Sports
Lewis and Roca lawyers speak the language of sports, and of sports business. We have developed a broad range of capabilities across the entire sports spectrum, representing professional athletic teams, organizations and promoters, and individual athletes in a variety of contractual, intellectual property, general business and dispute resolution concerns.
Our attorneys have played key roles in the establishment and operation of professional sports organizations, including a leading mixed martial arts league, a globally renowned boxing promotions company and professional sports teams competing in the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball and other professional sports leagues ranging from hockey to arena football. In this capacity, our attorneys have assisted and advised professional sports organizations regarding the securing of financing, corporate structuring, tax, regulatory compliance, intellectual property and employment and labor law matters and negotiated and drafted athlete, advertising, marketing, promotion, merchandising, concession and vendor agreements.
Our attorneys also have significant experience representing private companies and corporate franchise owners in transactions relating to the financing, management and operation of sports facilities, including serving as bond counsel for NBA and Major League Baseball franchises in securing financing for the construction, expansion and renovation of their arenas and stadiums.
In addition, our attorneys assist high profile professional athletes (including NBA basketball players, ATP tennis players, boxers and Indy Racing League (IRL) drivers) in protecting, enforcing and monetizing their intellectual property and publicity rights, developing and expanding their brand identities, and in the negotiation and drafting of employment, personal services, endorsement, sponsorship and licensing agreements.
Entertainment
Lewis and Roca represents a wide range of entertainment and media industry clients, including film, television and live stage production companies, television stations, entertainment venues, record labels, music publishers, book publishers, authors, actors, dancers, choreographers and musicians.
Our entertainment attorneys have several years of combined experience and long standing relationships in the sports, entertainment and media industries which enable us to understand the business and legal aspects of our clients’ operations and provide them with access to valuable resources within these fields.
Our attorneys also have considerable experience in negotiating and drafting a wide range of entertainment industry agreements, including film, television and live stage production and financing, broadcast, distribution, recording, music publishing, book publishing, live performance, video game production, personal management, talent, literary and screenplay option and purchase, sponsorship, location and venue agreements. In connection with such transactions, we counsel clients regarding the structuring of joint ventures, collaborations and co-productions, child talent contracts and union and guild agreement compliance issues, and conduct rights clearances and acquisitions and related due diligence for entertainment properties (motion pictures, television programs, video games, software, books, music and websites).
Further, our intellectual property and technology expertise enables us to counsel clients involved in the delivery of entertainment content via emerging digital media technologies, such as digital music and motion picture retailers, content aggregators and webcasters.
In addition to these core industry specific offerings, our entertainment attorneys work closely with attorneys from the firm’s other practice groups to provide a full complement of related legal services to our entertainment clients. For example, our business, IP and commercial litigation attorneys assist entertainment clients with the formation and structuring of business entities, the securing of financing and investors in a manner compliant with state and federal securities regulations, tax and estate planning, the protection and management of IP assets, and litigation of disputes involving entertainment industry issues, such as the infringement of copyrights and trademarks, idea misappropriation, rights of privacy, rights of publicity, defamation, first amendment free speech rights and the resolution of business and contractual disputes.
We understand that our entertainment clients have a viewpoint and perspective that is unique to them and are committed to providing practical advice tailored to the their specific needs and dedicated to promoting the creative process rather than hampering it.