Mark S. Levinstein: Partner with Williams & Connolly

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Mark S. Levinstein: Partner with Williams & Connolly, LLP, and Co-author of Sports Law: Cases and Materials [By Kenneth Davis] Mark Levinstein, a partner with Williams & Connolly, LLP, in Washington, DC, said that he has wanted to be a lawyer since he was 12 and that he was inspired by his grandfather to enter the legal field.

“My dad was a scientist,” he said. “When I

Levinstein said that there were very few

Levinstein said he kept a very low profile

said, ‘Should I be a scientist?’ my dad said,

books that covered sports law at the time,

during the Kerrigan case because he did not

‘You aren’t really interested in science.

so he did a Lexis search for all the antitrust

feel it would be in his client’s best interest

You don’t take things apart and put them

cases involving sports.

for the media to focus on her attorney. He

together.’ And it was my grandfather; he was

said he refused when Kerrigan’s agent asked

a lawyer and seemed to help people. Kids

“I read them and tried to make sense of

him to appear on Larry King Live.

today don’t have any clue what they want to

them, so that one day when somebody

do, but I always wanted to be a lawyer.”

came along, I’d know what was going

“We didn’t want anything in the papers

on,” he explained. “And then I handled a

about Nancy Kerrigan having a lawyer,” he

Levinstein stuck to his career plan and has

couple of big cases that involved sports and

said. “As soon as someone says that Nancy

had a successful law practice for 23 years.

antitrust, including a four-year case involving

Kerrigan has a lawyer, there would be

He handles civil and criminal matters, and

professional tennis.”

speculation about who she is going to sue.

his practice covers a wide range of areas,

Nancy Kerrigan was a skater with an agent

including antitrust, arbitration, commercial

After that, Levinstein’s sports practice took

who got hurt. She was just a victim and did

litigation, franchise law, intellectual

off. And over the past years, he has handled

nothing wrong.”

property, trademark, false advertising, and

a broad spectrum of sports-related cases.

unfair competition, labor law, and RICO. In

His sports clients run the gamut from

“The key is to focus on your client and decide

addition, he has a thriving sports law practice

professional athletes, players associations,

what’s in your client’s best interest,” he

representing a number of high-profile

sports teams, and owners to leagues

explained. “Was it in my best interest to be

clients. However, Levinstein didn’t initially

and league properties, Olympic athletes,

in the media all the time as Nancy Kerrigan’s

set out to become a sports lawyer.

organizations, amateur athletes, sports

lawyer? Maybe. But that wasn’t in her best

associations, and boxing managers and

interest, and we didn’t do it.”

“When I came to the firm, it was to do

promoters, among many others. His sports

litigation, generally with a focus on

cases have involved professional baseball,

Levinstein also represents all the members

antitrust,” he said. “It never was to be a

basketball, football, golf, tennis, skiing,

of the U.S. National Soccer Team.

sports lawyer. But the firm was founded by

volleyball, boxing, fastpitch softball, golf,

Edward Bennett Williams, who was probably

hockey, lacrosse, volleyball, wrestling, and

“I unionized them in 1996,” he said. “They

the most famous trial lawyer of the 1970s

many more sports.

were the first national team to become a union, and I’ve represented them for ten

and 80s. And he also owned the [Baltimore] Orioles and part of the [Washington]

In addition, he has represented a number

Redskins. So as a summer associate here, I

of famous athletes, including figure skater

saw that our firm had a lot of sports-related

Nancy Kerrigan. Levinstein was Kerrigan’s

Cyclist Lance Armstrong is also one of

litigation. I knew there were a lot of sports

attorney during the infamous knee-

Levinstein’s clients. Levinstein recently

antitrust cases, and so I figured, Well, one of

clubbing incident back in 1994, when rival

represented the seven-time Tour de France

these days the boss is going to walk in and say, ‘Okay, you know a lot about antitrust, but do you know about sports antitrust?’”

skater Tonya Harding allegedly conspired

champion when a French newspaper alleged

to have Kerrigan injured to prevent her

that he had used EPO, a performance-

from competing in the U.S. Figure Skating

enhancing drug, during the 1999 Tour de

Championships.

France. Armstrong was later cleared of all

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years.”

continued on back

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accusations that he used any performance-

“There was a character on Star Trek: The

District of Massachusetts. Judge Garrity was

enhancing drugs during the race.

Next Generation named Deanna Troi, and she was an empath,” he said. “She could take your pain or your stress or whatever unpleasant emotion you were experiencing.

She would touch you and absorb all the bad emotions and suffer for you. That’s what a lawyer does sometimes. A client comes in with terrible stress and a major problem, and then it becomes your problem, too. And you do the best you can to take responsibility for the problem, so it no longer troubles your client to the same extent.”

widely recognized for implementing “forced

Additionally, Levinstein and his colleagues represented the Los Angeles Rams when the team moved to St. Louis in 1994.

“We were the lawyers for the Rams, convincing the league that they didn’t want to have an antitrust lawsuit,” he said. The league decided to let the Rams relocate.

busing” at Boston-area schools in an effort to battle segregation in 1974. Levinstein clerked for Garrity for a year; he then joined Williams & Connolly in September of 1983 and has been with the firm ever since.

In addition to practicing sports law, Levinstein writes about it. He coauthored a sports law casebook titled Sports Law: Cases

He also serves as outside counsel for the

the pros and cons before they move ahead

U.S. Olympic Committee and represented the

with any kind of action.

and Materials with Michael J. Cozzillio, a law professor at Widener University School of Law in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The book was published by Carolina Academic Press in 1997, and Levinstein said that he and Cozzillio are currently working on a second edition.

of years in a labor and antitrust dispute

“Clients often come to see their lawyer and

Levinstein has taught as an adjunct professor

against the Arena Football League.

want to sue somebody, and it may be your

of antitrust law, sports law, and advanced

job to advise them not to file the lawsuit,”

antitrust at Columbus School of Law at

Levinstein discussed what’s involved in

he said. “We take them through the pros

The Catholic University of America, George

becoming a sports lawyer:

and cons of litigation and what would be

Washington University National Law Center,

involved—what it would cost, to what extent

and Georgetown University Law Center. He

“Basically what makes someone a sports

it would cause non-financial costs, what

stopped teaching full courses in 1999, but he

lawyer is that you have a client in the sports

relief they could reasonably seek, what is the

still teaches classes occasionally and said

industry, and he or she comes to you and

probability of success, how long it could take

he may return to teaching courses again

has a legal problem,” he said. “And then you

to take the matter to completion, and what

in a few years, once his children are off to

could say you’re a sports lawyer. It could be

the client would have to endure for the next

college.

a criminal case, it could be tax, it could be

year or several years. And we say, ‘Would

intellectual property, it could be labor law,

our firm get paid if we sue them for you? Of

He said law professors apply many of the

and so on.”

course, but we do not want to do something

same skills they need in court when they

that’s not in the client’s best interest. We

teach.

Levinstein said that he and his colleagues represent a number of teams attempting to relocate.

He added that good attorneys don’t always rush their clients into litigation; they discuss

Arena Football League players for a couple

Levinstein said he likes to keep up-to-date

have plenty of work to do, and we do not need

on what’s happening in the sports fields

to take money for handling matters that are

“When you’re a trial lawyer, you’re talking to

with which his clients are affiliated so he

not in our clients’ best interests.’ Part of

judges, and you’re discussing and explaining

can represent them more effectively. For

what your clients are paying you for, even if

legal issues in the subject of the case, and

instance, one of his clients was the Royal

they do not know it, is for you to advise them

in many ways, it involves the same skills as

and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, and

not to get involved in litigation when it’s not

being a law professor,” he said. “You need

even though he’s not a golfer, he subscribed

in their best interest to do so and they can

to learn how not to be condescending, to

to eight different golf magazines to stay

reasonably avoid it.”

acknowledge that others may have different

apprised of what was going on in the golf world in order to better serve his client.

views; you need to learn how to explain a Levinstein majored in economics at the

complex legal subject when you have more

University of Virginia and graduated with

familiarity with it than the judge or your

He said that two big parts of a lawyer’s job

honors in 1979. He went on to earn his law

students. That does not mean that you are

are helping clients deal with all aspects of

degree, also with honors, from Harvard Law

smarter than your students or the judge—you

their problems and taking responsibility

School in 1982. After law school, he worked

have just thought about the issues more than

for solving those problems, to the extent

as a law clerk for Judge W. Arthur Garrity,

they have, and you have to try to persuade

possible.

Jr., of the United States District Court for the

the judge and have to teach students how

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to be persuasive when they address a legal

“We were just granted public charity status

“When I interview applicants, I always tell

subject. You present your viewpoint (or two

last week,” he said. “So we have been

them in law school to make the most of

or more conflicting viewpoints) about what

dealing with tax issues, business planning

it,” he said. “Take all the basic subjects.

the cases say or what the law is in a way

issues, and a host of corporate governance

You can take ‘Shakespeare and the Law’ or

that persuasively argues for your side or

issues.”

other enjoyable courses that will entertain

helps the student understand the various

you, but I recommend that they take tax,

sides without the students feeling like you’re

Levinstein said what he enjoys most about

corporate tax, labor law, and other courses

talking down to them.”

practicing law is that he’s able to help people

that provide an overview of an entire area of

get through difficult situations.

law; make the most of the opportunity to take

Levinstein said the two people who

a course with a professor who is an expert

influenced him the most before he came to

“People come into my office with a problem,

on the subject, and he or she can give you

Williams & Connolly were Professor Kenneth

and often I think I can solve their problem

an overview about the subject and many of

Elzinga, an economics professor at the

better than anybody else there is,” he said.

the insights the professor has discovered in

University of Virginia, and Phillip Areeda,

“And so there’s nothing that makes me feel

many years of study—that sort of experience

who was the leading academic treatise and

better than to hear a client’s problem and,

and expertise can benefit you for many years

casebook writer in antitrust law. Elzinga

as I listen, think I have the solution. People

to come as you practice law.”

was Levinstein’s undergraduate advisor at

come in sometimes not knowing if they’re

the University of Virginia; he met Areeda

gonna go to jail or they’re gonna be sued or

at Harvard Law School and worked as his

they’re gonna lose their business or house.

research assistant for many years, both

So if you can evaluate their situation, apply

Williams & Connolly, LLP

during and after law school.

your knowledge of the facts and the law, and

www.wc.com

tell them that it won’t be as bad as they fear, Levinstein said one of the projects he’s

that’s already a huge benefit to the client.

currently working on is helping some of the

Practicing law is all about helping people.

athletes he represents create a charitable

It’s a personal service business, and people

foundation. The foundation is called Athletes

often forget that.”

For Hope, and some of the athletes involved include Lance Armstrong, Andre Agassi,

Levinstein had the following advice for law

Mia Hamm, Andrea Jaeger, Jackie Joyner-

students:

Kersee, and Alonzo Mourning.

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