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Headline Sports Law

David Cornwell Joins Law Firm Gordon & Rees LLP

Atlanta, Georgia-based attorney David Cornwell started his own firm DNK Cornwell in 1997.  He positioned his firm as “the premier legal resource for sports agents and the men and women who play professional sports.”  As President of the company, Cornwell became well known for representing professional athletes in connection with various administrative procedures (disciplinary, drugs, alcohol, and steroids) before the professional sports leagues and players’ associations.  Prior to forming his own company, Cornwell served as counsel for The Upper Deck Company, LLC, Steinberg & Moorad (a former sports agency led by Leigh Steinberg and Jeff Moorad), the NFL, and also worked as an associate for law firm Whitman & Ransom in New York.

This week, Cornwell begins a new part of his career, going back to private practice and joining up with the law firm of Gordon & Rees LLP.  The law firm has roughly 500 lawyers in 26 offices throughout the United States.  Cornwell will continue to serve as Executive Director of the NFL Coaches Association (which is currently involved in a lawsuit with the NFL Players Association) while joining Gordon & Rees’ Atlanta, Georgia office as a partner.  He will continue to focus his practice on sports and entertainment law.

“After two years of looking for the right national platform, Gordon & Rees proved to be a perfect fit for my practice,” said David Cornwell.  “The firm dramatically increases the national resources available to my traditional client base while preserving the personalized representation that my clients expect and deserve.”

Cornwell will be speaking on the Town Hall Debate – Collective Bargaining: Winners and Losers panel at the 2012 Sports Lawyers Association Conference that kicks of this Thursday, May 10, 2012.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.