Jeffrey L. Kessler
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey L. Kessler is currently the Global Litigation Chair at the international law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf
where he is also the co-chair of the Sports Litigation Practice Group and serves on the firm's Executive and Leadership Committees. His major clients include the National Football League Players Association, the National Basketball Players Association
, and Panasonic
Corporation (formerly, Matsushita Electric).
called Sea Gate with his parents and his older sister Linda. He went on to Columbia University
graduating summa cum laude in 1975 and then Columbia Law School
. He graduated there as a Kent Scholar and editor of the Law Review in 1977.
as an Associate in the Anti-Trust Department full time in 1977, after working there as a Summer Associate in 1976. He went on to become a Partner in 1984. Over the course of his career at Weil from 1976-2003 he was the lead counsel in various complex antitrust, sports law and IP law cases, including major jury trials. He has represented a number of US and international companies in criminal and civil investigations in the antitrust and trade areas. He was part of the team that successfully defended Matsushita Electric and JVC
against claims of a worldwide conspiracy in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, Zenith v. Matsushita. As part of his work in this case along with many others he became regarded as a leading commentator on international antitrust law. He also was the lead counsel in several intellectual property cases involving frontier issues of IP law.
Additionally, Kessler became known as one of the most prominent sports lawyer in the country as he became regularly engaged in high-profile sports litigation. He litigated some of the most famous sports-antitrust cases in history while at Weil, including McNeil v. the NFL, the landmark antitrust jury trial which led to the establishment of free agency in the National Football League
(NFL). He also handled numerous other sports law cases for such clients as the National Football League Players Association, the National Basketball Players Association, the Arena Football League Players Association, the National Hockey League Players Association, the Major League Baseball Players Association
, the NFL Coaches Association, Players, Inc., the Women's Tennis Benefit Association and Adidas. Kessler represented various classes of NBA, NFL, AFL and MLS players, and several professional leagues, the now defunct North American Soccer League and United States Football League, as well as the Cities of San Diego and Oakland, and Alameda County, in various sports law disputes. He also successfully represented Latrell Sprewell in his controversial suspension arbitration.
and JVC
. His unparalleled reputation as a sports lawyer has continued to grow as well. Aside from the numerous clients mentioned above, many of whom he continues to do regular work for, he has also recently done work on behalf of the National Invitation Tournament, CAA
Sports, Wasserman Media Group, SCP Worldwide, and Pro Bono work for South African Amputee Sprinter Oscar Pistorious and Castor Semanaya. Both runners were successfully represented by Kessler and allowed to continue their careers despite challenges from the IAAF. Kessler negotiated the current free agency/salary cap systems in the NFL, NBA, and successfully represented Michael Vick
in his roster bonus arbitration, Plaxico Burress in his Signing Bonus arbitration, and numerous other players in successful arbitrations and “special master cases” as well.
Kessler is a Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School where he teaches a course on complex litigation. He has written and lectured extensively on a wide variety of antitrust, sports law and related topics. Most recently, Kessler published a new edition of International Trade and U.S. Antitrust Law, a leading treatise on antitrust and trade law issues in a global economy, he also was Co-Editor-in-Chief of State Antitrust Practice and Statutes, and he was a member of the Council and was formerly Co-chairman of the Publications Committee and Chairman of the International Antitrust Law Committee, of the Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association
(ABA). He was also a member of the ABA's NAFTA Tri-National Committee and an Adjunct Professor of Law at Fordham Law School. He was a founding member of the Board of Advisors of the Georgetown University Study of Private Antitrust Litigation.
Kessler has been recognized by numerous publications, including Chambers USA - America's Leading Lawyers for Business and Best Lawyers in America. He is recognized by Guide to the World's Leading Antitrust Lawyers and Who's Who of Competition Lawyers and has been included in Super Lawyers, Corporate Counsel Edition 2009, The Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America 2005, 2006 and 2008 and Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America 2006. Kessler is named in the 2011 edition of The Best Lawyers in America and as a New York Super Lawyer in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2010, and he has been named as one of The 50 Most Influential People in Sports Business by Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal and that publication has named him one of the 20 Most Influential People in the NFL numerous times including most recently in 2010. Kessler has also been named a National General Commercial Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation.
Dewey & LeBoeuf
Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP is a prominent global white shoe law firm, headquartered in New York City. Originally founded in 1909, the firm currently has over 2400 lawyers spread throughout 26 offices in 15 countries on 4 continents, and is known primarily for its corporate, insurance, litigation, tax and...
where he is also the co-chair of the Sports Litigation Practice Group and serves on the firm's Executive and Leadership Committees. His major clients include the National Football League Players Association, the National Basketball Players Association
National Basketball Players Association
The National Basketball Players Association is a trade association that represents basketball players in the National Basketball Association . It was previously a labor union before dissolving during the 2011 NBA lockout. It was founded in 1954, making it the oldest trade union of the four major...
, and Panasonic
Panasonic
Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation, which was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd...
Corporation (formerly, Matsushita Electric).
Early life
Kessler was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1954 to Edith and Milton Kessler. He grew up in a community in Brooklyn near Coney IslandConey Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
called Sea Gate with his parents and his older sister Linda. He went on to Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
graduating summa cum laude in 1975 and then Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...
. He graduated there as a Kent Scholar and editor of the Law Review in 1977.
Professional career
He began working at Weil, Gotshal & MangesWeil, Gotshal & Manges
Weil, Gotshal & Manges is a prominent international law firm, one of the largest and most prestigious in the world with 1,200 lawyers and gross annual revenue in excess of $1.1 billion. The firm was founded in New York City in 1931 by Frank Weil, Sylvan Gotshal, and Horace Manges...
as an Associate in the Anti-Trust Department full time in 1977, after working there as a Summer Associate in 1976. He went on to become a Partner in 1984. Over the course of his career at Weil from 1976-2003 he was the lead counsel in various complex antitrust, sports law and IP law cases, including major jury trials. He has represented a number of US and international companies in criminal and civil investigations in the antitrust and trade areas. He was part of the team that successfully defended Matsushita Electric and JVC
JVC
, usually referred to as JVC, is a Japanese international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927...
against claims of a worldwide conspiracy in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, Zenith v. Matsushita. As part of his work in this case along with many others he became regarded as a leading commentator on international antitrust law. He also was the lead counsel in several intellectual property cases involving frontier issues of IP law.
Additionally, Kessler became known as one of the most prominent sports lawyer in the country as he became regularly engaged in high-profile sports litigation. He litigated some of the most famous sports-antitrust cases in history while at Weil, including McNeil v. the NFL, the landmark antitrust jury trial which led to the establishment of free agency in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL). He also handled numerous other sports law cases for such clients as the National Football League Players Association, the National Basketball Players Association, the Arena Football League Players Association, the National Hockey League Players Association, the Major League Baseball Players Association
Major League Baseball Players Association
The Major League Baseball Players Association is the union of professional major-league baseball players.-History of MLBPA:The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players...
, the NFL Coaches Association, Players, Inc., the Women's Tennis Benefit Association and Adidas. Kessler represented various classes of NBA, NFL, AFL and MLS players, and several professional leagues, the now defunct North American Soccer League and United States Football League, as well as the Cities of San Diego and Oakland, and Alameda County, in various sports law disputes. He also successfully represented Latrell Sprewell in his controversial suspension arbitration.
Move to Dewey
In 2003 Kessler left Weil to join the law firm Dewey Ballantine. Dewey Ballantine since merged with the Law Firm LeBoeuf & Lam and Kessler is thus now at the newly created “super firm” Dewey & LeBoeuf where he is chairman of the firm's Global Litigation Department, co-chairman of the Sports Litigation Practice Group, and a member of its Executive and Leadership Committees. He continues to be one of the leading experts on antitrust law, intellectual property and other complex litigations, with a bevy of clients including PanasonicPanasonic
Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation, which was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd...
and JVC
JVC
, usually referred to as JVC, is a Japanese international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927...
. His unparalleled reputation as a sports lawyer has continued to grow as well. Aside from the numerous clients mentioned above, many of whom he continues to do regular work for, he has also recently done work on behalf of the National Invitation Tournament, CAA
CAA
-Arts:*China Academy of Art, the highest university of art in China which founded in 1928*College Art Association, a professional association in the United States for scholars of art, art history, and art criticism...
Sports, Wasserman Media Group, SCP Worldwide, and Pro Bono work for South African Amputee Sprinter Oscar Pistorious and Castor Semanaya. Both runners were successfully represented by Kessler and allowed to continue their careers despite challenges from the IAAF. Kessler negotiated the current free agency/salary cap systems in the NFL, NBA, and successfully represented Michael Vick
Michael Vick
Michael Dwayne Vick is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League...
in his roster bonus arbitration, Plaxico Burress in his Signing Bonus arbitration, and numerous other players in successful arbitrations and “special master cases” as well.
Kessler is a Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School where he teaches a course on complex litigation. He has written and lectured extensively on a wide variety of antitrust, sports law and related topics. Most recently, Kessler published a new edition of International Trade and U.S. Antitrust Law, a leading treatise on antitrust and trade law issues in a global economy, he also was Co-Editor-in-Chief of State Antitrust Practice and Statutes, and he was a member of the Council and was formerly Co-chairman of the Publications Committee and Chairman of the International Antitrust Law Committee, of the Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
(ABA). He was also a member of the ABA's NAFTA Tri-National Committee and an Adjunct Professor of Law at Fordham Law School. He was a founding member of the Board of Advisors of the Georgetown University Study of Private Antitrust Litigation.
Kessler has been recognized by numerous publications, including Chambers USA - America's Leading Lawyers for Business and Best Lawyers in America. He is recognized by Guide to the World's Leading Antitrust Lawyers and Who's Who of Competition Lawyers and has been included in Super Lawyers, Corporate Counsel Edition 2009, The Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America 2005, 2006 and 2008 and Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America 2006. Kessler is named in the 2011 edition of The Best Lawyers in America and as a New York Super Lawyer in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2010, and he has been named as one of The 50 Most Influential People in Sports Business by Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal and that publication has named him one of the 20 Most Influential People in the NFL numerous times including most recently in 2010. Kessler has also been named a National General Commercial Litigation Star by Benchmark Litigation.
Personal life
Kessler has been married to his wife Regina since 1977, and has two children, Andrew who is an NFL Agent and Leora, who were born in 1980 and 1984 respectively. He has lived in New York City for his entire life. He is an avid golfer.External links
- http://www.deweyleboeuf.com/
- http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/trackandfield/news/story?id=3398915