LeClairRyan’s Sports and Entertainment Industry team attorneys represent many of the highest-profile entertainment firms, performers, athletes, agents and franchises in the country.
While our clients have included boxing legend Muhammad Ali as well as top athletes from the Olympics, NCAA, NFL, MLB, PGA and NASCAR, our solid reputation hinges primarily on the depth and breadth of our attorneys’ experience with the entertainment industry. Our industry team routinely provides counsel in the full range of entertainment and sports-related litigation, arbitration and transactional matters.
In the entertainment industry, our attorneys routinely handle issues related to music licensing, artist releases, royalties, contracts, transactional matters, copyrights and trademarks. We represent a wide range of musicians, actors and other performing artists, and also regularly represent producers of entertainment CDs and DVDs, booking agents, authors and other entertainment-industry professionals. In the sports worlds, we are adept at handling bankruptcy proceedings for both businesses and athletes, and are well-versed in the legal issues involved in agent regulation.
Our client list is as diverse as the entertainment industry itself. It includes actors, reality-show developers, concert hall operators, models, the personal manager of R&B legend Luther Vandross, and even a world-renowned hypnotist.
In regard to issues surrounding the sports industry, our attorneys frequently represent clients in the acquisition and sale of professional sports franchises, and have helped athletes contend with a host of matters related to domestic relations, taxes and immigration. In addition, our group represents sports events and promoters of all types. As even a casual sports fan knows all too well, the legal arena is nearly as much a part of the sports world as the field of play. Headlines centering on the likes of banned substances, bad investments, eligibility disputes and player-owner conflicts dominate the sports page on a regular basis.
Befitting its reputation as an industry leader, LeClairRyan’s Sports and Entertainment Industry team has the experience and resources necessary to help our business clients emerge with a win.