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What is the Sports Law Clinic?

Clinics in a Minute featuring Yarenis Cruz ’26

Sports Law clinical placements are in a variety of settings, including legal departments of major leagues or sports franchises, and with law firms and lawyers doing sports law in representing individual players, teams, or leagues. Students’ clinical work in the field may include contract and transactional work, arbitration, litigation, research, and writing.

Peter Carfagna, instructor of sports law courses at Harvard Law School, oversees clinical placements and students’ clinical work. Admission in the clinic is by application. Students must have completed or be enrolled in one of Prof. Carfagna’s courses to be eligible to apply.

Funding

The Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs provides limited funding to students in the Sports Law Clinic who need to travel to their related clinical placements. This funding is to offset the cost of transportation and housing while off-campus. Read more about the guidelines and how to request funding here.

How do I register?

The Sports Law Clinic is offered in the Winter and Spring semesters. You can learn about the required clinical course component, clinical credits and the clinical application process by reading the course catalog description and exploring the links in this section.

Application Deadline: October 3, 2025

Work Schedule

Winter term students work full-time over Winter term. Spring term students work between 8-20 hours/week over the semester.  Depending on the placement, the work may be done in-person or remotely.

MorningAfternoon
9:00 – 9:15am: Check in with supervisor; receive contracts to review (mainly sponsorship deals)
9:15 – 11:00am: Draft amended agreement with a stadium vendor; send to supervisor
11:00am – 12:00pm: Start reviewing sponsorship contracts  
12:00 – 1:00pm: Lunch with fellow interns
1:00 – 3:30pm: Finalize new provisions and comments to contracts
3:30 – 5:00pm: Continue legal research for a long-term project from the start of the term (involves research current and proposed legislation)  

Meet the Instructor

headshot of Peter Carfagna

Peter Carfagna

Director; Lecturer on Law

Peter A. Carfagna is Chairman/CEO of Magis, LLC, a privately owned sports marketing, management and investment company, including family ownership of the Lake County Captains, Cleveland Indians High Class A Affiliate. He has also been the Managing Member of LLC’s affiliated with many Major League Baseball teams, including the Boston Red Sox; Seattle Mariners; Houston Astros; and the Arizona Diamondbacks. From 1994-2005, Peter served as Chief Legal Officer & General Counsel of International Management Group (IMG), and was Senior Partner at Jones Day LLP before that, during which time he worked as outside counsel to the Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Cavaliers’ ownership groups. Peter graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard College, having also played Varsity Football. Peter was then a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, graduating M.A. with Honours in Jurisprudence/Law. He then graduated from Harvard Law School magna cum laude, where he studied under Professor Paul J. Weiler, the “Father of Sports and the Law” at Harvard. Since being appointed by then-Dean Elena Kagan as the Covington Burling Distinguished Visitor in 2006, Peter has since then continuously been teaching 3 Sports Law Courses at Harvard Law School each year, each of which has been published as a casebook. At Harvard Law School, he is Faculty Advisor to the Harvard Law School’s Committee on Sports and Entertainment Law and its Journal on Sports and Entertainment Law. He is also Faculty Supervisor of Harvard Law School’s Sports Law Clinical Program, responsible for 40+ sports law clinicals each school year.

In the News

  • Featured image for Sports Law Clinic students receive 2025 Paul C. Weiler Awards article

    Sports Law Clinic students receive 2025 Paul C. Weiler Awards

    During the Harvard Committee on Sports & Entertainment Law’s annual Harvard Sports Law Symposium, four students were celebrated for their contributions and dedication to the sports law community. Ian Malesiewski ’25, Michael Poirier ’25, and Matisse Rogers ’25 received the Weiler Scholar Awards, and Alex Geyelin ’25 received the Weiler Writing Award. Each recipient has participated

    April 22, 2025

  • Featured image for Charting a Path article

    Charting a Path

    Sports Law Clinic alum Kim Miner ’15 is using her
experience with the Boston
Red Sox to bring professional women’s soccer to Boston.

    July 3, 2024