Michael J. Wall

3 credits

This seminar will survey a range of legal issues presented by sports in America. There are no pre-requisites. However, students should be prepared to learn and apply basic principles of antitrust law and labor law. Intellectual property law, constitutional law, administrative law, anti-discrimination law, contract law and tort law also will be applied. Topics will include the legal, contractual, and economic relationship between professional sports franchises and the sports and entertainment venues in which they play, and the ownership of athlete identity and its utilization by athletes, teams, sponsors, and equipment manufacturers. The course also will treat the regulation of agent representation of athletes, the regulation of sports franchises and sports leagues. Grades will be based on client-directed writing and on oral class participation, including an advocacy presentation. There is no examination. UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: This class may not be used to satisfy the requirement. OFFERING PATTERN: This class not offered every year. Students are advised to take this into account when planning their long-term schedule. ** A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, will be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.