Trade, Sports & Professional Associations

Meet 12 ABA members who inspired us in 2022

In this year’s Members Who Inspire series, the ABA Journal featured 12 extraordinary ABA members who go to great lengths to embolden their clients, colleagues and members of the communities around them. Their work includes helping immigrants with tax issues, advocating for individuals living with HIV/AIDS and addressing racial injustice and inequality.

Dec 14, 2022 8:38 AM CST

Former NBA lawyer is changing the game with holistic legal consulting for athletes

When she joined the Clippers in 2015, Nicole Duckett was the first Black woman to serve as a chief legal officer for any NBA team. In July, she founded Nikki Duckett Collective, a full-service legal consulting firm that provides holistic representation to ambitious elite athletes. It’s about global branding, savvy deal-making and long-term success—things Duckett already has spent decades achieving for her clients.

Dec 1, 2022 1:30 AM CST

Lawyer who missed deadline to watch son’s professional baseball debut gets no sympathy on appeal

Updated: A California lawyer was unable to get his client’s case reinstated when a federal appeals court rejected his excuse for missing a court deadline—that he was in Illinois to see his son’s professional baseball debut.

Nov 15, 2022 11:35 AM CST

Lawyer can see Billy Joel but not Knicks at Madison Square Garden as result of judge’s ruling

Updated: The Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. can ban a lawyer from buying tickets to New York Knicks or New York Rangers games following his lawsuit against the venue. But it has to honor any valid ticket that he presents for concerts at that location or for any shows at related venues, a New York judge has ruled.

Nov 15, 2022 8:40 AM CST

Rocket Lawyer announces partnership with Golden State Warriors

Legal tech company Rocket Lawyer said Thursday it has become an official legal services partner with NBA team the Golden State Warriors.

Oct 27, 2022 10:26 AM CDT

Astros cheat, lawyers prosper and fans strike out in sign-stealing scandal

On Friday night, the Houston Astros will go to bat against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of baseball’s Fall Classic. For many, this will call back Major League Baseball’s finding in 2020 that the Astros engaged in illegal sign-stealing during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

Oct 27, 2022 9:52 AM CDT

Ex-lawyer who argued football head injuries made him unable to form fraud intent loses in 6th Circuit

A federal appeals court has affirmed the conviction of a disbarred lawyer who argued that football head injuries made him unable to form an intent to defraud his bank.

Oct 20, 2022 1:14 PM CDT

Madison Square Garden misinterpreted ethics rules when it banned firm’s lawyers from venues, suit says

Updated: The Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. violated New York law when it used a “flimsy” ethics rationale to ban nearly 60 lawyers from Madison Square Garden venues, according to a lawsuit filed last week.

Oct 18, 2022 3:54 PM CDT

Athletic director’s claims that she was fired for being gay are rejected by 8th Circuit

A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of the University of Minnesota, which faced claims of discrimination after firing an openly gay athletic director in 2014.

Aug 16, 2022 9:24 AM CDT

NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals hire first in-house counsel in team’s history

The National Football League’s Cincinnati Bengals—which made an unexpected run to last season’s Super Bowl but ultimately lost to the Los Angeles Rams—have hired the first in-house attorney in the team's 55-year history.

Aug 15, 2022 1:35 PM CDT

‘Bad People Like Him’: An interview with master negotiator and former governor Bill Richardson

On Dec. 13, 1996, President Bill Clinton, in a White House ceremony, announced the nomination of Bill Richardson as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Just a few days earlier, the congressman from New Mexico had been using his diplomacy skills in a much less stately setting.

Aug 15, 2022 8:36 AM CDT

Weekly Briefs: Go-between sentenced in law prof’s murder; $4.25B opioid settlement announced

Convicted go-between gets life sentence in law prof’s murder Katherine Magbanua was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole for acting as the go-between in the murder of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel. She also received two consecutive 30-year sentences. Magbanua’s lawyer, Tara Kawass, said her client…

Jul 29, 2022 2:35 PM CDT

Thoughts on jail mail, courtesy of HBO’s ‘Real Sports’

I regularly receive letters from incarcerated individuals. It’s not lost on me that after reading the preceding statement, those of you who regularly follow this column and know I practice criminal defense likely think, “Well, duh. ... You probably have clients in jail, and they probably send you mail.”

Jul 25, 2022 8:38 AM CDT

Do you have what it takes to make esports your practice niche?

Are you a lawyer who plays League of Legends late at night? A World of Warcraft warrior who engages in courtroom combat during your daytime gig? And have you ever wished you could break into esports on a professional level—whether you're armed with a game controller or a briefcase?

Jun 8, 2022 9:00 AM CDT

US women’s soccer players will earn the same as men, thanks to a lawsuit and an unusual pooling deal

The U.S. Soccer Federation will pay male and female players the same as a result of unique collective bargaining agreements announced Wednesday.

May 18, 2022 3:00 PM CDT