Sports & Betting

Expert Analysis

• Opinion

  World Athletics Should Allow Nike's Innovative Running Shoes

  

  A close examination of Nike's controversial ZoomX Vaporfly Next% running shoes and a review of investigations by other sports’ governing bodies underline the importance of World Athletics' allowing the Vaporfly Next on the course, says Elizabeth McCurrach of BakerHostetler.

• Texas Could Take Page From Mass.'s Judicial Selection Book

  

  As Texas and other states review their judicial election processes, they would be well served by taking guidance from Massachusetts' Governor’s Council system, which protects the judiciary from the hazards of campaigning, says Richard Baker of New England Intellectual Property.

• Federal Laws Continue To Hinder State Sports Betting Trend

  

  Even as Colorado last week joined a growing wave of states legalizing sports betting, federal laws designed to assist states in gambling enforcement remain a roadblock to commonsense legislation and state cooperation in this area, says Dennis Ehling of Blank Rome.

• Series

  Judging A Book: McKeown Reviews 'Conversations With RBG'

  

  Reading Jeffrey Rosen’s "Conversations With RBG: Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Life, Love, Liberty, and Law" is like eavesdropping on the author and his subject while they discuss how the restrained judicial minimalist became the fiery leader of the opposition, says Ninth Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown.

• What NCAA Publicity Rights Guidance Means For Athletes

  

  Following the recent release of NCAA student-athlete compensation guidelines, it remains unclear how disparate governing bodies will choose to set rules, leaving student-athletes seeking to commercialize their names, images or likenesses through contracts or trademark rights with a confusing mix of incentives and prohibitions, says Radhika Raman of Knobbe Martens.

• Support For Federal Anti-Doping Bill Seems To Be Waning

  

  A federal bill that would criminalize international doping fraud conspiracies in sports would fill a necessary gap in U.S. enforcement policy, but it may take several more doping scandals before this type of legislation becomes reality, say Gavin Parrish and Miguel Salcedo of FTI Consulting.

• Where A Litigator's Advice Can Improve Agreement Drafting

  

  Transactional attorneys should consider consulting with litigation counsel when drafting certain contractual provisions — choice of law, choice of forum, attorney fees and others — that could come into play in a broad range of substantive disputes, says Adrienne Koch at Katsky Korins.

• Opinion

  Flat-Fee Legal Billing Can Liberate Attorneys

  

  Replacing hourly billing with flat-fee arrangements, especially for appellate work, will leave attorneys feeling free to spend as much time as necessary to produce their highest quality work, says Lawrence Ebner of Capital Appellate Advocacy.

• Spoliation Rule Remains Ambiguous Despite Amendments

  

  Although the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were amended to provide a uniform standard of culpability for spoliation, cases with similar facts are still reaching differing results because the rule does not specify how a court should evaluate a party's intent, say attorneys at Pepper Hamilton.

• Taxation Of Student-Athletes: Untangling Law And Policy

  

  In reaction to California’s new law allowing student-athletes to accept paid endorsements, a U.S. senator is introducing legislation to tax athletic scholarships. The ensuing discussion shows that the current tax treatment of scholarships is not well understood, says professor Samuel Brunson of Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

• Opinion

  To Abate Corruption, IAAF Must Change More Than Its Name

  

  The remedy for some very serious, and even criminal, problems currently plaguing the International Association of Athletics Federations — soon to be known as World Athletics — is nothing less than a total change in culture and leadership, says Ronald Katz at GCA Law.

• 5 Trends Influencing RFPs For Law Firms

  

  Requests for proposals, the standard tool of companies evaluating law firms, are becoming better suited to the legal industry, says Matthew Prinn of RFP Advisory Group.

• Series

  Why I Became A Lawyer: Being There For Families In Trouble

  

  My parents' contentious, drawn-out divorce was one of the worst experiences of my life. But it taught me how to be resilient — and ultimately led me to leave corporate litigation for a career in family law, helping other families during their own difficult times, says Sheryl Seiden of Seiden Family Law.

• Kawhi Leonard Faces Hurdles In Logo Dispute With Nike

  

  A California federal court's ruling in Kawhi Leonard v. Nike — that an exclusive ownership of intellectual property provision in the parties' endorsement contract applies to a claw logo copyrighted by Nike but allegedly created by Leonard — highlights some of the obstacles Leonard will have to overcome to prevail in the ongoing case, says Joseph Vernon of Miller Canfield.

• Examine Diversity Jurisdiction By Drilling Into Citizenship

  Excerpt from Lexis Practice Advisor

  

  Getting in or out of federal court on the basis of diversity jurisdiction frequently involves exploring important citizenship issues below the surface, or else a late-show jurisdiction defect could cause a case to be dismissed, says Jim Wagstaffe at Wagstaffe von Loewenfeldt.