June 29, 2022 – Athletes need legal counsel at all stages of their careers, from before they turn pro all the way through retirement. A new treatise published by PLI Press, Sports Law: A Practical Guide to Protecting the Interests of Athletes, provides real-world, practical insights on how to provide legal protections to athletes at all levels in a meaningful and impactful way.
Authored by Luke A. Fedlam, an attorney with nearly 20 years of experience working with athletes, the book serves as a “how-to” guide for anyone who counsels or represents athletes.
“The athlete empowerment movement has made significant strides over the past decade. From name, image, and likeness (NIL) issues at the college level to pro athletes getting involved in private business investments, this book highlights the need for the legal protection of all athletes at all levels,” says Fedlam, who heads Porter Wright’s Sports Law practice.
Sports Law contains practice tips, sample forms, and first-hand insights to help legal practitioners as they work to support and protect athletes. Chapters cover an array of topics including personal branding and intellectual property protection; marketing and endorsement opportunities and contracts; due diligence on investment opportunities, including real estate development; entity formation (for-profit and nonprofit); counseling on estate planning, wealth preservation, and asset protection; and the emerging world of eSports.
The book is designed to be useful for attorneys representing athletes at firms, in marketing, or at player agencies, as well as law students and others studying the business of sports. Those on athletes’ management or advisory teams will find the book to be a helpful resource. For athletes, this book is an easily digestible way to understand how to protect themselves and navigate life outside of their sport.
About the Author
Luke A. Fedlam is a partner in Porter Wright’s Corporate Department leading the Sports Law Practice Group. He regularly advises a range of clients — from student-athletes transitioning into professional sports, to professional athletes navigating life on a team, to retiring athletes creating the game plan for their life after sports — on matters including marketing contract analysis, agent and advisor selection due diligence, investment opportunity due diligence, asset protection, real estate development, brand and mark protection, and trust and estates.
Prior to joining Porter Wright, Luke served as a legal manager in the mergers & acquisitions area and director of business development at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company. He leads the advisory firm Anomaly Sports Group — a consulting company that works to provide professional development and life skills education to college sports teams, athletic departments, and professional sports teams.
About Practising Law Institute (PLI)
Practising Law Institute is a nonprofit learning organization dedicated to keeping attorneys and other professionals at the forefront of knowledge and expertise. PLI is chartered by the Regents of the University of the State of New York, and was founded in 1933 by Harold P. Seligson. PLI provides the highest quality, accredited, continuing legal and professional education programs in a variety of formats. This content is delivered by more than 4,000 volunteer faculty, including prominent lawyers, judges, investment bankers, accountants, corporate counsel, and U.S. and international government regulators. PLI publishes a comprehensive library of treatises, course handbooks, answer books, and journals, also available through the PLI PLUS online platform. The essence of PLI’s mission is its commitment to the pro bono community.