By Brittany Prock, Santa Clara University School of Law
Santa Clara University (SCU) School of Law hosted its second annual Sports Law Conference over the winter in Santa Clara, CA. Among several dynamic sessions that took place throughout the day, the keynote address given by Marla Messing, founding partner of Major League Soccer (MLS), was particularly inspiring as she shared details and lessons learned about her remarkable 30-year career.
Messing began her legal career in the late 1980s working as an Associate at Latham & Watkins. While in this position, Messing met Alan Rothenberg, who, at the time of their meeting, was the President of U.S. Soccer and the Chairman and CEO of the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Messing was invited to serve as a World Cup Associate and quickly earned an invitation to join a four-person Executive Management Committee as Executive Vice President. In just her late twenties, Messing was one of the most influential people within the World Cup organization.
After the 1994 World Cup introduced world-class soccer to the United States, Messing and Rothenberg, along with a few other World Cup employees, founded MLS. The inaugural MLS match took place in 1996, just miles from the SCU campus, between the San Jose Clash (now San Jose Earthquakes) and D.C. United. When the MLS league office was moved from Los Angeles, CA to New York, NY Messing remained in Los Angeles and transitioned into the world of women’s soccer.
The 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup was awarded to the United States and Messing served as President and CEO. This event was the first large-scale women-only sporting event in the world. Messing created and executed the strategic plan and led all business operations. The event was a massive success both financially and socially, but Messing was ready for a break when it was over. She spent 15 years away from the professional world to raise her three daughters, and it wasn’t until they began heading away to college that Messing was ready to make a return.
In 2016, Messing was invited to join the Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Bid Committee as Vice President and Executive Director. Ultimately, Los Angeles was given the 2028 Olympics as opposed to 2024 and Messing once again needed to make a shift. She spent the next few years working for the United States Tennis Association as Chief Executive Officer for the Southern California Section. Though she excelled in this position like all her positions prior, Messing was asked by Cindy Cone, President of U.S. Soccer, to serve as Interim Chief Executive Officer for the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), and Messing made her return to the world of soccer in 2021. At the time of Messing’s service, the NWSL was consumed by a league-wide coaching scandal. It was Messing’s responsibility to forge a new direction for the League and build renewed confidence.
Shortly after Messing’s departure as Interim CEO, she decided she wanted to own part of an NWSL team and she was particularly interested in Seattle Reign FC (formerly OL Reign) out of Seattle, WA. Messing ultimately partnered with The Carlyle Group to assist them in their purchase of the team. Although she didn’t become part owner herself, her participation led to a successful acquisition in June 2024.
With 30+ years of experience to reflect on, Messing has key pieces of advice for young professionals in the legal field:
- Be proud of a law school education. Messing credits much of her professional success to her legal education and particularly notes that the critical thinking skills developed in law school will serve students well.
- Go to the office. Professional sports may have never been graced with Messing’s expertise if she hadn’t shown up to the office every day and interacted with Rothenberg at the coffee machine.
- Take risks. Messing left her Associate position at a big law firm to join the World Cup organization. Few careers are linear, and it may be necessary to make a move backward to eventually get ahead.
- Work hard. Especially young professionals, who generally have fewer responsibilities. The best thing to do in the early years of one’s career is to learn – the harder one works the more will be learned.
- One should get into what they enjoy and are good at. A legal education, paired with a few years of high-quality work, will create a foundation that allows one to do anything they want to do. Those that are most successful are doing work they love.
- Be creative and question the status quo. Those with a legal background may often be stereotyped as being uncreative, don’t allow others to characterize legal skills.
- Operate with integrity. Do the right thing, be honest, and accept mistakes – all things Messing did during her time with NWSL earned her the respect she needed to ensure a successful turn-around effort.
Whether in sports or big law, Messing’s career serves as a reminder to all that success comes from hard work, integrity, and the willingness to take a chance.
Brittany Prock is a first-year student at Santa Clara University School of Law with an anticipated graduation date of April 2027. Brittany holds her MBA from San Jose State University and is interested in the legal areas of corporate, sports, and government.
