Curtis Franks is the General Counsel, FIFA World Cup at FIFA. Curtis joined FIFA in August 2023 and leads the legal department dedicated to the FIFA World Cup and FIFA Club World Cup Tournaments across the United States, Mexico and Canada. Curtis handles all corporate, governance and compliance matters, and serves as the primary legal advisor to executive management in the planning and delivery of the Tournaments.

Prior to joining FIFA, Curtis served as Senior Legal Counsel, Head of Global Marketing Partnerships for The Coca-Cola Company. In this role, Curtis led the legal team responsible for the acquisition of Coca-Cola’s global marketing assets across the sports, entertainment and music categories as well as partnerships with top marketing and media agencies. Curtis has also held roles as Associate General Counsel with the NCAA, Senior Counsel – Business and Legal Affairs for the NBC Sports Group, and began his career with the Atlanta Hawks.

Curtis was an awardee of The University of Georgia’s 40 Under 40 Award in 2015. Curtis earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from The University of Georgia, and a law degree from Tulane University Law School. Curtis is a native of Atlanta, GA and currently resides in Coral Gables, FL.

Stephanie Galvin
Dallas Cowboys Football Club

As the Senior Associate Counsel for the Dallas Cowboys, Stephanie Galvin is a pivotal member of the legal team, providing comprehensive legal guidance across various operational facets. Her expertise encompasses the negotiation and drafting of contracts, ensuring promotional activities adhere to legal standards, and devising strategies to mitigate risks while enhancing operational efficiencies. Her legal acumen extends to addressing emergent legal matters for not only the Dallas Cowboys, but also the broader spectrum of Jones family enterprises.

Stephanie joined the Dallas Cowboys in February 2024, where she has since leveraged her substantial experience within the sports industry to the benefit of the organization. Her previous role as Senior Director of Business and Legal Affairs at Legends—a company renowned for delivering premium experiences in sports and entertainment—saw her concentrate on the hospitality division and corporate governance. Her responsibilities included negotiating and drafting various agreements, managing hundreds of clients, and ensuring compliance and harmonizing procedures throughout the company's diverse business lines.

Before her time at Legends, Stephanie served as the Associate General Counsel for the Miami Marlins, overseeing the entirety of the organization's legal operations. Her formative experiences also include internships with notable sports franchises such as the Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Brewers, and Charlotte Hornets.

Stephanie earned a Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration from Marquette University, alongside a Bachelor of Commerce with a focus on marketing from the University of British Columbia. A native of Vancouver, Canada, she now calls Dallas, Texas home, where she resides with her husband, Matthew, and their dogs, Jackson and Coco.

Locher Grove
Dealiyo

Locher is the CEO & Co founder of Dealiyo - an automated legal-negotiation SaaS platform for creators, athletes, and businesses to securely make creator agreements and/or NCAA compliant NIL (name, image, and likeness) legal agreements. Think Legalzoom for the creator economy. Ed O'Bannon (who jump-started NIL with his lawsuit against the NCAA in 2015) is on the Dealiyo board. Dealiyo operates with Universities and student athletes across the country. Prior to Dealiyo, Locher was the Co founder of Rosedale Collective (a music accelerator, label, and creative services company), a Partner in the incubator aKartel, and a former employee of the Central Intelligence Agency. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Malia and their instagram famous dog Brady.

Bobby Hacker
Robert A Hacker, Attorney at Law + Sports Media Consulting

After 18 years at FOX Sports working on national programming, since 2017 Bobby has run his own shop consulting on sports media rights, representing above the line talent in live sports television and hosting Sport Shorts for the SLA

Mo Hawthorne
Airbnb

Mo Hawthorne is Lead Counsel for Airbnb Global Marketing, and supports a variety of global marketing campaigns, paid advertising, and creative production counseling, with a focus and expertise on brand marketing and product marketing. Previous to Airbnb, she served as senior counsel for adidas' global sports marketing and brand. She's a graduate of Cal Poly SLO and Lewis and Clark Northwestern School of Law, where she also teaches adjunct for the law school. When she's not thinking about brand marketing or the future of her law students, you might find her hiking, catching a beach sunset, or in a community theater production.

Aaron Hernandez
Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law

In Summer 2023, the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law named Aaron Hernandez the Assistant Dean and Executive Director of the Allan “Bud” Selig Sports Law and Business Program at Arizona State University. You can read more about it here: https://news.asu.edu/20231013-asu-law-sports-law-and-business-program-under-new-leadership

As Executive Director, Aaron is responsible for supervising the Sports Law and Business (SLB) Program and ensuring its continued success. Aaron oversees the following aspects of the SLB Program: operational efficiency, admissions, curriculum development, academic and career advising, recruiting, donor and alumni relations, stakeholder relations, and student engagement. Aaron also is responsible for long-term strategic vision and growth of the SLB Program. In addition to overseeing the SLB Program, Aaron is also responsible for teaching class at the law school.

Before joining Arizona State, Aaron was the Associate Director of Football at the NCAA. While at the NCAA, Aaron specialized in stakeholder engagement in Division I (FBS). Aaron worked closely with high-profile college football coaches, athletic directors, sports administrators, compliance officers, and many other stakeholders to identify major threats to the collegiate model. He also served as the primary liaison to the Big 12 Conference, American Athletic Conference, Under Armour, and the College Football Playoff for all football-related matters. Aaron also conducted investigations of institutions that may have violated NCAA rules and focused on matters that involved Division I college football.

Aaron has previously served in compliance and legal roles with: Marquette University Athletics, the National Sports Law Institute, NASCAR, and Gray & Associates, LLP. Aaron graduated with his Juris Doctor in May of 2013 from Marquette University Law School, receiving a certificate in Sports Law from the National Sports Law Institute, and is an admitted attorney to the State Bar of Wisconsin. Aaron was named the 2019 Marquette Sports Law Alumnus of the Year and is published in four separate law journals for works focused on legal issues in sports.

In January 2024, Aaron joined the Collegiate Sports Law Practice at Church, Church, Hittle + Antrim where he provides expertise and legal counsel related to a wide array of clients in college athletics. You can read more about his work at CCH+A here: https://www.cchalaw.com/our-news/ccha-law-welcomes-aaron-hernandez

A native of El Paso, TX, Aaron received his Bachelor’s in Business Administration in Finance from the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame in 2010. Aaron currently resides in Phoenix, AZ.

Alanna Frisby Hernandez
Wasserman

Alanna Frisby Hernandez is the Executive Vice President, Business Affairs and Operations of Wasserman’s Team Sports division where she manages the legal and day-to-day operations of the group. In this role, Alanna has negotiated and finalized a variety of agreements, including employment, endorsement, sponsorship, content development and appearance contracts for Wasserman’s women’s sports group, as well as baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, coaches and executives, media, Olympic, creator and NIL clients. Alanna is also charged with educating and informing the entire talent practice on important legal issues and industry trends, including the application of various Olympic rules, NIL, NFTs, AI and inclusion riders in talent agreements. Alanna also manages Wasserman’s M&A transactions relating to the Talent Representation practice and has been intimately involved in the growth of the business over the last 11 years. Alanna works closely with The Collective, a division of Wasserman dedicated to creating change in support of equity and fairness for women in sports and entertainment. Alanna was a founding member of Wasserman’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council, and previously served as a co-leader of the women’s DE&I subcommittee, which is dedicated to promoting and supporting women at Wasserman and within the industry as a whole.

Alanna began her legal career at Weil, Gotshal & Manges in their Complex Commercial Litigation department. She received her bachelor’s degree from UCLA and her JD from Columbia Law School.

Stephanie Jarivs
Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law

Stephanie Jarvis is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Sports Law & Business Program in the Allan “Bud” Selig Sports Law and Business program at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Ms. Jarvis is an alumnus of Northwestern University and the University of Cincinnati, where she earned a Juris Doctorate degree. After a 13-year tenure as Associate Commissioner of the Horizon League, Ms. Jarvis transitioned to the Phoenix metro area in 2012. Since coming to the Valley, Ms. Jarvis has held several leadership roles in local sports organizations including: General Counsel/Chief Compliance Officer of the Fiesta Bowl; Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the 2016 College Football Playoff Championship Game; and Chief Operating Officer of the Phoenix Local Organizing Committee for the 2017 NCAA Final Four. She joined the ASU Sports Law & Business Program in August 2017. Additionally, she is the founder of SJarvis Consulting where she serves as outside counsel for the Cactus League and Teall Properties Group, and is part of the team that helped secure the 2024 Phoenix Men’s Final Four and the 2026 Phoenix Women’s Final Four. She also serves as an Arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

Ashland Johnson
The Inclusion Playbook

Ashland Johnson is the founder and president of the Inclusion Playbook, a sports impact consultancy that specializes in racial equity, gender equity, and LGBTQ inclusion. An attorney, equity and inclusion strategist, and former Division I athlete, Ashland has over a decade of civil rights experience working with social impact communities, advising sports leaders, and serving in leadership roles in law & policy organizations. She has advised major sports leagues and associations, including the NCAA, the Big East, The Patriot League, NBA, the US Olympic Committee, and various sports governing bodies on ways to strengthen their social impact programs, policies, and platforms at the intersection of inclusion, race, gender, and the law.

Janet Judge
Education and Sports Law Group LLC

Janet P. Judge is the co-founder of the Education & Sports Law Group and has more than 30 years of experience serving the needs of higher education and sports law clients. Recognized by her peers as a four-time Sports Lawyer of the Year (Best Lawyers in America), most recently in 2024 (Boston). Ms. Judge regularly advises colleges, universities, and athletics conferences throughout the country regarding a myriad of sports-related legal matters, including ongoing litigation, antitrust, NIL, NCAA compliance, employment, pay equity, contracts, conduct, Title IX, discrimination, athlete welfare, and equity matters. Her current efforts center around working with clients to implement innovative and pro-competitive programs that incorporate rapidly evolving industry and legal developments. Ms. Judge is a graduate of Boston University School of Law and Harvard College, where she was a three-sport D1 athlete and later served as an Athletics Administrator and Compliance Officer. Following law school, Janet was a First Circuit Court of Appeals law clerk. She has also served on the boards of the National Association of Colleges and Universities (NACUA), the Hazing Prevention Network, and Ultimate.

Rakesh Kilaru
Wilkinson Stekloff LLP

Rakesh Kilaru, Partner at Wilkinson Stekloff, is an experienced, award-winning, sports law and antitrust litigator, handling some of the most consequential litigation in trial and appellate courts throughout the country.

In the past year Rakesh served as the lead defense negotiator for the NCAA in its groundbreaking $2.8 billion settlement relating to student athlete compensation issues, ending years of litigation and bringing clarity to the future of amateur sports in America, and also co-led the defense team that won judgment as a matter of law in In re National Football League’s “Sunday Ticket” Antitrust Litigation, avoiding potential $21 billion exposure and preserving the NFL’s highly successful media model. A year prior he was second-chair trial counsel, and lead appellate counsel, for Microsoft in its successful defense of its $69 billion acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard. Rakesh has also served as lead or co-lead counsel in over a dozen class actions or MDLs.

Before joining the firm, Rakesh was a Special Assistant to the President and Associate Counsel in the Office of White House Counsel, where he provided legal advice and strategic counseling to the Obama Administration on its domestic policy agenda. He also helped to develop and implement the government’s litigation strategy in cases arising under the Affordable Care Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act. Rakesh also clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan after graduating from Stanford Law School where he served as the Notes Editor for the Stanford Law Review.

Jeffrey L. Kessler
Winston & Strawn LLP

Co-Executive Chairman of Winston & Strawn, Jeffrey is one of the world’s leading antitrust, sports law, and trial lawyers. He has served as lead counsel in some of the most complex antitrust, sports, and intellectual property litigations in the country, including major jury trials, and has represented a number of U.S. and international companies in criminal and civil investigations in the antitrust, sports law, trade, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) areas.

Jeffrey formerly served as the co-chair of Winston’s global Antitrust/Competition Practice and as the co-chair of the firm’s Sports Law Practice. Law360 recently named both practices as a “Practice Group of the Year” for their respective categories. He focuses his practice on all aspects of antitrust/competition, sports law, complex commercial litigation, intellectual property (IP), and government criminal and civil investigations. He has served as lead counsel in some of the most complex antitrust, sports law, and IP law cases in the country, including major jury trials, and has represented many U.S. and international companies in criminal and civil investigations in the antitrust, trade, and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) areas. He successfully defended Matsushita and JVC against claims of a worldwide conspiracy in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Zenith v. Matsushita and is regarded universally as a leading commentator on international antitrust law. He has also been the lead counsel for important cases involving frontier issues of IP law and lead counsel in numerous government criminal and civil investigations. He is a member of the firm’s Videogame, Gaming, and Esports Group, which provides comprehensive legal solutions to companies in the sector.

Jeffrey is also one of the United States’ most prominent lawyers regularly engaged in high-profile sports litigation. He has litigated some of the most famous sports-antitrust cases in history, including the landmark college players-brought Alston v. NCAA case, in which, following Jeffrey’s oral argument, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously affirmed his and co-counsel’s earlier “groundbreaking and disruptive” trial victory against the NCAA in this antitrust challenge to its no-compensation rules; McNeil v. The NFL, the watershed antitrust jury trial that led to the establishment of free agency in the National Football League (NFL); and Brady v. NFL, which led to the end of the 2011 NFL lockout. Jeffrey’s sports sector clients have included the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), the Arena Football League Players Association, the National Hockey League Players Association, the Major League Baseball Players Association, the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), Wasserman Media Group, SCP Worldwide, MVP Sports, the U.S. Women’s National [Soccer] Team (USWNT), the NFL Coaches Association, the Women’s Tennis Benefit Association, Endeavor, Super Slam Ltd., Activision Blizzard, Adidas, Klutch Sports, and Players, Inc. Jeffrey has represented various classes of Division 1 college basketball and football players; other college athletes; elite swimmers; NBA, NFL, AFL, and MLS players; the North American Soccer League (NASL); the U.S. Football League; the Overwatch and Call of Duty Esports leagues; the Professional Bull Riders; Relevent Sports Agency, and the Cities of San Diego and Oakland, as well as Alameda County, in various sports law disputes. He negotiated the current free agency/salary cap systems in the NFL and NBA, and successfully represented Latrell Sprewell in his controversial suspension arbitration. In the area of NFL discipline, he represented the NFLPA on behalf of Ray Rice, Tom Brady (in “Deflategate”), Ezekiel Elliott, Adrian Peterson, and the “Bountygate” players. He represented pro bono Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee athlete, in his successful arbitration to obtain the right to compete against non-disabled athletes around the world. Recently, he achieved a landmark equal pay class action settlement for the members of the USWNT.

This impressive experience has led Law360 to name Jeffrey as an MVP for Sports and Betting (2015; 2018–2022; and 2024). In March 2022 at the Benchmark Litigation East Coast Awards, Jeffrey was honored as the Antitrust Litigator of the Year, and the firm was recognized for its work on NCAA v. Alston, one of the National Impact Cases of the Year. Jeffrey is also part of the group recognized with GCR’s 2022 “Litigation of the Year: Cartel Prosecution” award.

William Koch, Jr.

Bill Koch is currently the President and Dean of the Nashville School of Law. Before joining NSL in 2014, he served on the Tennessee Supreme Court and the Tennessee Court of Appeals. During his 30-year judicial career, Dean Koch was recognized as one of the 500 Leading Judges in America and as the American Board of Trial Advocates’ Tennessee Appellate Judge of the Year. He also received the Tennessee Bar Association’s Justice Frank F. Drowota III Outstanding Judicial Service Award and the Nashville Bar Association’s Liberty Bell Award. Before becoming a judge, Dean Koch served as Counsel to Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander, Commissioner of Personnel, and Deputy Attorney General for the State of Tennessee.

Dean Koch earned his B.A. degree from Trinity College; his J.D. degree from Vanderbilt University; and his LL.M. from the University of Virginia. He has taught Constitutional Law and Tennessee Constitutional Law at NSL and has received appointments as an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt School of Law and Belmont College of Law. He is also an Academic Master of the Bench in the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple in London, England.

Dean Koch received the A. Sherman Christensen Award for his local, national, and international service to the American Inns of Court movement. He chairs the Tennessee Trial Court Vacancy Commission and serves on the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct. He has also served on the boards of Cumberland University, the United Way of Metropolitan Nashville, and the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

Kate Koster
CAA Sport Business Affairs

Kate Koster is a Sports Business Affairs Executive at CAA Sports in New York, where she focuses on brand consulting, property sales, risk management, and general corporate advisory.  Before joining CAA Sports, Kate was Major League Soccer’s Vice President, Legal Affairs; Oxygen Media’s Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs; the National Football League’s Counsel, Finance/Business Operation; and the National Hockey League’s Assistant General Counsel.  She began her legal career at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and is a graduate of Harvard University and Harvard Law School.  Kate currently resides in Manhattan with her family.

Lisa Lazarus
Horseracing Integrity & Safety Authority

Lisa Lazarus oversees the Authority’s full operations, including the implementation of the Racetrack Safety Program and the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program.

Lazarus has a strong background in sports business and law, having established and led the Equestrian Practice at Morgan Sports Law. She has served as General Counsel and later Chief of Business Development & Strategy at the Fédération Equestre Internationale, the international governing body for equestrian sports. Prior to that, Lazarus spent a decade at the National Football League where she served as the league’s Labor Relations Counsel and Senior Legal Counsel. Lazarus began her legal career working as an associate at Akin Gump after clerking for a Federal District Court Judge in Memphis, Tennessee, following her graduation from Fordham University School of Law.

In 2024, Lazarus was honored as a Game Changer by Sports Business Journal for her exemplary work as a woman in sports.

Nona Lee
Truth DEI Consulting

Nona is currently the Founder + CEO of Truth DEI Consulting, where she helps organizations determine current and future growth opportunities and strategies in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Prior to founding Truth DEI Consulting, Nona was the Executive Vice President & Chief Legal Officer for the Arizona Diamondbacks Major League Baseball franchise, overseeing all legal issues for the organization. In addition to her legal duties with the Diamondbacks, Nona led the organization’s internal and external DEI efforts as Chair of the D-backs For Change “Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion” Council. Before dedicating her time solely to the Diamondbacks, she served as Associate General Counsel and Vice President for the Phoenix Suns, Diamondbacks, Phoenix Mercury, Arizona Rattlers, Chase Field, US Airways Center, and Dodge Theater.

Nona is active in the Phoenix community and in the sports industry, currently serving on the board of directors and as a Past-President of the Sports Lawyers Association, a non-profit, international, professional organization whose common goal is the understanding, advancement and ethical practice of sports law. Nona also serves on the board of the National LGBTQ Bar Association, is an Arbitrator on the American Arbitration Association’s Sports Law and Commercial Business Panels, and serves as a member of the NCAA’s Independent Resolution Panel.

She is the founder of the Phoenix Women's Sports Association, an Arizona non-profit, whose mission is to help girls and women find their power through sports, and is a trustee emeritus of the Women's Sports Foundation in New York, a non-profit organization founded by Billie Jean King that is dedicated to advancing the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity. Nona currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona with her dogs Jaz and Ripley.

Paul Loving
Rimon PC

Paul Loving is a Partner at Rimon Law. He is a transactional attorney who advises individuals and brands in the sports, entertainment and consumer products sectors. Mr. Loving has 31 years of extensive experience working as outside and in-house counsel for startups as well as Fortune 500 companies.

Mr. Loving is also Special Counsel for adidas, and was Assistant General Counsel for Nike, where he handled sports marketing, advertising, and entertainment matters. Mr. Loving clerked for the Oregon Supreme Court. He is an adjunct professor of sports law at the University of Oregon School of Law.

Mr. Loving was a member of UCLA's 1987 NCAA Championship Track and Field team.

Oliver Luck

As Chairman of Altius Sports Partners, Oliver Luck provides leadership experience spanning collegiate and professional athletics. His roles have included Commissioner of the XFL, Executive Vice President for Regulatory Affairs and Strategic Partnerships of the NCAA, and Athletic Director of West Virginia University. Additionally, Oliver has been in leadership roles with the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer and the National Football League and was Chief Executive Officer of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, where he oversaw the financing, construction and management of professional sports and entertainment infrastructure in Houston, including Minute Maid Park, Reliant Stadium and Toyota Center.

Bruce Meyer
Major League Baseball Players Association

Bruce Meyer is the Deputy Executive Director of the Major League Baseball Players Association. In that position he is the Chief Negotiator for the baseball players’ union, including both major and minor league players, in its dealings with Major League Baseball.

Prior to joining the MLBPA in September, 2018, Mr. Meyer spent two years as Senior Director: Collective Bargaining, Policy and Legal at the National Hockey League Players Association.

Before joining the NHLPA, Mr. Meyer was a partner at the law firm of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in New York, where he spent 30 years as a litigator and trial lawyer on a wide variety of complex commercial cases. During that time he represented the NHLPA, NFL Players Association and National Basketball Players Association and other sports clients in matters including collective bargaining, arbitrations, antitrust litigation, intellectual property litigation and others.

Leilyn Miles
NCAA

Leilyn Miles is Associate Counsel and Associate Director of Legal Affairs at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), a role she has held since September 2023. At the NCAA, Leilyn manages the Association’s extensive trademark portfolio and provides counsel on a wide range of business and intellectual property transactional matters. She brings a background in sports law, having previously served as a Legal Extern at the NCAA and held internships with leading organizations such as Nike, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Dutch Bros Coffee.

Leilyn earned her J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law, where she was honored as a Multnomah Bar Association Fellow. She also holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas Christian University (TCU), where she was a full athletic scholarship student-athlete on the Track and Field team.

In addition to her legal work, Leilyn has served as a tutor for the athletic departments at both the University of Oregon and the University of North Texas. Outside of her professional pursuits, she enjoys spending time with her dog, Poppi, and is passionate about community service and mentorship.

Carron Mitchell
Nixon Peabody LLP

Carron Joan Mitchell is a partner in Nixon Peabody’s Entertainment practice group and a member of the firm’s Sports & Stadiums team. Carron has extensive experience representing clients in the music, entertainment and sports industries, including recording artists, music producers, songwriters, actors, models, content creators, professional and collegiate athletes, entrepreneurs, startups, established music and media companies, and other entertainment industry professionals. She is also a Certified Contract Advisor registered with the National Basketball Player Association (NBPA) and National Football League Player Association (NFLPA); with the ability to negotiate professional athlete contracts both on and off the field/court.

Matt Mitten
Marquette University Law School

Matt is a Professor of Law and the Executive Director of the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University Law School whose courses include Amateur Sports Law, Professional Sports Law, Sports Sponsorship Legal and Business Issues Workshop, Business Torts, Antitrust Law, and Torts. He has authored Sports Law in the United States (Wolters Kluwer 2011, 2nd ed. 2014, 3rd ed. 2017, 4th ed. 2025 (forthcoming)) and co-authored a law school textbook, Sports Law and Regulation: Cases, Materials, and Problems (Aspen/Wolters Kluwer 2005, 2nd ed. 2009, 3rd ed. 2013, 4th ed., 2017, 5th ed. 2020, 6th ed. 2024), and Sports Law: Governance and Regulation (Wolters Kluwer 2013, 2nd ed. 2016, 3rd ed. 2020, 4th ed. 2024), an undergraduate/graduate text. A leading sports law scholar, he has published articles in several highly ranked law reviews as well as in medical journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine.

He is an arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland (serving on the ad hoc Division for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games and Anti-doping Division for the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympic Games), American Arbitration Association (sports, commercial, and consumer arbitration matters), JAMS Sports Program, New Era, and Fair Sports arbitration and mediation panels. He has served as the sole arbitrator, chair, or panel member in 70 sports cases. He is an emeritus member of the Sports Lawyers Association (SLA) Board of Directors (serving as SLA president from May 2015-May 2017) and the Advisory Board for the Sports & Society Initiative of The Ohio State University College of Arts and Sciences. He testified before the U.S. Senate Commerce and Judiciary Committees, two U.S. House of Representatives joint subcommittees, and the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics regarding various college sports law issues. He has discussed a wide variety of sports law, business, and ethics topics at more than 200 conferences and seminars throughout the United States as well as in Australia, Canada, China, England, Hungary, Republic of Korea, and Turkey.

Ajay Mohandas
CAA Sport Business Affairs

Ajay Mohandas is an Executive in the Sports Business Affairs group at Creative Artists Agency (CAA). In this capacity, he supports various CAA Sports entities through a wide range of commercial matters including negotiating and drafting agreements for corporate, consulting, and talent clients.

Prior to joining CAA, Ajay spent three years as an attorney in the Business Affairs group at William Morris Endeavor (WME). At WME, Ajay worked within the speakers department where he led contract negotiations for high-level athletes, world leaders, actors, musical artists, and executives.

Ajay received his J.D. from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and his B.S. from the University of Central Florida.

Loren Mulraine
Spencer Fane, LLP/Belmont University College of Law

Loren Mulraine, Esq.
Professor of Law, Director of Music and Entertainment Law Studies, Belmont University College of Law
Of Counsel, Spencer Fane, LLP

Loren Mulraine is a law professor, entertainment attorney, and advocate for creator’s rights. As Director of Music and Entertainment Law Studies at Belmont University, his courses include Intellectual Property, Copyright, Entertainment Law, Entertainment Practice, Film & Television Transactions, Media Law, and Sports Law. His scholarship interests include the intersection of IP and social/economic justice, global IP rights, and entrepreneurship. Mr. Mulraine’s transactional practice covers a full range of issues in IP, business, contracts, and copyright matters. His clients have included Grammy and Dove award-winners, Gold and Platinum-selling artists and writers, management companies, producers, filmmakers, and indie record labels.

Mr. Mulraine is also a noted gospel artist, songwriter, and producer with six solo albums and several singles commercially released. His music has been streamed in more than 140 countries and his studio credits include performing as a vocalist on the Grammy award-winning "Tribute: The Songs of Andrae' Crouch."

Education:
Howard University School of Law – Juris Doctor
University of Maryland, Bachelor of Arts, in Radio, Television, and Film
Admitted to Practice: Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Georgia, and District of Columbia

Rich Nichols
Richard M. Nichols, P.C.

In 2004, as an outgrowth of his representation of Olympic and World Champion Marion Jones in the infamous BALCO doping scandal, Rich Nichols created his niche Legal Crisis Management & Communications. For 22 years, Rich has discretely represented high-profile individuals in sports and business facing media driven legal crisis that if not managed and messaged properly could have a disastrous impact on their respective brand, reputation and for public companies, valuations. Notably, in order for a crisis management professional to provide effective service to their clients, the client must give the communications professional access to the clients confidential information. As a result, in a "bet the farm" corporate crisis, or a high-stakes federal criminal investigation, the communications professionals are often the first to receive subpoenas. Importantly, Rich provides what crisis communications firms can't give a client...the all important attorney-client privilege that compels Rich to keep the clients' confidential information, confidential. Notably, Rich represented the United States Women's National Soccer Team in their decades-long "equal pay crisis" with the United States Soccer Federation.

Jennifer O'Sullivan
New York City FC

Jennifer is the COO of NYCFC where she is responsible for the overall business operations and legal functions for the Club. In her role, Jennifer oversees legal, human resources, information technology, operations, infrastructure and facilities, safeguarding, youth programs, community relations and the planned build and operations for the Club’s newly announced stadium, Etihad Park.

Jennifer joined NYCFC from the law firm Arent Fox where she was a partner in the Sports Industry Practice group, where she counseled sports and entertainment clients on issues ranging from mergers and acquisitions and other transactions to sponsorships, advertising, media matters, league formations and restructurings, and all forms of commercial agreements, including licensing, merchandising and promotional agreements, venue, vendor, and other special events agreements.

She also served as General Counsel of RSE Ventures, LLC, a sports and entertainment venture company and was previously the Commissioner & CEO of Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), the highest-level women’s professional soccer league in North America.

Megha Parekh
Jacksonville Jaguars

Megha Parekh was elevated to executive vice president and chief legal officer in May 2021 having already served as chief legal officer since 2016. She manages the stadium development, legal, technology, office services and people development teams for the Khan family's portfolio of sports, entertainment and development companies. Parekh's group is responsible for all legal matters, employee training, support and development, technological systems, security, and supporting local real estate development opportunities.

Parekh joined the Jaguars in 2013 and has worked on Shad Khan's acquisition of Fulham Football Club, public-private funded improvements to EverBank Stadium, the 2017 opening of Daily's Place, multiple naming rights partnerships, the launch of All Elite Wrestling and real estate developments around the stadium. Parekh also serves on the board of the Jaguars Foundation, the Florida Sports Foundation and the AEW Foundation and volunteers with Habitat for Humanity and the Crisis Text Line as a crisis counselor. Parekh joined the law firm Proskauer in 2009 after graduating magna cum laude from Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

Ena Patel
Team President, Innovation Baseball Partners

Ena is a sports and media executive specializing in sports administration, strategic planning, personnel management and organizational operations. Ena has been a trailblazer throughout her career, leading efforts that have driven revenue and success in today's ever-changing sports and entertainment ecosystem. Most recently, Ena was the first Chief of Staff, Athletics & University Affairs at Vanderbilt University focused on short and long term strategic planning as it relates to NIL and the changing landscape of college athletics.

Sabrina Perel
NFL

Sabrina Perel joined the NFL in May 2013, having practiced commercial litigation with the law firm Riker Danzig in Morristown, New Jersey and serving as in-house counsel to Kroll Inc. in New York City.

At the NFL, Perel leads the Compliance group which emphasizes the NFL core values, ethics and integrity. Compliance focuses on enterprise risk management, regulatory compliance, and game integrity. Regarding game integrity, Perel is responsible for the League's Integrity & Compliance program, including policy, education, monitoring, and enforcement. She is responsible for integrity and gambling policy training for League personnel, educating more than 20,000 personnel each year. Perel is also responsible for the League's Compliance Plan (code of conduct) and League-wide policies pertaining to anti-corruption and anti-bribery. Perel works with NFL team general counsels on legal matters and shares compliance best practices guidance. She also serves as the Treasurer of the Gridiron PAC.

Perel served for 10 years as Executive Vice-President and General Counsel to Kroll, a global risk advisory services firm and publicly traded company. Perel managed the legal affairs of the company, including corporate governance, compliance, mergers and acquisitions, litigation, and regulatory matters. She also served as Corporate Secretary and was a longstanding member of the company's executive committee.

Myles Pistorius
Miami Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium and F1 Miami Grand Prix

Myles Pistorius joined the Miami Dolphins as Senior Vice President and General Counsel in 2015. In his role, Pistorius is responsible for oversight of all legal and government affairs matters related to the Miami Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium and the F1 Miami Grand Prix.

Prior to arriving at the Dolphins, Pistorius spent 15 years in the league office of the National Basketball Association, where he last served as Senior Vice President, Legal and Business Affairs.

Pistorius started his legal career as a corporate associate with the law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York City. He received his Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School and a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in political science from Rutgers University.

Shameeka Quallo, Esq., Vice President and General Counsel for the Washington Spirit, is an executive leader with a broad scope of leading Legal, Human Resources (People & Culture), and fostering a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), with a passion for the business of sports. Shameeka builds and creates the strategic vision of Legal & HR and advises the owner and senior leaders on corporate decision-making and implications of contracts, decisions, and other matters. Furthermore, she leads, inspires, and motivates teams to produce results.

Prior to joining the Washington Spirit, Shameeka was Associate General Counsel and Sr. Director of DEI for the Chicago Cubs; Associate General Counsel and Director of DEI for the International Speedway Corporation (motorsports); and Associate Counsel for the Ladies Professional Golf Association. In each role, Shameeka served as a business-oriented attorney with transactional and compliance responsibilities handling a wide range of business initiatives, including contract negotiation, labor and employment matters, HR matters, internal investigations and managing litigation.

Prior to becoming an attorney, Shameeka was an auditor for 10 years with the National Futures Association, where she performed risk-based financial and compliance examinations of firms that traded commodities, options and forex and safeguarded market integrity.

Shameeka is dedicated to serving disenfranchised communities and has an extensive public service background. She currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Board of USA Weightlifting, a board member of DC Scores, Council member of the James R. Jordan Boys & Girls Club, and formerly served as Board Chair of Junior Achievement of Volusia County. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and is an arbitrator with FINRA.

Lindsay Richardson
Ropes & Gray LLP

Lindsay Richardson is an associate in Ropes & Gray's private equity group. She represents private equity funds, their portfolio companies, strategic investors and corporate clients in a wide variety of complex transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, going-private transactions, leveraged buyouts, growth equity financings and investments. She also counsels on general corporate matters, compliance and corporate governance. Lindsay has advised clients across several industries including, sports, entertainment and hospitality, consumer goods, and technology.

As a member of the sports law group, Lindsay assists in the negotiation of sponsorship, media rights and strategic investments for various collegiate and professional sports and entertainment organizations.

During her time at the firm, Lindsay completed a client secondment with the National Football League.

Retired President, Bradley University; Dean Emeritus & Bepko Professor, Indiana Univ. McKinney School of Law; former Marks Professor & Director/Founder of Sports Law Program, Tulane Univ. CAS Member/Arbitrator since 2011. Coauthor, Sports & the Law (first five editions, West casebook). FAR Tulane University for 22 years.

Mike Sheetz has over 30 years of experience handling trade secret and business litigation in federal and state courts throughout the US. He has acted as lead trial counsel in many complex commercial and employment-related matters. Among the many varied cases Mike has handled, he has prosecuted or defended dozens of trade secret and non-competition cases in Massachusetts and in more than 15 other states, for technology and life sciences companies, among others. Mike has also led complex internal investigations on a wide variety of issues for both for profit and not-for-profit clients. He routinely advises boards of directors and CEOs in high profile, bet-the-company matters. His diverse practice also includes representing many senior business executives. For much of his career, Mike has negotiated employment agreements (either company-side or on behalf of management) involving senior management teams, CEOs and other C-level executives. He also leads Cooley’s national sports practice.

Mike has been recognized as a leader in commercial litigation by Chambers USA, where a client is quoted as saying, "he recognizes that achieving a successful resolution of a matter must take into account his client's commercial position and goals." He is also recognized as a key lawyer in Cooley's trade secret practice by Legal 500. 

Mike is the chair of Cooley's sports law practice. He has represented some of the top sports organizations and athletes in the US in a wide variety of matters.

Tiffany Shepard is the Director & Senior Counsel of Brand Rights and Brand Protection for the FIFA World Cup 2026. In this role, she leads the North American enforcement strategy to safeguard FIFA’s World Cup 2026 IP, retail licensing, and sponsorship rights from ambush marketing, counterfeiting, and unauthorized affiliations.

Prior to joining FIFA, Tiffany served as the Assistant General Counsel of Legal and Business Affairs at BuzzFeed Media Enterprises, Inc., a digital media company. She advised on talent negotiations, commercial transactions, sponsorships, events, international licensing, and branded content for marquee brands such as Complex, Tasty, and BuzzFeed.

Before her tenure at BuzzFeed, Tiffany was the Associate General Counsel at The Kraft Heinz Company. There, she focused on NIL partnerships, FTC compliance, IP, and marketing strategies for multi-billion-dollar brands.

Tiffany's earlier experience includes her role at The Procter & Gamble Company, where she served first as Global Brand and Trademark Counsel and then as the North America Brand Protection Leader and Senior Legal Counsel. Her responsibilities at P&G encompassed developing enforcement strategies to dismantle counterfeit networks, serving as the Sports Marketing SPOC, and collaborating with marketing, R&D, and regulatory teams to ensure effective risk assessments and advertising claim substantiation.

Tiffany holds a JD from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and a BA from Hampton University. In her spare time, she loves to travel, mentor students and read cheesy romance novels.

Professor Shropshire is the Senior Advisor to Wharton School Dean Erika James. He is focused on launching and leading the Wharton Coalition on Equity and Opportunity (Wharton CEO). He returns to the University of Pennsylvania as the David W. Hauck Professor Emeritus at the Wharton School and Emeritus Professor of Africana Studies, after five years following launching and leading, as CEO, the Global Sport Institute at Arizona State University where he was also the Adidas Distinguished Professor of Global Sport. In his previous thirty-year career at Wharton he founded and directed the Wharton Sports Business Initiative and led the sports focused executive education programs.

Wharton CEO is being positioned as the source for evidence-based solutions to problems of inequity and access, CEO will be a collaboration with industry dedicated to dismantling specific challenges hindering individual and community progress. Through cross-disciplinary research and academic content, CEO will evaluate barriers to access in fields like healthcare, finance, education, sports and entertainment, while also exploring the systemic obstacles to capital and disparities in pay and opportunities for under-represented groups across many industries. By leveraging Wharton’s research insights and corporate relationships, CEO will help organizations answer the questions currently hindering them from effectively tackling issues of corporate diversity, community engagement and societal advancement. The Coalition will be integral in advancing insights and innovation showcasing Wharton’s broad capabilities across such subjects.

He graduated from Stanford in 1977 with a degree in economics and, after completing his third year at Stanford Law School, graduated from Columbia Law School in 1980. Before beginning his career in the academy he practiced law in Los Angeles and was an executive with the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee.

Professor Shropshire has worked with numerous sports entities, from professional leagues to professional athletes. He currently shares his sports business expertise through published books, podcasts, and other media. He also serves on public boards, including Moelis & Company. He is also serving as the Acting Director of the Jackie Robinson Museum.

Nicholas Simon
BakerHostetler

Nicholas Simon is a business lawyer who advises companies, private equity sponsors and investors on their most important corporate, finance and commercial transactions. A focus of Nick's practice is the sports industry, where he has experience advising professional sports leagues, teams and their owners, as well as businesses active in professional, youth and amateur sports, on transactional and other matters, including mergers and acquisitions; stadium and team debt financings; equity financings; media, apparel, naming rights, sponsorship, licensing and other commercial agreements; internal investigations; and youth protection and safeguarding matters.

Debbie Spander
Insight Sports Advisors

Debbie is the Founder & CEO of Insight Sports Advisors, a boutique media and sports coaching agency. Previously an executive at Wasserman and Fox Sports, Debbie has 25 years experience negotiating and structuring groundbreaking deals in sports media, marketing and sponsorships as well as NCAA and NBA coaching.

Montene Speight
Covington & Burling

Montené Speight is an associate at Covington and Burling LLP in the firm’s New York office, and is a member of the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice Group.

Montené regularly handles employee benefits and executive compensation aspects of complex business transactions, both in the U.S. and internationally. She has experience with transactions of all kinds, including public and private acquisitions and divestitures, corporate finance, and outsourcing arrangements. Montené also works extensively with clients on post-transaction integration of acquired employees around the world into the client’s workforce and, where appropriate, benefit and compensation arrangements. She counsels clients on compliance with ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, and agency regulations, and has experience drafting and advising on tax-qualified retirement plans, health and welfare plans, and cash and equity incentive compensation plans. Montené’s past and current clients include major sports leagues and teams, airlines, pharmaceutical companies, and others.

Montené is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School. While in law school, she was a member of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Honor Society, the Brooklyn Entertainment and Sports Law Society, and the Brooklyn Labor and Employment Law Association. She also interned with the National Football League for the majority of time while she was in law school, working in both the Management Council and Compliance departments.

Suzanne Spellacy
Minnesota Timberwolves & Lynx Basketball

Suzanne Spellacy joined the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx organization in 2021 as the first internal General Counsel for the franchises.

In her role, Spellacy oversees all legal matters including contract negotiations, corporate transactions, intellectual property, dispute resolution, employment law and league rules and regulations.

Spellacy’s career includes 19 years at Taylor Corporation, including serving as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary from 2012-2019, where her responsibilities included acting as external General Counsel to the Timberwolves and Lynx franchises. Spellacy started her legal career with Twin Cities law firm Winthrop and Weinstine, P.A. and became a shareholder of the firm before joining Taylor Corporation. From 2019-21 she was General Counsel for Jack Link’s Protein Snacks.

Suzanne is an independent director for Nuvera Communications, Inc. (NUVR), a publicly traded regional broadband company, and was first elected to the board in 2012. She currently chairs Nuvera’s Corporate Governance & Nominating Committee and is a member of the Compensation Committee.

Spellacy received her B.A. from the College of St. Benedict, summa cum laude, and her J.D. from the University of Minnesota, magna cum laude, Member of the Order of the Coif. In 2024, Spellacy was recognized by Twin Cities Business as a Notable General Counsel for her work on behalf of the Timberwolves and Lynx.

Spellacy has long been active in the community, serving on the boards of the YMCA, Loyola Catholic School, Greater Mankato Early Learning Initiative, and currently as Vice President of the Board of the Child and Family Advocacy Center of South Central Minnesota.

Mike Tannenbaum
Espn/The 33rd Team

Jets GM 2006-12; VP of Football Operations Miami Dolphins 2015-19; ESPN Front Office Insider 2019 - Current; Founder/CEO The 33rd Team 2019-Current

Tanya M. Taylor
Tepper Sports & Entertainment

Tanya M. Taylor serves as Senior Vice President, General Counsel for Tepper Sports & Entertainment (TSE), owner of the Carolina Panthers, Charlotte FC and Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC. In this role, she oversees the corporate legal team, assuming responsibility for all company legal matters for both teams, stadium and corporate operations.

Prior to joining TSE in January 2023, Taylor most recently served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Radisson Hotel Group Americas based in Minneapolis, MN, leading the corporate legal team and responsible for all company legal matters in the Americas, while also overseeing all Secretarial matters for its Board of Directors. She has also held various legal roles in hospitality, including Vice President, Regional General Counsel, North America at Millennium Hotels & Resorts, and Vice President, Regional General Counsel, U.S., Latin America & Caribbean for more than nine years at Wyndham Hotel Group.

Born and raised in Northern NJ, Taylor received her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

Ted Tywang
Haslam Sports Group

Ted Tywang is in his tenth season with the Cleveland Browns and third as Chief Administrative Officer & General Counsel for Haslam Sports Group (HSG), which owns and operates the Cleveland Browns and Major League Soccer's Columbus Crew, and also owns a controlling interest in the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks. Tywang is responsible for all legal work and government affairs connected to HSG and is an integral part of both the Browns’ and Crew’s multi-faceted community efforts.

As the Chief in-house counsel for both the Browns and Crew, Tywang provides legal oversight and strategic guidance, is involved in various business initiatives and projects, while strengthening relationships and navigating legislation in Ohio with government officials. He provides legal guidance and oversight on all HSG major investment initiatives, long-term direction to HSG partners and executives, as well as supporting all HSG departments to help drive the organization's day-to-day operations.

Tywang is a key leader of the Browns’ future stadium planning efforts, as the organization works to bring a world-class dome stadium and transformative mixed use development to Northeast Ohio after the end of its current stadium lease after the 2028 season. He also guided the legal and government relations process that led to the construction of Lower.com Field, home of the Columbus Crew that opened in 2021.

Complementing his professional leadership, Tywang is also active in the Northeast Ohio community. For the past four years, he’s been a board member of the Cleveland League Aid Society and was chosen by the Cuyahoga County Executive in 2022 to serve on the nine-member Board of Trustees for Cuyahoga Community College (“Tri-C”). He also serves as an ambassador for EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute.

Before Cleveland, Tywang was a corporate associate in the sports law group of Proskauer for three and a half years, an international law firm headquartered in New York. He is a member of the New York State Bar and is authorized to practice law in the State of Ohio.

The Nashville, Tenn. native earned his bachelor’s degree, cum laude, with honors in government from Georgetown University, where he was a four-year member and senior captain of the men’s tennis team. He then went on to receive his J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and President of Columbia’s Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Society.

Tywang and his wife Jess reside in Shaker Heights with their four daughters in a blended family, Maggie, Frankie, Adelaide and Ramona.

Heather Udowitch
Snell & Wilmer

Heather Udowitch is a member of the firm’s Corporate and Securities group, where she focuses on a variety of corporate matters, including corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and other general securities and corporate transactions. Heather assists clients with various transaction documents, due diligence reviews, and entity formation requirements. Before joining the firm, Heather worked in legal and operations roles within the sports and entertainment industry. In those roles, she gained experience in professional and collegiate athletics, sports media production, and NCAA compliance. Heather received her J.D. and Masters of Sports Law and Business from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. Before that, she received her Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Arizona State University where she was a four-year letter winner competing on the Women’s Gymnastics Team.

Geoff Urbina
KeyBank Capital Markets

Geoff Urbina has over 25 years of public finance experience and has served as lead banker on over $64 billion in taxable and tax-exempt financings. Mr. Urbina has spent the majority of his career focusing on originating and executing taxable and tax-exempt financings for Native American, municipal, and quasi-corporate issuers.

Over the course of his career, Mr. Urbina has provided market commentary to CNBC, the Bond Buyer, and Bloomberg and has presented at numerous national industry conferences. Mr. Urbina earned his B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Washington and his M.B.A. in Finance from the Foster School of Business (University of Washington). He is registered representative with FINRA (Series 7, 24, 52, 63 and 79).

Karena Vleck
World Athletics

Karena Vleck is the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel at World Athletics, a position she has held since 2020. Previous roles include Head of Legal at the Lawn Tennis Association and the Legal and Governance Director of the Rugby Football Union (both UK based). She was also a partner and head of the Sports Law Group at the London lawyers, Farrer and Co. As Chief Operating Officer, she is responsible for overseeing all operational matters at World Athletics including Finance, Human Resources, IT, Heritage and Legal. As General Counsel, she is responsible for advising on all the legal aspects of the World Athletics Series Events. This extends from advising on the regulations for Events, the bidding process and Event Organisation Agreements for Events to Rights Protection Programmes, Host Broadcast Agreements, safeguarding at Events as well as advising on risk management, postponements and cancellations.

Norm Wain
Sports Consultant

Norm Wain is a seasoned business leader and sports and entertainment executive.  He currently works as a consultant for various sports teams and corporate entities. Previously, he served as the longtime Chief of Business & Legal Affairs for USATF, and as the Vice President - Corporate Legal Affairs for The Finish Line, Inc. Norm sits on the board of trustees for Safe Sport International, the board of directors for the Sports Lawyers Association, the governance commission for World Athletics, and also as the chair of the Advisory Board for Law In Sport, based in the UK.

Robert "Bob" Wallace
Thompson Coburn LLP

Bob has cultivated more than 30 years of experience in both the St. Louis business community and the national sports arena through his past executive and legal work for the Philadelphia Eagles and the St. Louis Football Cardinals.

He spent 16 years with the Rams, serving as the team’s executive vice president and general counsel. During his 30-year career in professional football, Bob was one of the highest-ranking African-American club executives in the National Football League. He led the Rams’ operations and business departments during two Super Bowl appearances, managed the team’s $200 million budget and served as lead negotiator in the renaming of the Rams’ stadium to the Edward Jones Dome.

In his sports law practice, Bob also assists players, coaches and executives with contract negotiations and separation agreements, and serves as an NFL-approved hearing officer for violations of the league’s drug and conduct policies.

Bob also served for several months in 2024-25 as interim president of Explore St. Louis. The agency is the driving force behind St. Louis’ convention and tourism industry, the official destination marketing organization of St. Louis City and County, and operator of the America’s Center Convention Complex and The Dome.

Bob has taught sports law as an adjunct professor at both Washington University School of Law and Saint Louis University School of Law. He also wrote a weekly magazine column, “Business Philosophy,” and has authored several other articles on sports law topics.

Laura Warren
Chicago Fire Football Club

Laura is a seasoned sports executive and chief legal advisor for Chicago’s Major League Soccer team, the Chicago Fire Football Club. In her role as Chief Legal and Administrative Officer, Laura oversees all operations for the club’s legal, information technology, human resources, and administrative functions. Laura created the club’s first in-house legal department and continues to advise the Fire on sports and risk management issues. Notable projects include legal operations for the development of the club’s new state-of-the-art performance center, its development team, and renegotiation of the club’s use agreement with iconic Soldier Field stadium. Laura is also an adjunct professor in sports law for Northwestern University and serves on committees for the Sports Lawyers Association and the American Bar Association’s Sports Division, which she previously co-chaired. Laura was recently recognized as a Woman of Influence by the Chicago chapter of Women in Sports and Events (WISE) and as a Notable Gen X Leader in Sports by Crain’s Chicago Business. Laura was also named to the Legal 500 GC Powerlist for Illinois in 2023 and 2024. Prior to joining the Chicago Fire, Laura worked in college sports for DePaul University and in private practice as a commercial litigator at Sidley Austin LLP. Laura is a proud graduate of the University of Chicago Law School and was a dual-sport athlete as an undergraduate at Illinois Wesleyan University, which comes in handy when she is attempting to (unsuccessfully!) school her two teenage sons in pickup games.

Renee Chube Washington
USA Track & Field

Renee Chube Washington, as Chief Operating Officer of USA Track & Field, has played a pivotal role in driving the organization's historic success, including at the recent Paris 2024 Olympic Games where the team won 34 medals – their best performance since 1984. She manages the organization’s record $40 million budget and 60-person national staff and her leadership has been instrumental in propelling USATF to new heights, both in performance and operational efficiency.

Alongside the CEO, she develops and implements corporate strategy and direction. Washington has broad cross-enterprise oversight of all departments, including High Performance Programs, Events and Broadcast/Entertainment Properties, Merchandise, Legal, Revenue and Marketing, Communications, Grassroots Outreach and Youth, Finance and Revenue.

In addition to those duties, she has a key role in contract negotiations and vendor agreements; manages oversight of travel and transportation for staff, constituents, athletes; and with the CEO, is a key liaison for the board of directors and acts as the primary contact with international and regional federations.

Washington's professional excellence has been recognized on numerous occasions. She was named a 2024 World Athletics Woman of the Year, a 2024 WISE Women of the Year, a 2019 Cynopsis Top Women in Sports, and a 2017 Game Changer by Sports Business Journal. These accolades acknowledge her as an executive who is making a significant impact in the business of sport.

Washington holds a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and a bachelor’s degree from Spelman College.

She currently lives in Indianapolis.

Daniel Werly
Tennessee Titans

Dan Werly is Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for the Tennessee Titans and Nissan Stadium. Werly oversees the Legal, Strategy & Analytics, and Corporate Partnerships departments for the organization. He also plays a key role in the vision and development of the New Nissan Stadium.

Prior to joining the Titans, Werly was the first General Counsel of Major League Soccer’s Nashville Soccer Club and worked at several law firms, primarily focused on representing professional sports teams and leagues on a variety of legal matters.

He sits on the boards of W.O. Smith School of Music, the Pedigree Foundation, and is on the Advisory Board of the American Bar Association's Sports Division. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Vanderbilt University Law School and Charleston School of Law.

Maureen Weston
Pepperdine Law School

Maureen Weston is Professor of Law at Pepperdine University School of Law. She is a member of the NCAA Committee of Infractions, an arbitrator on the rosters for the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee Dispute Resolution Unit, the American Arbitration Association, and FINRA. Weston is on the Board of Directors for the Sports Lawyers Association (SLA), the National Sports Law Institute, and on the Editorial Board for LawInSport. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of Colorado, and Bachelor of Arts in Economics/Political Science at the University of Denver.

Krista Whitaker
Chicago Bears

Krista Whitaker is the Executive Vice President of Legal and Business Affairs and Chief Legal Officer of the Chicago Bears. She leads and oversees the business and legal affairs and security departments, guiding the club through complex, legal and high stakes issues and initiatives, while ensuring alignment with the club's business objectives. Whitaker also manages the Bears' day-to-day global legal needs across all transactional, corporate, litigation, commercial, security and stadium development matters. Prior to joining the Bears, Whitaker served as Vice President, Associate General Counsel of the Miami Heat and provided strategic legal advice and counsel for the organization's business and basketball operations while also drafting and negotiating key financial, sponsorship and media rights matters. While at the Heat, Whitaker also served as an adjunct professor teaching Sports Law at the University of Miami School of Law, where she remains a member of the law school's Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law Program Advisory Board. Prior to her role with the Miami Heat, Whitaker worked as a corporate attorney at Proskauer Rose in their Sports Corporate group, where she represented a wide variety of clients across the sports, entertainment and media sectors. A graduate of Stanford Law School, Whitaker has been recognized by several sports and legal publications. She was named to the inaugural class of Sports Business Journal's New Voices Under 30, a Rising Star in Sports by Law 360, National Bar Association's "40 under 40" Nation's Best Advocates list and The Legal 500's GC Powerlist - Miami.

Lisa Wiznitzer
Loeb & Loeb LLP

Lisa Wiznitzer is an attorney at Loeb & Loeb LLP and maintains a transactional practice focused on advertising, media, entertainment, sports and technology. She is experienced in drafting and negotiating a wide range of commercial, corporate, entertainment, sports and financial service agreements and transactions. Specifically, she advises clients on matters associated with intellectual property, licensing, brand protection and sponsorship, as well as in connection with joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, broad corporate transactions, new ventures and general corporate matters. Notably, she has worked with professional sports teams and leagues on a variety of corporate and commercial transactions.

Lisa’s experience in structuring and negotiating agreements and deals spans several industries, including advertising, media, technology, entertainment and sports, among many others, allowing her to draw upon a unique breadth of experience to proactively identify challenges and develop practical and creative solutions when issues arise.

Brandon Wurl
Arizona Cardinals

Brandon Wurl serves as Associate Counsel for the Arizona Cardinals. Prior to joining the Cardinals, he worked in commercial contracts at Honeywell Aerospace and private practice as an Associate Attorney at Scheer.Law PLLC.

He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Arizona and his Juris Doctor from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law (ASU), where he served as an editor for the Arizona State Sports and Entertainment Law Journal.

Brandon is licensed to practice law in Arizona and Washington and currently a co-chair for the Sports Lawyers Association’s NextGen Committee.

Warren K. Zola
Boston College

Carroll School of Management, Boston College
Executive Director, Boston College Chief Executives Club
Adjunct Faculty, Business Law & Society

Warren K. Zola serves as the Executive Director of the Boston College Chief Executives Club, a program of the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. Long recognized as one of the world’s premier business forums, the Boston College Chief Executives Club gathers keynote speakers to address Boston’s business leaders. The speakers are the world’s most influential CEOs drawn from the top echelons of their fields—thought leaders who welcome the opportunity to address an audience of their peers.

In addition, Zola is an adjunct faculty member in the Carroll School’s department of Business Law & Society teaching two graduate courses—Sports Law and the Business of Sports. As an attorney and key opinion leader in the business of sports and sports law, Zola is frequently relied upon by the national media for his insight and perspective, and was invited to a Congressional roundtable discussion as an expert to discuss reform in college athletics. In addition, he has provided scholarly articles for legal textbooks, books, law reviews, and newspapers.

Zola earned a B.A. with Honors from Hobart & William Smith Colleges, a J.D. from Tulane University, and an M.B.A. from Boston College. He has been an active member of the Sports Lawyers Association and Massachusetts Bar since 1993. Zola serves on the Board of Directors of four non-profit organizations: Mass Mentoring Partnership, Sports Lawyers Association, You Can Play, and his alma mater, Hobart & William Smith Colleges.