Thursday, August 7, 2014 THE DAILY RECORD WESTERN NEW YORK’S SOURCE FOR LAW, REAL ESTATE, FINANCE AND GENERAL INTELLIGENCE SINCE 1908 MIKE MURPHY Harter Secrest & Emery partner Philip Fileri, wearing a Rochester Red Wings tie, lives and works baseball. Baseball, law make for homerun of a career BY MIKE MURPHY For every double off the leftfield wall at as a history of minor league baseball as it Wings. And if working with the team and Frontier Field that brings fans to their feet relates to the Wings). attending as many as 15 games a year isn’t comes the behind-the-scenes work resolv- And for every opportunity to play on enough, Fileri, of Pittsford, also makes a ing liability issues that results in an historic fields such as venerable Fenway point to attend quite a few Major League award-winning, ahead-of-the-curve, Park, famed home of the Boston Red Sox, Baseball games, depending on where his allergy-free, gluten-free section of the sta- Philip Fileri had to sign off before the schedule takes him. dium the Rochester Red Wings call home. Wings could take the field. Baseball, as the old Saturday Night Live For every called strike that pulls the Actually, in this case, not sign off. skit goes, has been very, very good to him, Wings out of a bases-loaded jam comes “The Red Sox wanted us to assume all since he was growing up and playing on negotiations with the state over aban- liability in case the players got hurt,” the T-shirt league fields in Irondequoit. doned Rochester Community Baseball Fileri said. “They wanted us to sign a “I love the game,” Fileri said. “I loved shares, a complicated jam of a different release and basically, I advised not to.” to play the game and I was always a sta- sort that involved an extensive search for And they played the game, but don’t tistics trivia buff. I followed all the shareholders and ultimately allowed the expect to see Fileri on the Frontier Field teams.” organization to be able to field the requi- diamond anytime soon. To the left, his 14th-floor corner office site quorum for voting on amending by- Fileri, partner at Harter Secrest & at the Bausch and Lomb tower offers a laws and such (as well as produced an Emery LLP, gets to experience many on- appraisal of the team that basically reads field and off-field thrills as counsel to the Continued ... Reprinted with permission of The Daily Record ©2014 Thursday, August 7, 2014 THE DAILY RECORD WESTERN NEW YORK’S SOURCE FOR LAW, REAL ESTATE, FINANCE AND GENERAL INTELLIGENCE SINCE 1908 Continued ... spectacular view of the Genesee River The best of the best and points beyond, and over his right shoulder he can watch as crews work on Every baseball fan likes to come up with a Curt Blefary and Chris Colabello revitalizing the Midtown Tower. He has no team of favorite players, and Harter Secrest & Second base: Bobby Grich view of Frontier Field, but the consolation Emery partner Philip Fileri is no exception, Shortstop: Jason Bartlett, Mark prize is a seat from the old Silver Stadium although this one required a bit of thought, he Belanger and Doug Bernier that adorns his office. said. Third base: Cal Ripken Jr. and Jeff Baseball is a sport that lends itself to “The list is a little heavy on some of the older Manto storytelling, and Fileri has many stories to players, which I think is indicative of how we Left field: Don Baylor tell. value our memories as a kid,” Fileri said. Center field: Paul Blair Go ahead, ask him about the time he Here are his all-time favorite Rochester Right field: Jason Kubel and Jim Fuller and law partner John Pattison watched Red Wings players, by position. Pitchers: Francisco Liriano, Mike Flana- Mark McGwire tee-off during an All-Star Catcher: Chris Hoiles gan, Scott McGregor, Mike Mussina and game home-run hitting contest and sud- First base: Justin Morneau, Boog Powell, Jamie Moyer. denly discovered the ball descending on Reds baseball team, which put the idea on Easier said than done. them at frightening speed — only to be Fileri’s radar. To make it happen, the stadium saved by a kid and his baseball glove at After Fileri graduated, he rejected required renovation, which meant modifi- the last second. offers from New York City law firms to cations in the team’s lease with Monroe “Great catch,” Fileri said. “We were County, which supported the idea pro- pretty appreciative of that.” stay in Rochester because his future wife, vided no extra cost to taxpayers was Growing up, Fileri was a member of the Betty, was finishing up medical school incurred, Fileri said. That also meant Knothole Gang, a club that enabled courses at the University of Rochester. He determining how to split revenues and youths to attend Wings games for as little began summer clerking for the firm in treat concession and gate revenues — as 50 cents. Back in the 1960s, the team 1976 and began practicing at Harter Secrest a year later. let’s just say this was an involved deal. played at Silver Stadium, which was not And that’s without figuring out how to too far away from where he grew up. The In the early 1980s, former partner Nicholas Robfogel successfully repre- squeeze an extra half season on top of the Wings were the farm team of the Balti- Red Wings home schedule. It all came more Orioles back then, not the Min- sented current Red Wings president and CEO Naomi Silver in a proxy fight; Fileri together, overall attendance increased, nesota Twins as is today. more payments were made on the lease Seeing future Orioles stars like Bobby worked under Robfogel until he retired in the 1990s. agreement and fans got to enjoy more Grich play in his backyard was both cool games, he said. A record crowd was even and fun, he said. Visits to his uncle in The work is streaky, Fileri said, ranging from the normal audit committee reports, treated to an appearance by Yankee Berkeley, California, meant trips to the pitcher Andy Pettite, who pitched in executive compensation agreements and old Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Rochester while rehabbing an injury — board meetings to some special projects That’s why he became a fan of the San which Fileri puts among his top baseball that pose unique challenges and require a Francisco Giants and players like Felipe memories. bit of legal finesse. Alou — because of his first name — and “That was a business deal in the context Take the 2012 season. The Willie Mays, because who didn’t like the of a sporting situation,” Fileri said. Say Hey Kid? Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees — the Fileri is an excellent and conscientious The love of the game never left him, farm team of the New York Yankees — attorney who is always on top of his although mixing law and baseball never needed a place to play their home games game — and a great guy, fan and counsel occurred to him, at least not until his because its new stadium was under con- to the organization, Silver said. years at University of Michigan Law struction. Silver, who Fileri described as a “It’s always wonderful to work with School prepping for a career in corporate leader among owners in the league, somebody who knows how much the Red law. A good friend had taken a job with a offered to let the Yankees play at Frontier law firm that represented the Cincinnati Field. Continued ... Reprinted with permission of The Daily Record ©2014 Thursday, August 7, 2014 THE DAILY RECORD WESTERN NEW YORK’S SOURCE FOR LAW, REAL ESTATE, FINANCE AND GENERAL INTELLIGENCE SINCE 1908 Continued ... generate customers who buy food, he said. thing having a naming contract.” “One of the things about Frontier Field Wings mean to the community,” Silver Putting his baseball cap on, it’s a good is the food is just terrific,” Fileri said. said. “We don’t treat ourselves like a reg- thing having so many baseball memories, “They work hard at that. All you have to ular business. Phil understands this. He from his youth, from watching his kids do is go to other stadiums and you really knows our number-one objective is to pro- grow up to the present and the players see the difference. It’s as good as any who have come and gone along the way. vide a very good experience for the fan. major league park.” We couldn’t do it without partners like He once snapped a picture of the backs of And Fileri has visited more than a few Giants star Barry Bonds and San Diego Phil.” stadiums. Padres Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, stand- And make no mistake, Fileri is a fan. If When his twin sons were younger, ing side by side wearing the same All Star he’s working late and his wife has other they’d visit different parks on vacations. plans, he’ll pop over for a few innings Work brought him to a few other cities. In game jerseys and gave it to his law part- before heading to his Pittsford home. No all, he’s caught games up and down both ner. worries about dinner, either, on those coasts, in the country’s heartland and in The photo came up after the recent nights. Canada. death of Gwynn. One way to look at the operation of a “It’s tough to remember park names “It’s really a boring picture if you’re a minor league baseball team is as a food- now because of naming rights changes, normal person,” Fileri said.