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Colleges Sports Law

Virginia Law – No Longer A Virgin

At Virginia Law School, there is a lot of interest in strengthening the Sports and Entertainment section of the school.

One of the most frequent questions that I receive as someone who has studied the Sports Agent profession for a while now is whether or not an aspiring agent should go to Law School. The following question is usually, “Should it be a school that specializes in Sports Law?” There is no definitive answer to either question. Many agents, readers, professors, etc. disagree about whether or not a J.D. is important, and most agree that going to a school that specializes in Sports Law is not necessary. However, schools like Tulane, Marquette, and Duke, which have strong ties to Sports Law may provide a great climate of learning for those of us interested in becoming agents [Law Schools that specialize in Sports Law].

Virginia Law is looking to add its Sports and Entertainment Law Journal to the list of premier journals. The school recently hosted its first Virginia Sports & Entertainment Law Journal law symposium [First-Ever Symposium Held by Sports & Entertainment Journal]. With many alumni working in Sports and Entertainment, Virginia Law could become a great choice for future agents to study Law and continue to build up the Sports and Entertainment society.

As the #8 ranked Law School in the nation, you are pretty sure to be in a great learning environment, anyway.

Sports Law Blog also has some info. about the actual symposium [Virginia Sports and Entertainment Law Journal Symposium].

-Darren Heitner

By Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner created Sports Agent Blog as a New Year's Resolution on December 31, 2005. Originally titled, "I Want To Be A Sports Agent," the website was founded with the intention of causing Heitner to learn more about the profession that he wanted to join, meet reputable individuals in the space and force himself to stay on top of the latest news and trends.

Heitner now runs Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., which is a law firm with many practice areas, including sports law and contract law. Heitner has represented numerous athletes and sports agents as legal counsel. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington from 2011-2014, where he created and taught a course titled, Sport Agency Management, which included subjects ranging from NCAA regulations to athlete agent certification and the rules governing the profession. Heitner serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he teaches a Sports Law class that includes case law surrounding athlete agents and the NCAA rules.

4 replies on “Virginia Law – No Longer A Virgin”

Loyola Law School seems to have a decent Sports Law Institute which seems to be picking up steam. Being in LA obviously doesn’t hurt and Arn Tellem is a member of the board I believe.

Haha. Sports Law is all encompassing — Intellectual Property (Digital Rights Media, TV Sponsorship sales, etc.), Antitrust (Competitive Balance issues), ADR (Arbitration), Contracts (obvious, with players, vendors, merchandisers, etc.), Tort (Workers Comp — if your player is injured; of if a fan is injured at your stadium), and so on…. You need a diverse legal background. You need to become a great lawyer before you can become an event better sports attorney. Go to the best law school you can (obviously, consider the financial and personal costs).

Put it this way, if you don’t break into the business at least you have a solid legal education and a JD to fall back on.

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