Winter 2023 • Course
Sports and the Law: Representing the Professional Athlete
Prerequisite: None
Exam Type: Last Class Take-Home
Class participation and successful completion of weekly assignments will count for a significant portion of the students final grade.
This course will begin with an overview of the sports marketing industry and then proceed to discuss some of the more important legal doctrines relating to that industry, involving intellectual property law, labor law and contract law. In that context, the course will explore the skills necessary to conduct a series of “hypothetical” sports-related contract negotiations. The students will then participate in group-based contract-drafting exercises with an emphasis on client representation. Contracts to be drafted include a “product endorsement agreement,” and a “name, image and likeness” lithograph poster agreement. Simulated depositions and “oral arguments” will also be conducted. Next, in the context of a mock litigation, students will assume a “contract breach” of the agreements they have drafted. In turn, they will draft document requests, deposition questions and legal briefs in support of the contractual positions taken during the contract drafting exercises.
Note: This course will meet for the first two weeks of the term.
This course fulfills the pre-requisite for the Sports Law Clinic. Please see the clinics description or review the Sports Law Clinic Guide for more information.
More information about the clinic can also be found in the Sports Law Clinic Q&A on the OCP website.