Paul Hastings LLP, a law firm with offices across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, has launched a sports practice, the company announced on Monday.
The new group will operate as a subdivision of Paul Hastings’ existing entertainment and media practice. It will be run by Mark Zerdin, the former co-head of sports at London-based firm Slaughters, who was hired two months ago. Last week, Paul Hastings added Chidi Oteh, a fund formation expert who previously worked at MLB, MLS and the Boston office of Ropes & Gray. On Monday, it announced the hire of Brandon Etheridge, the general counsel of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens.
“The way that we grow and build is just about talent—it’s elite talent,” Frank Lopez, the chair of Paul Hastings, said. “And so even if we have an intentionality around a strategy, we can’t execute on it if we’re not able to attract the kind of talent that’s going to make a difference.”
Paul Hastings’ sports involvement goes back the “last few years,” Lopez noted, touching the industry through many of its 17 core practices. The firm has worked with a laundry list of major sports teams, leagues and properties. It recently represented New York City FC on the development of Etihad Park, its new 25,000-seat stadium in Queens, plus a lender group involved in Legends’ acquisition of ASM Global and UFC in a class-action lawsuit regarding its Fight Pass streaming service.
