Sports Law

Overview

Levenfeld Pearlstein’s Sports Law Service Group is a multidisciplinary group of experienced and collaborative attorneys that understand the business of sports. We provide a comprehensive range of transactional, tax and litigation services to owners, teams, agents and athletes.

Focus

LP's Sports Law Service Group provides a full-service approach to each segment of the professional sports industry. The group is comprised of attorneys who are skilled within their particular practice areas but work together collectively to provide the full spectrum of legal services, including:

  • corporate transactional and contract matters
  • personal and commercial litigation
  • federal, multistate and international tax planning and structuring
  • IRS, state and local tax audit defense and appeal
  • labor and employment counseling and litigation
  • intellectual property and rights of publicity protection, licensing and enforcement
  • sophisticated estate, gift and trust planning
  • asset planning & preservation
  • securities law
  • real estate
  • finance
  • restructuring and work-out
  • 501(c)(3) charitable foundation formation and advisory

For each matter, we call upon the appropriate attorneys and paralegals, as needed, to provide efficient and cost-effective representation and solutions for our clients.

Owners

We understand the dynamics of closely held businesses and routinely provide advice to active and passive owners of all types of entities, including businesses that are family owned, owned by high net worth individuals and those funded with private equity or venture capital.

Our corporate and tax attorneys create structures that optimize tax benefits and corporate governance. In addition, they work with our estate planners to maximize estate and gift planning as well as addressing asset protection and planning.

Teams

We offer a full spectrum of transactional, tax and litigation services to professional sporting organizations. This includes corporate counseling, talent contract negotiations, commercial and labor litigation, employment, labor and union counseling, federal, multistate and cross-border taxation, real estate, financing, restructuring and work out, and intellectual property protection, licensing and enforcement.

Agents / Player Representatives

LP’s Sports Law Service Group in Chicago is an outside resource for agents and players’ representatives. Because we have attorneys that are knowledgeable in specific areas of the law, we can act as an extension of your legal, accounting and tax advisory services, and/or we can work in conjunction with you to strategize and provide legal solutions to your clients (see discussion below for Athletes). Additionally, we can provide advice and counsel with respect to an agent’s fiduciary duties and care to its clients.

Athletes

We offer a full spectrum of personal and business transactional, tax and litigation services to professional athletes. Among other things, we can provide advice with respect to federal, multi-state and international tax planning and structuring; tax audit defense; section 409A compliance; sophisticated estate and gift planning and structuring; asset protection and planning; creation of special purpose trusts; intellectual property and rights of publicity protection, licensing and enforcement; assistance with starting side businesses, joint ventures or investing in existing business (such as, drafting and/or reviewing and analyzing PPMs, offering documents and partnership agreements); and, bringing or defending civil or criminal litigation.

License / Sponsorships

We provide advice with respect to license and sponsorship arrangements. LP has represented licensees in license agreements with collegiate and professional sports leagues including the NFL, MLB, NBA and NASCAR. In addition, we have vigorously defended clients against knock offs and other infringements of such licenses. We also proactively work with our clients to ensure that they do not infringe on the rights of others.

Charitable

Levenfeld Pearlstein is proud to be a member and regular supporter of the Womens Sports Foundation, and to provide pro bono assistance to a not-for-profit, charitable arm of a professional sports franchise.

Levenfeld Pearlstein’s Sports Law Group - Chicago, IL offers a turn-key private charitable foundation product specially designed for professional athletes. The turn-key nature of the charitable foundation offers a fixed cost and simple implementation.

Representative Matters

Our attorneys have represented clients on numerous matters including the following:

  • Represented owners to create a team in the WNBA.  This included, among other things, working with the owners to form the business and to draft the organizational and operational documents, drafted the private placement memorandum (PPM) and assisted with the capital raise; provide on-going legal services.
  • Provided employment advice to multiple teams in the major and minor leagues.
  • Formed a not-for-profit organization to be the charitable arm of a professional sports franchise.  Provide on-going corporate and tax advice.
  • Defended a professional baseball team in civil litigation relating to an alleged tort committed by one of its personnel at a game.
  • Represented a tennis league in a trademark enforcement action.
  • Represented licensees in license arrangements with the NFL, MLB, NBA and NASCAR.
  • Defended a player’s representative in a civil litigation action for an alleged breach of fiduciary duty relating to investment decisions made on behalf of his client.
  • Provided sophisticated estate planning for numerous professional athletes and created a number of special purpose trusts.
  • Review and advise on corporate and tax aspects of proposed investments for professional athletes, including analyzing PPMs, offering documents and partnership agreements
  • Represent professional athletes in civil litigation
  • Represented a professional wrestling league in a civil defamation action