Panel 1: Jodi S. Balsam
Jodi S. Balsam is an Associate Professor of Clinical Law and Director of Externship Programs at the Brooklyn Law School. Among her teaching interests are Sports Law, Professional Responsibility, the Externship Seminar, and negotiation and other lawyering skills. She is the faculty advisor to the Brooklyn Entertainment and Sports Law Society, which voted her 2016 Professor of the Year, and she is chair of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Law and Sports. Professor Balsam has also taught courses in Sports Law and Sports Contracts at New York University, New York Law School, and Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, Germany. She is a co-author of the upcoming sixth edition of Weiler Robert's Sports and the Law, the leading law school casebook in the field. Before joining academia, Professor Balsam was the National Football League's Counsel for Operations and Litigation, where she managed litigation in all areas of law, oversaw a variety of policy and operational matters, negotiated and drafted contracts for League special events including the Super Bowl, and administered the League's internal dispute resolution process and compliance program. She began her practice career as a litigation attorney with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, representing primarily sports and entertainment clients in antitrust matters and complex commercial litigation. She has also served as a law clerk for Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Judge Charles Brieant of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Counsel to the Clerk of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and now sits on the Court's Attorney Advisory Committee on Local Rules. Professor Balsam has presented at many sports law conferences and symposia, and frequently appears in the media on legal issues in sports being seen on ESPN, MSNBC, and quoted in the New York Times, USA Today, Bloomberg/Businessweek, and CBS Moneywatch. Andrew B. Lustigman
Andrew B. Lustigman is a partner at Olshan Law representing marketers, advertisers, agencies, and suppliers in connection with the legal aspects of their advertising and promotional marketing businesses. He is a member of the Olshan Executive Committee and is Chair of the firm's Advertising, Marketing, and Promotion's group. Leveraging his extensive experience in advertising, marketing and promotions, Andrew counsels domestic and international clients regarding a broad range of matters, including the clearance of advertising and marketing materials, the structuring of sweepstakes, games or skill, and other contests, the development of social media programs and direct marketing campaigns from a compliance standpoint, and the resolution of regulatory, competitor, intellectual property and privacy matters. According to Chambers USA, clients report, "he's the one guy in the industry I'd go to. Every single issue in advertising, compliance, litigation, whatever – he does it all, and he does it well." Andy is also noted as "a renowned transactional lawyer who is also adept in dispute resolution," noting that he "gives excellent advice" and "helps me find creative solutions." A significant portion of Andy's practice involves a review of advertising and promotional campaigns to help ensure compliance with substantiation requirements and relevant legal standards. He provides advice or campaigns across all media channels – Internet, television, print, radio, direct mail, mobile, telemarketing, and other electronic media, as well as social media platforms. Andy regularly appears on television, radio, and in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, National Law Journal, Inside Counsel, Bloomberg BNA, Law360, Mobile Marketer, Luxury Daily, and Response discussing important new cases and trends that advertisers and marketers need to know. He also contributes to the Brand Activation Association/Promotion Marketing Association's Promotion Marketing Law treatise and various American Bar Association publications. He frequently speaks on advertising and promotional market law topics throughout the country. Miles Welo
Miles Welo is an attorney at Mansour Gavin LPA and certified NFLPA Contract Advisor at Game Sports Management and Media. As an attorney, Miles represents clients on a broad range of issues related to business, athletics, estate planning, litigation, IP, and music.
As a Contract Advisor, Miles focuses on representing NFL players in their contract negotiations, marketing negotiations, pre-draft training, and general business transactions. Miles also counsels football coaches in their professional and personal capacities.
Miles completed the Great Lakes Sports and Entertainment Law Academy in 2011, and served as the Vice President of the Entertainment and Sports Law Association at Cleveland-Marshall college of Law. He received his undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University and received his law degree from Cleveland-Marshal College of Law, where he graduated cum laude.
Miles has an extensive background in football, including time that he served as an assistant football coach at Division-II affiliated Notre Dame College. Miles maintains his connection to coaching as he now serves as an assistant football coach at Benedictine High School in Cleveland, Ohio.
Panel 2: Laura Lape
Professor Laura Lape graduated law school with highest honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She practiced as an associate in the probate department at a leading Boston law firm before beginning a teaching career. She taught at Temple University and at UNC at Chapel Hill before coming to Syracuse. Professor Lape focuses her writing on copyright law and teaches courses in copyright, property, and intellectual property. Her research interests lie mainly in the area of copyright law.
Frank W. Ryan
Frank Ryan is a Partner, Global Co-Chair, US Co-Chair, and Intellectual Property and Technology Deputy Chair at DLA Piper in New York City. Frank provides legal and strategic advice to domestic and multinational clients who draw on his experience in litigation, intellectual property, media and sports, and complex commercial matters. Frank has successfully taken a wide variety of cases to trial and his clients turn to him as a go-to strategist and litigator for their most important matters. He has handled numerous cases and jury trials in the media, sport and medical device arenas and has particular experience in patent, trademark, trade secret, false advertising and business litigation. Frank routinely counsels clients on media and sports deals as well as on patent, trademark and copyright litigation and intellectual property portfolio development and protection. Frank’s experience includes numerous engagements for ESPN, Disney, ABC, NCAA Related matters, Nike, Al Jazeera, Medtronic, ConMed and beIN Sports, as well as for a number of other prominent networks, medical device companies, and media and sports related entities, among them professional sports clubs. Frank has extensive case experience in the areas of Copyright, Trademark, First Amendment, and Patent cases. He has presented at various seminars, is widely published, and actively participates in the Syracuse University community. Jaia Thomas
Jaia Thomas is a Los Angeles-based sports and entertainment attorney with over ten years of experience. She regularly assists professionals in the television, film and digital industries with transactional and intellectual property matters. She has been quoted as a legal expert in such publications as The New York Times, USA Today and ESPN and has served as a panelist for the Los Angeles County Bar Association and Beverly Hills Bar Association. Jaia is currently an adjunct professor at UCLA, where she teaches a course titled "Copyright Law and the Entertainment Industry." She also teaches a summer seminar series at Southwestern Law School titled "How to Start and Build a Law Practice," where she equips law students with the tools necessary to launch and successfully sustain a law practice. Prior to her appointment at UCLA and Southwestern Law, she was an adjunct professor at American University in Washington DC where she taught graduate students about the inner workings of production company formation. She has guest lectured at Vassar College and Georgetown Law School. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Jaia Thomas is a graduate of Colgate University (BA) and The George Washington University Law School (JD). She also holds a Certificate in Television, Film and New Media Production from University of California, Los Angeles. She is a member of the New York Bar Association and American Bar Association.
Panel 3: Justin DiTolla
Justin DiTolla was appointed the Assistant Athletics Director for Compliance at Syracuse University in August of 2017. He is currently the compliance liaison with the football and softball programs at SU. He is responsible for day-to-day compliance operations of both programs as to ensure compliance with NCAA, Atlantic Coast Conference and University rules and regulations. In addition, he is responsible for the comprehensive rules education program that consists of educating coaches, student-athletes, boosters, athletic department staff and other University officials. He previously served as the Assistant Director of Compliance at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from September 2013 through July 2017, where he was the compliance liaison with the football, softball, men’s volleyball, women’s water polo and men’s/women’s golf programs. He implemented agents and amateurism program ensuring student-athletes maintained their eligibility while exploring a professional career in sports. He also oversaw the transfer process for all incoming and outgoing student-athletes. Justin began his career in college athletics as a Compliance Intern at the University of Oregon from October 2011 through September 2013. He earned his undergraduate degree in business with an emphasis on Finance from the University of San Diego in 2011. He was a member of the 2007 USD football team that earned a share of the Pioneer Football League title. He will be attending the Syracuse University Whitman School of Business for his Master’s in Business Administration this upcoming fall. Richard L. Katz
Richard Katz has over 30 years of experience in the Sports industry. He has negotiated, drafted and reviewed countless employment contracts for elite professional athletes in the US and around the world. He has negotiated Executive Compensation Agreements in the Sports industry for highly regarded Head Coaches in the NCAA, both football and basketball, as well as Division I Athletic Directors. He is well versed in Executive Compensation Agreements for members of the broadcast media, both radio and TV, has been credited for negotiating some of the top above market contracts for Coaches in the NCAA, and is an expert in not only assessing and obtaining value for his clients but in negotiating vital contract language. He is a Certified Contract Advisor with both the National Football Players Association (NFLPA) and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA). Richard is a highly respected member of the National Sports Lawyers Association. He has served on both the Board of Trustees for the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. He has lectured at numerous law schools in the US as well as many sports related seminars and is currently an adjunct Professor of Sports Law at the Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University. Richard maintains a world class reputation as a result of his professionalism and fair minded dealings with teams in the NFL, NBA, schools in the NCAA and with professional Clubs around the world. His experience in Global negotiation has included dealings with most countries in Europe, Asia, South America, Australia and Canada. Justin Sievert
Justin Sievert is a founding Partner of Sievert Werly LLC. He represents college, universities, athletics conferences, and individuals on college athletics issues, including NCAA infractions investigations, compliance-related matters, Title IX, commercial transactions, and employment law. Justin is also a nationally recognized sports legal expert and has served as a contributing writer on sports law issues for Sporting News, and has been quoted by numerous national media outlets, including, The New York Times, the Miami Herald, Forbes, Law 360, and Bloomberg BNA.
In addition to his practice of law, Justin has served as a sports law professor at the University of Tennessee College of Law and has taught other graduate and undergraduate-level courses on NCAA and NAIA compliance, legal and ethical issues in athletics administration, labor and employment law and business law. He is also a frequent sports industry speaker and has presented at national conferences and legal symposiums, as well as seminars and workshops tailored to an organization’s specific needs. Justin received his B.A. in political science from Union College (NY) in 2003, where he was a four-year starter on the varsity football team and a three-time All-American for the track and field program. He graduated with a M.Ed from St. Lawrence University in 2005 and a J.D. from the University of Miami (FL) School of Law in 2008.
Key Note Address: Gregg Brandon
Gregg G. Brandon serves as the Executive Vice President & General Counsel for the Buffalo Bills and Pegula Sports & Entertainment (PSE). Mr. Brandon is responsible for overseeing all legal and human resource related matters for the Buffalo Bills, PSE and PSE’s Portfolio Companies. Those matters include transactions, compliance, risk management, government relations, insurance and litigation. The PSE Portfolio Companies include the Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, Rochester Americans, Buffalo Bandits, Buffalo Beauts, HARBORCENTER, IMPACT Sports Performance, (716) Food & Sport, The Healthy Scratch, Terra Mare and PicSix Creative. Among other projects, Mr. Brandon has worked on the public-private funded modernization project at Ralph Wilson Stadium, the sale of the Buffalo Bills franchise to Terry and Kim Pegula, the New Era Field naming rights deal, the MSG Networks Broadcast Rights Agreements and the 2018 World Junior Hockey Championships Agreement. Mr. Brandon was previously Vice President and General Counsel for XOS Technologies, Inc., the leading provider of digital asset management solutions and digital coaching technologies for collegiate and professional sports organizations, and its wholly owned subsidiary Collegiate Images, LLC, the centralized licensing and rights clearance agency that manages the distribution of archived college athletics video and photographs. While there, Mr. Brandon was directly responsible for overseeing all legal matters affecting the company with a focus on negotiating and drafting sales, advertising, digital rights and technology agreements. He was responsible for counseling staff, clients and partners about intellectual property, technology and contractual rights. In addition, he served as Corporate Secretary advising the Board of Directors and senior management team on legal issues such as corporate governance, corporate securities, risk management, mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Brandon has also worked in private practice with the firms of Howrey LLP in Houston, Texas and Akerman Senterfitt, in West Palm Beach, Florida, he has served as primary contact for several large companies and counseled on complex commercial transactions and intellectual property enforcement. Mr. Brandon currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Buffalo Bills Foundation and is a member of the Sports Lawyers Association. Joseph E. Hanna
Joseph Hanna is a commercial litigator and legal adviser nationally recognized for his work in media and entertainment law, as well as for being a leading voice for diversity in the legal and business communities. Joe is the founder and chair of Goldberg Segalla’s Sports and Entertainment Practice Group, chair of its Retail and Hospitality Practice Group, editor of the Sports and Entertainment Law Insider blog, and chair of the firm’s Diversity Task Force. He is the founder and president of Bunkers in Baghdad, a nonprofit that collects and sends golf equipment to U.S. soldiers and veterans worldwide to aid in recreation and rehabilitation from injuries. Joe dedicates his practice to serving the sports and entertainment, retail, hospitality, and commercial development industries. He represents national-league sports franchises, professional athletes, movie studios, and others in the sports and entertainment world on a wide range of high value matters involving licensing, contracts, and day-to-day business management. Major retail and restaurant chains, global hotel and hospitality enterprises, shopping centers, property owners, and developers rely on Joe to find creative and cost-effective resolutions to dispute with other parties, to represent them in commercial litigation, and to handle a broad array of legal and business challenges. An accomplished mediator, he is also a member of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution’s Panels of Distinguished Neutrals, a group of global leaders in providing and promoting alternative dispute resolution. Joe is nationally renowned for his work in media and entertainment law and for his authorship of leading articles on high-profile issues in these areas including the first truly comprehensive examination of the legal issues in the National Football League concussion litigation controversy. Joe has been recognized by Law360 as a Rising Star and the ABA as an “On the Rise – Top 40 Young Lawyer.”
Moderator: Kevin Belbey
Kevin Belbey, ’13 & L’16, works as a Talent Representative at The Montag Group, a talent agency representing over 200 news and sports broadcasters. As a student in the College of Law, Kevin was the Executive Director of the school’s Moot Court Honor Society, a Law Ambassador, Vice President of the Communications Law & Policy Society, a Student Attorney within the Children’s Rights & Family Law Clinic, competed on the 2015 Tournament of Champions & 2014 National Civil Trial Competition mock trial teams, and played on the Syracuse Law basketball team. He also received his master’s degree from Newhouse in New Media Management. Due to his contributions to SUCOL, Kevin was honored with the Paul Shipman Andrews Award, the Law Ambassador Award, the Office of Student Life Dean’s Award, the Ralph E. Kharas Leadership Award, and the Robert W. Miller Trial Advocacy Award.
In 2015, Kevin founded Boeheim’s Army - a team of former Syracuse Men’s Basketball legends to compete for a $2 million winner-take-all prize in The Basketball Tournament (TBT) on ESPN. He has worked as the team’s General Manager the past three summers.