He’s probably about a year and a half in with us. That was a great addition for us. And then I have another staff counsel, who is six or seven years in as a lawyer. And recently we’ve added another young lawyer, who came from a program we started in 2013, where we were bringing in law externs. Texas Tech had a pretty cool program where students would do a semester for credit. That program and others work well for both parties. We just have to find space for them.
Q: What areas of law do you handle in-house versus retaining outside counsel?
A: I would say that we’re probably 90% in-house. We try to outsource as little as possible. If we have a complicated transaction, we’ll always have outside council to kind of look over our shoulders. If there’s a risk matter that’s unique or unusual, we will engage and get a fresh set of eyes on it. The last would be subject-matter based. Maybe there’s something unique that we have to learn about and study. There are some experts out there in the world that are doing great work and we might bring them in.
Q: What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
A: It sounds pretty cliche, but our work is fun, and the challenges are more situational based. You resolve the problem in front of you for the day, for the week, for the month, or for the year. That could be anything from problem solving a facility arrangement, a financial transaction, a land acquisition, or the next generation of operations. All matters can be challenging. The small matters can be just as difficult as the big ones. We have a good group of people that can sit around and come up with some good ideas and, you know, potential solutions so we can all move forward.
Q: It sounds like you’re living the dream?
A: I’m having a great time. I come from one of your typical Latino families. We’ve got a lot of cousins and brothers and tias and tios running around. So, it’s a lot of fun to be at home and do what you do and get to do it in the town that you grew up in. Let alone the team that you remember when you grew up.
Q: Has there been a guiding principle or two that kind of helped you build a successful career?
A: I would answer that in two ways. First, being a member of the bar, we all have our obligations to make sure we’re upholding those guiding principles. It’s the application of those principles and really just always trying to do the right thing. Showing up here at the Spurs with our core values, or integrity, success and caring. I was a partner in a small law firm for a long time. We always worked hard and did our best. But I think our focus was certainly more on the operational side here at Spurs Sports and Entertainment. Our focus is always our values, to operate with integrity, success, and caring as kind of our big rocks, if you will. And if you always go and do the right thing, everything will just work out. That’s really what we try to do and teach.
Q: What advice would you give a lawyer just starting out, who would like to work for a team one day?
A: My regular guidance to folks is learn as much as you can about the industry. That helps you understand what the options and opportunities are out in the field. It’s changed a lot, even in just my 10th year here. Not only do all NBA teams have an in-house lawyer today, but every team has at least two to three attorneys. And the other leagues are not too far behind. But understanding all those partners and all those entities that you work with. The industry has become bigger, more complicated, and more financially robust. And so, there’s opportunities out there. It’s just trying to understand where they are.
Q: What is the most rewarding part of your job?
A: All the people that I get to work with in our organization. They truly are wonderful people, who always want to work to try to do the right thing. And then we all get to work around this event space. A great example today is, I’m walking in this morning, and we’ve got Journey in the building tonight. I’m an old guy, so I am going to try to make that act. It’ll be a blast.
Q: I would be remiss if I didn’t ask you about any interactions with Popovich. Can you share with us any impressions you have in working with him over the years?
A: You have probably heard things like this a hundred times, but what a fantastic leader. What a great role model. Not only for the athletes in our organization, but even those brand-new employees in the organization. Just to watch how he engages with the community, with people on all sides of our organization.
