By Chloe Scheller
The law and loyalty are two of the foundations upon which Carolina Panthers attorney Richard Thigpen has built his professional life. Becoming a lawyer was almost a foregone conclusion, given his dad’s successful career and his own passion for the profession. And after watching his dad build a career as the Panthers’ general counsel, Thigpen Jr. was similarly drawn to the team, a union that has spanned 17 years.
That unique path and the range of experience he has accrued made him a solid choice for an interview.
Question: How did you get started in sports law?
Answer: I tend to fall into the camp that would say “sports law” is more of a collection of disciplines focused on one line of business as opposed to a separate legal discipline. In private practice, I worked in many different areas which gave me a good background for serving as general counsel to a sports franchise. My experience with tax and real estate provided my initial opening to work with the Richardson family.
Q: How did you end up with the Carolina Panthers?
A: I was fortunate enough to be part of a team of attorneys that began working with the Richardson family in the late 1980’s when their pursuit of an NFL franchise really began to gain momentum. The work that I did and the relationships that we formed enabled me to transition to an in-house position after the franchise was awarded.
Q: Can you describe what you do on a day-to-day basis?
A: Most of what I do is respond to the needs of other departments within our organization. Contract questions with sponsors and third party vendors, and intellectual property questions probably consume most of my time. Other issues relate to workers compensation claims by players, player grievances; tax considerations, governance, and finance consume most of the rest of my time.
Q: What is the favorite part of your job?
A: Working with a dedicated group of people whose common goal is to produce a product that in some small way enhances the lives of our fans.
Q: What are some of the challenges of your job?
A: Working as a legal department of one is probably the biggest challenge, although I have developed relationships with my counterparts on other teams and with excellent outside counsel so the job is not too overwhelming.
Q: As general counsel, what do you do in order to protect the Panther’s brand?
A: I am the gatekeeper for all uses of our trademarks in the Carolinas. In addition, I generally am involved in discussions about choosing our partners to ensure that we share common core values. We work hard to accomplish our partners’ goals without compromising our brand. Of course, the NFL looks after our brand on a national and international level.
