At McCarthy Lebit, we believe that effective legal advocacy requires not only comprehensive knowledge of the law, but also a thorough understanding of our clients’ businesses. Our Sports & Media Law practice provides thorough and decisive representation, achieving game-changing results for clients while protecting their creative assets and business interests.
Who We Are
McCarthy Lebit’s experience in the areas of Sports & Media Law can be traced back more than six decades, to a period when our firm’s founder and former Managing Principal, Dan McCarthy, represented the Steinbrenner Family as their personal business attorney for nearly 40 years. Throughout that client relationship, Dan was also deeply entrenched in the business operations of the New York Yankees, even serving – for a brief period – as the managing general partner of the team in the early-1990s.
Today, we represent professional sports athletes, coaches, league executives, publishers, media personalities, and hospitality/entertainment venues by offering a suite of complementary legal services related to maximizing earning potential through contract negotiation, intellectual property protection, retirement or separation agreements, estate planning, tax planning, family planning (prenuptial agreements, divorce, child custody), charitable pursuits, real estate, and general business matters.
How We Help
We help our Sports & Media Law clients achieve their goals by not only maximizing their salary through the negotiation of player contracts, athlete endorsement agreements, event agreements and talent agreements, but we also work to secure a more financially stable future for them through negotiation of marketing, appearance, camps and sponsorship agreements.
Sports Betting: Licensing & Compliance
Sports betting is now legal in Ohio, with applications for Type A, B and C licenses available beginning June 1, 2022. The sports betting legislation was signed into law in December 2021 by Gov. Mike Dewine and gives the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) and the Ohio Lottery regulatory oversight of the industry. Businesses that want to offer sports betting in Ohio will have to apply for a gambling license, which are awarded for five-year terms. Moreover, the OCCC will offer three types of licenses. Licenses will be made available for online and mobile app betting, brick-and-mortar stores, and bars and restaurants with certain liquor permits. McCarthy Lebit has proven experience helping clients navigate Ohio’s administrative agencies and the many complex rules and regulations.
Who We Represent
McCarthy Lebit’s Sports & Media Law practice provides sophisticated legal counsel to athletes and media personalities. Our clients benefit from our industry knowledge and experience, and from our creative, solution-oriented and responsive approach.
Legal Counsel for Athletes (Professional and NCAA)
We bring an interdisciplinary and comprehensive approach to help develop and build brand protection for our clients by securing and protecting their intellectual property, including all forms of IP protection, such as trademarks, trade names, domain names and copyrights. Additionally, by working closely with other practices in the firm, we help ensure that our clients’ prenuptial, trust and estate planning, tax planning, foundation and charity work, and other legal needs are met.