What Does a Sports Attorney Do?
A sports attorney represents players and coaches and guides them through the legal issues that arise in the sports industry. This type of lawyer often represents professional athletes, amateur athletes and staff. The cases that these attorneys handle include business dealings, contracts, and sports injuries.
A sports attorney does not always work for a law firm. Some attorneys work for a sports team or recreation center and may have an office at their facility. Other attorneys have a solo practice and work for several athletes from the same team or various teams. Often, a sports attorney may work for a large sports and entertainment firm and may handle many different clients.
One of the important tasks that a sports attorney has is to review contracts for professional athletes, coaches and umpires. The attorney has to review contracts from employers, commercial sponsors and discuss issues such as salary raises and bonuses. Sports attorneys also have to resolve disagreements regarding compensation in case the player gets hurt and how long a player is under contract. Often, the attorney will have to conduct mediation sessions with the player, the team owner and manager.
Another responsibility that a sports lawyer has is representing plaintiffs and defendants in sports injury cases. Clients, especially amateur athletes who are still in high school or college, often get hurt playing sports in schools or recreational sports programs. Even though most schools require athletes and parents to sign waivers, injuries can occur that the parent’s insurance may not cover or someone else could be liable for other than the player. A sports injury attorney could have to defend a school against a lawsuit brought on by a student athlete or vice versa. When the injury is difficult to litigate, the sports attorney will hire a personal injury expert witness to obtain additional evidence and give his opinion on liability.
Often firms who have a sports attorney on staff will require the attorney to go out and get his own clients. The attorney will have to attend games, parties and other sports-related events. Networking is a big part of a sports attorney’s job and includes returning calls to clients, calling on sports agents and checking in with coaches and athletes to discuss updates.
In order to be a successful sports attorney, the person must have graduated from a four-year undergraduate school and law school. It would be helpful if the lawyer has a big interest in sports whether from playing sports or just being a fan. The attorney should also have great people skills and be willing to socialize at sports events for clients.
Written by Erin Oxendine
