The Sports Lawyers Association, the leading organization of sports lawyers and sports industry professionals in the United States, and one of the leading sports law professional organizations worldwide, has announced the lineup for its 43rd Annual Conference, which will take place May 18-20 at the Denver Marriott City Center in Denver, Colorado.
The conference “will address important 21st century sports law and business issues, including sports governance, ethics, media rights, crisis management, and dispute resolution, in an interactive discussion format in which leading sports lawyers, industry professionals, and law professors will participate,” according to SLA President Matt Mitten. It will consist of 28 panels and breakout sessions featuring expert analysis and debate of contemporary issues facing the sports industry; networking opportunities; presentation of the Michael Weiner SLA Award of Excellence to Scott Blackmun, CEO of the United States Olympic Committee; and recognition of the 2017 SLA Philanthropy Initiative recipients and Law Student Writing Competition winners.
“Denver is the home to many major sports venues and to teams in all of the major professional sports leagues, with the U.S. Olympic Committee and many sport national governing bodies in nearby Colorado Springs,” said 2017 SLA Conference Chair and Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment Executive VP of Business Affairs and Chief Legal & Administrative Officer Jeff Gewirtz. “We are thrilled to be able to bring our annual Conference to a city with such a robust sports legal and business community.”
Plenary panel discussions including:
Players Association Executive Directors Forum ‐ Invited panelists include: Tony Clark, Executive Director, MLBPA, Donald M. Fehr, Executive Director, NHLPA, Michele Roberts, Executive Director, NBPA, DeMaurice F. Smith, Executive Director, NFLPA.
League General Counsel Forum ‐ Invited panelists include: Adolpho A. Birch III, Senior Vice President of Labor Policy & League Affairs, NFL, William Daly, Deputy Commissioner, NHL, Daniel Halem, Chief Legal Officer, MLB; Rick Buchanan, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, NBA; and William Z. Ordower, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, MLS.
New Models for Sports TV Distribution: Respect the Fine Print – Invited panelists include: Richard L. Brand, Partner and Chair, Sports Practice Group, Arent Fox LLP; Jennifer Flynn, Senior Vice President – Business, MLB Advanced Media; Brett T. Goodman, General Counsel, NBC Sports Group.
NCAA and Conference Governance and Institutional Control: Who has jurisdiction? – Invited panelists include: Philip P. DiStefano, Chancellor, University of Colorado Boulder; Rod McDavis, Recent Past-President, Ohio University; Kevin Sweeney, Vice Chair, Corporate & Transactional Group, Polsinelli PC.
Other topics including:
Team and Venue Acquisitions & Financings
Global Sport Anti-Doping Update
Turning and Turning in the Widening Gyre: The Ethical Conundrums of Sports Practice
TMZ Posted What!? Sports Crisis Management in the Age of Social Media
Overview of Recent Legal Developments in Sports
eSports Legal update
Combat Sports: MMA and Boxing Legal & Regulatory Developments
Court of Arbitration for Sport Update
“Gooaaallll” Futbol and the World Legal Order
Breaking into the Sports Law Industry
Conference registration, a complete agenda, hotel information. and other details are available at www.sportslaw.org (subject to change). The association can be followed on Twitter @SportsLawyers where Conference updates and panel discussion highlights will be posted using hashtag #SLAC17.
