Paul Hastings announced the launch of a global Sports practice and the addition of former Baltimore Ravens Senior Vice President and General Counsel Brandon Etheridge as a partner in its Washington, D.C. office.
The new practice brings together lawyers from across Paul Hastings’ entertainment and media, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, investment funds, finance, hospitality, real estate, labor and employment, intellectual property, litigation and regulatory practices. It will advise investors, professional teams, leagues, governing bodies, broadcasting networks, rights holders, esports businesses, gaming companies and other participants across the international sports ecosystem.
Paul Hastings said the launch responds to the continued evolution of professional sports from a collection of closely held franchises into a global investment category attracting private equity firms, institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and strategic operators. Rising franchise valuations, expanding media rights opportunities, venue development projects and new forms of commercial monetization have increased the need for coordinated legal advice covering the entire lifecycle of a sports investment.
The firm’s global sports platform is an extension of its Chambers Band 1-ranked Entertainment & Media practice. Partners Erik Hyman, Ken Deutsch and Sidney Fohrman advise sports and entertainment clients on transactions, licensing arrangements, investments, financings and intellectual property matters.
The practice will handle acquisitions and sales of teams and sports-related assets, fund formation, minority investments, commercial partnerships, media rights agreements, sponsorships, financings, stadium and venue developments, intellectual property matters and disputes. It will also advise clients on regulatory issues and emerging technologies reshaping how sports content is produced, distributed and monetized.
Paul Hastings said its experience spans traditional professional sports organizations, global football clubs, combat sports, motorsports, broadcasting, ticketing, gaming and esports. The firm has worked with organizations and businesses connected to MLB, the NFL, NBA, NHL, FIFA, the PGA Tour, UFC and Formula 1, as well as companies including ESPN, Vivid Seats, Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft.
Etheridge’s arrival further strengthens the new platform by adding experience from the team, league and private-practice sides of the sports industry. Before joining Paul Hastings, he served as senior vice president and general counsel of the Baltimore Ravens. He previously worked as assistant labor relations counsel for the NFL and began his legal career with Covington’s Band 1-ranked Sports Law Group.
His experience advising both a major professional sports franchise and the league gives him insight into the commercial, operational and economic considerations affecting franchise value and profitability. At Paul Hastings, Etheridge will counsel teams, leagues, asset managers and other sports-related clients on evaluating, acquiring, operating, expanding and protecting sports assets.
Etheridge also has experience with high-value commercial transactions, public-private partnerships, complex real estate matters and the development of stadiums and practice facilities. His work has included leading significant capital projects and creating additional revenue opportunities for team ownership, including the development and monetization of media and advertising assets located around stadium properties.
The firm said Etheridge’s background will help clients address the increasingly interconnected legal and business issues surrounding sports ownership. These matters can include investment structures, labor considerations, financing, media rights, sponsorship agreements, venue operations, real estate development and strategies intended to improve the long-term value of a franchise.
Etheridge was included in Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list of promising young professionals in sports in 2014. He was later selected for the Baltimore Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” class and was named to the Sports Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” in 2024.
His recruitment follows several other additions to Paul Hastings’ sports-focused team. In May, the firm hired Mark Zerdin in London as a partner and chair of the Sports practice. Zerdin joined from Slaughter and May, where he was co-head of the firm’s Sports practice.
Zerdin advises sports teams, governing bodies, corporations, private equity firms and family offices on mergers, acquisitions and other strategic transactions. His experience includes advising TWG Motorsports and General Motors on their successful application to compete in the FIA Formula One World Championship as the Cadillac Formula 1 Team.
Paul Hastings also recently added Chidi Oteh as an Investment Funds & Private Capital and sports partner in Boston. Oteh joined from Ropes & Gray’s Band 1-ranked Funds practice and has experience from both private practice and in-house positions involving Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer teams.
Oteh advises asset managers, investment funds, institutional investors, teams and sports organizations. His experience includes matters involving the NFL, Golden State Warriors, Carolina Panthers and Seattle Seahawks, as well as a range of professional and collegiate sports issues.
The firm’s broader sports team includes corporate partner Benjamin Stein in Boston, M&A partner Tim Fesenmyer in New York and global Hospitality & Leisure lawyer Todd Fieldston in New York. Their work spans investments, acquisitions, commercial agreements, hospitality projects, venue developments and other matters involving sports, entertainment, media, gaming and esports clients.
Paul Hastings intends to use the combined team to advise both investors seeking exposure to sports assets and the teams, leagues and rights holders operating alongside those investors. The platform will provide coordinated assistance across corporate, tax, capital markets, finance, real estate, intellectual property, labor, regulatory and litigation disciplines.
The launch also reflects a wider shift in the economics of professional sports. Beyond ticket sales and traditional broadcasting agreements, franchises and rights holders are increasingly creating value through streaming, international expansion, sponsorship arrangements, data, gaming, premium hospitality, mixed-use real estate developments and stadium-adjacent commercial assets.
KEY QUOTES:
“Sports has matured from a niche trophy asset into a growing asset class projected to be in the trillions, and clients navigating that shift need counsel who can match their sophistication and ambition across a broad and evolving spectrum of opportunities. Paul Hastings is uniquely positioned to holistically meet that demand through our market-leading entertainment, sports and media work and our deep relationships with the world’s leading asset managers, sovereign investors and strategic operators, as well as many of the most prominent sporting teams and bodies around the world.”
“Expanding our Sports practice is a priority for our firm, and premier talent at the top of the professional sports world like Brandon—who brings both an insider’s perspective and network of elite industry contacts—is key to our continued growth. As sports further evolves into its own asset class, Brandon’s arrival marks a significant step in positioning Paul Hastings to best serve clients and substantially increase market share in this fast-growing sector.”
Frank Lopez, Chair of Paul Hastings
“Paul Hastings has an impressive foundation in the sports world from which to grow its presence and market share, and I look forward to leveraging my experience to contribute to its momentum. Over the course of my career at both the league and club level, I’ve had the opportunity to work at the center of many of the strategies, transactions and long-term operational decisions that drive sports asset value creation. Working alongside the firm’s broader Entertainment, Sports & Media platform, I’m excited to collaborate with the firm’s bench of premier lawyers to continue serving clients on their most pivotal opportunities and matters in this dynamic space.”
Brandon Etheridge, Partner at Paul Hastings
