1 Hour MCLE

In collaboration with the Entertainment and Sports Interest Group of the Intellectual Property Law Section, California Lawyers Association presents three of the biggest names in the sports business, Darren Heitner, Dan Lust, and Jeremy Evans will discuss hot topics in sports law! Join us for this wonderful one-of-a-kind webinar as attorneys from three of the largest states in the Union provide an update on sports, media, and entertainment law industries and issues!

• What to make of the PGA merger and antitrust issues?
• NIL future?  (Fewer conferences, no NCAA, more universities brokering deals, federal legislation or more state clarifications)?
• Sports betting regulation and issues?
• Where industries collide: content is king 
• Growth of new sports leagues and much more!  

Jeremy M. Evans is an award-winning attorney and industry leader based in Los Angeles and Newport Beach, California. Mr. Evans is an expert in best practices and negotiations in entertainment, media and sports. He represents entertainment, media, and sports clients in contractual and intellectual property negotiations with a focus on dealmaking. His clients range from Fortune 500 corporations to entrepreneurs, advertising and production companies, studios, agencies, talent, and more.
 
 Mr. Evans is the CEO, Founder, and Managing Attorney of California Sports Lawyer®. He hosts the California Sports Lawyer® Podcast with Jeremy Evans on the Bleav Network, which focuses on the latest topics and most interesting legal angles in entertainment, media, and sports law.
 
 Within the community, Mr. Evans serves as the 2021-2023 President of the California Lawyers Association, a voluntary bar association of over 80,000 members. He is also a member of the Board of Advisors for the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, a centennial campaign for the Rose Bowl Stadium. He serves as an advisor to entrepreneurs in entertainment, media, and sports for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and is a member of the faculty of law at the California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) Graduate Program in Sport Management.
 
 Mr. Evans received his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California. Additionally, Mr. Evans holds a Master of Laws (LL.M) in Entertainment, Media, and Sports Law from Pepperdine University’s Rick J. Caruso School of Law, and a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) in Entertainment, Media and Sports Management from Pepperdine University’s George L. Graziadio School of Business and Management.

Darren Heitner is the Founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., an adjunct professor of Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, an adjunct professor of NIL at the University of Miami School of Law, a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association, and author of many books published by the American Bar Association (How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know) as well as numerous articles in Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. Heitner has been referred to as one of the foremost experts on name, image, and likeness (NIL) by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, a power player in NIL deals by Action Network, “a founding father of college athletes earning rights,” and a top sports trademark attorney by Sportico.
 
 Heitner has been honored with the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Oustanding Young Alumnus Award, and named the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. In 2023, Heitner Legal was the only law firm named to Sports Business Journal’s first list of NIL Power Players.
 
 Heitner’s sports clients have included Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, University of Florida Athletic Hall of Famer Fred Taylor, Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyreek Hill, Xavien Howard, Jamal Adams, Nick Chubb, Mac Jones, Shane Bieber, Manny Ramirez, Anna Kournikova, Draymond Green, Terry Rozier, Haley and Hanna Cavinder, and Rick Pitino.
 
 In 2005, Heitner got his start in the business of sports by creating Sports Agent Blog, which has since that date served as a lead publication in the space surrounding sports agency news, interviews, information, and opinion.
 
 In 2007, Heitner graduated magna cum laude from the University of Florida with a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science, and was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. In 2010, Heitner received a Juris Doctorate from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
 
 Heitner has always fashioned himself as an athlete advocate. In 2019, Heitner was asked by Florida Representative Chip LaMarca to assist with the crafting and promotion of legislation that sought to provide Florida college athletes with the right to profit off of their names, images, and likenesses (NIL). The bill passed both the Florida House and Senate before being signed into law by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in June 2020, making Florida the first state to have a July 1, 2021 effective date and leading the way toward establishing important NIL rights for all college athletes across the United States. Heitner has continued to be an advocate for athlete rights and worked on behalf of numerous athletes and brands, including Gatorade, INFLCR, Marketpryce, and Icon Source, in the NIL space.

Daniel Lust focuses his practice on representing athletes, entertainers, influencers, musicians, and agencies in connection with their business transactions which include endorsement and sponsorship deals as well as complex business ventures. Mr. Lust also has an extensive litigation background and has handled high-profile matters for a diverse range of individuals and businesses including Fortune 500 companies.
 
 Mr. Lust began his professional career working for the New York Giants in their Public Relations Department and remained with the team for several years while simultaneously pursuing a law degree at Fordham Law School. During law school, Mr. Lust focused on an intensive Sports Law track, training on both the player and team side of employment and contractual issues: working for SFX Baseball (now ISE Baseball), one of the premier baseball agencies in the country, and also for MLB teams within the salary arbitration process including the Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins, and Oakland Athletics. Over the last decade, Mr. Lust turned his sports-specific beginnings into a well-rounded legal practice which has evolved to include representation of professional athletes, entertainers and other celebrities as well as institutional clients.
 
 Named a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers each year from 2019 through 2022, Mr. Lust is recognized as one of the preeminent voices on legal issues specific to professional and collegiate athletes and the teams for which they play. He is frequently called upon to provide his expertise for his network of industry contacts and media outlets and has also been a featured speaker for events before students, lawyers, judges, and business owners. In this capacity, he has made countless appearances on television and radio programs across the country and is regularly quoted on Sports Law issues in national media including ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, Fox Business, Front Office Sports, The Athletic, Action Network, CBS Sports, MSG Networks, and Court TV.
 
 Mr. Lust is also an Adjunct Professor at New York Law School in the Fall and Fordham Law School in the Spring where he teaches students employment law, intellectual property, sports betting legislation, sports agency regulations, defamation, collective bargaining agreements, and their specific application to the professional and amateur sports fields. He also hosts a very popular podcast called “Conduct Detrimental: THE Sports Law Podcast” and with thousands of listeners each month it is considered the #1 Podcast in the genre. His show is at the forefront of the sports media space and has been cited by the New York Times, Washington Post and ESPN, among other outlets, for its in-depth coverage of complex topics such as name, image, & likeness in college sports, antitrust litigation, athlete unionization, and sports betting legalization.
 
 Mr. Lust helped establish the “NIL Pro Bono Project” at New York Law School.  The group, consisting of professors, lawyers, and students, works with athletes, agents, businesses, politicians, and school administrators to advise on the complex regulatory rules regarding significant trends within state and school regulations.  The project has assembled a strong network of NIL professionals throughout the country to help on a pro bono basis to provide free representation to those in need and is at the cutting-edge of all updates in the space.