Entertainment & Sports Law Society presents
Game Changers: Navigating the Changing Economics of Sports
and Entertainment
Thursday, March 20, 2025
Golkin 100, Michael A. Fitts Auditorium
9:30 AM - 10:15 AM Registration and Check-in
10:15 AM - 10:30 AM Opening Remarks
10:30 AM - 10:45 AM Heisman Trust Presentation
10:45 AM - 11:45 AM
Beyond Basketball: Insights from an NBA Agent
Michael Siegel
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
The Streaming Wars: Exploring Consolidation
Alan Wolk (moderator)
Novika Ishar
Alejandro Rojas
Amy Stein Simonds
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Lunch
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Broadway’s Bottom Line: Strategies for Success
Doug Nevin (moderator)
Tim Bloom
Danielle Karliner Naish
Emily Lawson
3:15 PM - 4:15 PM
Follow the Money: Private Equity in Sports
Mason P. Ashe
Iciar Garcia
Teddy Kleinman
Sean Wildes
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM Keynote
Karen Lorenzo, League One Volleyball
5:30 PM - 5:45 PM Closing Remarks
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Reception at The Mulberry 1835 Arch St, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Beyond Basketball: Insights from an NBA Agent
Michael Siegel
Michael Siegel, the Founder and Managing Member of Philadelphia-based Siegel Sports & Entertainment LLC, is an NBPA and NCAA Certified Agent who represents players, coaches, executives, and consulting clients throughout basketball. With over 30 years of experience, Michael has negotiated over half a billion dollars in contracts in the NBA, G League, NCAA, and FIBA. He is a graduate of Colgate University, where he was a member of the basketball team, and a graduate of Villanova Law School, where he served as President of the Sports & Entertainment Law Society and Managing Symposium Editor for the Sports & Entertainment Law Journal. He is also the Founder and President of the Love From Lenny Foundation.
The Streaming Wars: Exploring Consolidation
Alan Wolk (Moderator)
Alan Wolk is Co-Founder and Lead Analyst at the legendary media analyst firm TVREV. Wolk has established himself as one of the industry’s most influential thought leaders, especially noted for his deep understanding of the intersection of streaming and advertising.
What sets Wolk apart is his unique ability to demystify complex ideas in a manner that’s easily understandable yet never oversimplified. This talent makes him a sought-after writer, speaker, and consultant, striking a rare balance between depth and accessibility in his communications.
He regularly speaks about the future of television, both at conferences and to anyone who’ll listen.
Novika Ishar
Novika Ishar is a partner and chair of Entertainment Law in the New York City office of Romano Law PLLC. She is a member of the Entertainment Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association.
Ms. Ishar oversees the entertainment group practice at Romano Law and has over a decade of experience in corporate, intellectual property, and financing transactions. She advises clients in the film, television, new media, gaming, publishing, podcast, and music industries on a wide variety of entertainment, intellectual property, and corporate matters. She represents professionals from all sectors of the entertainment and advertising business, including production companies, television studios, financiers, writers, directors, and talent.
Alejandro Rojas
Alejandro Rojas is the Vice President of Applied Analytics at Parrot Analytics, where he leads Parrot IQ Consulting—a division dedicated to building custom models and solutions that leverage Parrot’s proprietary data to help clients assess and predict the value of content-led strategies.
A former McKinsey consultant and TV executive producer, Alejandro brings a unique blend of strategic, analytical, and creative expertise to the evolving media landscape. He holds a Master’s in Information and Data Science from the University of California, Berkeley, an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management, and a BSE from Duke University. He is also a member of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Amy Stein Simonds
Amy Stein Simonds is a partner in Pryor Cashman’s Media + Entertainment Group. Amy’s practice focuses on transactions for documentary and narrative films, television, podcasts, and digital media. She acts as business affairs and legal counsel for studios, networks, financiers, and production companies in all aspects of rights acquisition and licensing, development, production loans and equity financing, production, co-productions, production services, and sales and distribution. Amy has provided production, finance, and distribution legal counsel for more than 100 studios, streaming platforms, and independently financed productions, mostly advising throughout the evolution of a project, from development all the way through exploitation.
Amy’s production experience extends into foreign co-productions and advising on U.S.based guild requirements and the signatory processes. In addition, on the talent side, she advises writers, directors, producers, on-screen talent, and department heads, and she works hand in hand with managers and agents.
Amy has been recognized as a top attorney among her peers, including in Variety’s “Hollywood New Leaders” and “Dealmakers Impact Report,” Best Lawyers in America, and Super Lawyers
Before joining Pryor Cashman, Amy was an entertainment partner at another major New York City law firm. She started her career as an attorney at the boutique entertainment firm Gray Krauss Stratford Sandler Des Rochers LLP.
Broadway’s Bottom Line: Strategies for Success
Doug Nevin (Moderator)
Doug Nevin is a partner and the head of theater/live events at Klaris. He is a leading practitioner and thought leader in theater and live arts, known for his passionate advocacy of his clients and projects and for the creative prowess and deep industry knowledge he brings to his clients’ work.
His clients list includes many of today’s most prominent producers and producing organizations, internationally renowned creative artists, as well as some of the industry’s most-valued service providers. His production counsel credits include Gypsy, Stereophonic, Once Upon A Mattress, Romeo + Juliet, All In, Purpose, The Last Five Years, John Proctor Is The Villain, Job, Swept Away, Appropriate, Patriots, An Enemy Of The People, Lempicka, Gutenberg!, Kimberly Akimbo, Parade, Alex Edelman’s Just For Us, The Sign In Sydney Brustein’s Window, Grey House, Topdog/Underdog, Life Of Pi, The Piano Lesson, POTUS, Is This A Room/Dana H., Pass Over, A Christmas Carol, Slave Play, What The Constitution Means To Me, Hold On To Me Darling, Teeth, Danny & The Deep Blue Sea, One Woman Show, and the pie shop Sweeney Todd. His client list also includes awardwinning composers, lyricists, playwrights, performers, authors, directors, choreographers, designers, casting directors, music staff, and some of the world’s preeminent cultural institutions.
Doug is a four-time New York Super Lawyer and an eight-time New York Super Lawyer Rising Star. He frequently lectures on various elements of his practice and has appeared on news channels such as MSNBC. Doug is a two-time Tony Award-nominee, a Lucille Lortel Award-winner, and the co-founder of Pride Plays.
Tim Bloom
Tim Bloom’s (C’17) previous Broadway credits include All In: Comedy About Love, Merrily We Roll Along (Tony Award) and Gutenberg! The Musical! (Tony Nomination) as well as Next to Normal on London’s West End (Olivier Award Nomination) under his Pine Street Productions banner. He is currently working on the Kimberly Akimbo National Tour, and Purpose on Broadway as an Associate. Other shows he’s worked on include Kimberly Akimbo, Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog, The Boys in The Band, and Here Lies Love on Broadway. Outside of his own projects, Tim is proud to work on Wicked around the world as an associate to David Stone (C’88), with whom he’s worked for seven years. Tim was recognized on the 2025 Forbes 30 under 30 list for Hollywood and Entertainment and has multiple projects in development for Broadway and Off Broadway. He is an alumnus of The University of Pennsylvania, where he majored in Political Science and Ancient History, but spent most of his time with the Mask and Wig Club making musical comedy.
Danielle Karliner Naish
Dani joined the RCI team in 2019. She has general managed productions including: Glengarry Glen Ross; Gypsy; & Juliet (Broadway and 1st National Tour), Shucked (Broadway and 1st National Tour); The Heart of Rock & Roll; Spamalot; All the Devils Are Here; Pictures From Home; Ohio State Murders; The Sound Inside; Chicken & Biscuits; The Great Society; The Minutes; American Buffalo and the 1st National Tour of the Tony Award-winning revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! Prior to joining RCI, Dani was at 321 Theatrical Management working on productions including: Heidi Schreck’s What the Constitution Means to Me; Wicked; SpongeBob SquarePants; Fun Home; War Paint; Fully Committed and Oh, Hello on Broadway and was a General Manager Off Broadway at DR Theatrical Management working alongside Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning Producer, Daryl Roth. She received her M.F.A. from Columbia University’s Theatre Management & Producing Program and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from The University of Miami. Dani is a member of the Broadway and Off Broadway Leagues and serves on the Labor Committee for the Broadway League.
Emily Lawson
Emily Lawson is a seasoned entertainment attorney focusing her practice on the commercial theatre industry. Before practicing law, Emily spent more than 10 years working in the entertainment business, both in theatre and TV/film. She gained substantial experience in production and general management, with leading entertainment organizations such as The Jim Henson Company, Juniper Street Productions, The Charlotte Wilcox Company, and 101 Productions, Ltd. Emily began her legal career at Lazarus & Harris LLP, where she was named Partner in 2022. At the firm, she represented clients in all facets of the theatrical and performing arts industries. In 2024, Emily joined William Morris Endeavor, where she serves as a business affairs executive, representing Tony, Olivier, and Pulitzer Prize-winning clients in the theatre industry. Emily holds a BA in Theatrical Costume Design from The Ohio State University, MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business, and graduated magna cum laude from New York Law School.
Follow the Money: Private Equity in Sports
Mason P. Ashe
Mason P. Ashe is Founder and CEO of Ashe Sports & Entertainment Consulting (“ASEC”) based in Washington, DC. For over three decades, Ashe has served as a sports and entertainment attorney, brand strategist, corporate and nonprofit board member, angel investor, and award-winning sports law adjunct professor from large and boutique law firm, international management agency, and academic platforms.
At ASEC, Ashe offers a blend of dealmaking, strategic planning, problem solving, contract negotiating, intellectual property protection, and business management services globally to assist talented individuals, content creators, social media influencers, talent employers, and investors within the sports and entertainment industries. In academia, he designs curricula and lectures on sports law and management for the benefit of all levels of students and executives. He is currently an award-winning Lecturer of Sports Law to undergraduates at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as an Adjunct Professor of Sports Law at Howard University School of Law. He is also a frequent guest speaker on talent industry trends and management best practices.
Prior to ASEC, Ashe was in private practice at large and boutique law firms; Cofounder and COO of Strickland & Ashe Management (one of the largest African American-owned agencies); and VP of Team Sports at IMG (the world’s largest agency). Ashe received the Sports Lawyer of the Year Award from the National Bar Association (July 2015); listed on “101 Most Influential Minorities in Sports” by SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (2003 and 2004); and is a former board member of the Black Entertainment & Sports Lawyers Association (“BESLA”). He is an angel investor and member of the Board of Advisors for sports analytics startup CEREBRO Sports; Chairman of the Washington Jazz Arts Institute; and a Trustee at Hamilton College. He earned a B.A. degree in Psychology from Hamilton College; a JD degree from the University at Buffalo School of Law; and a Doctor of Humane Letters honorary degree from Hamilton College.
Iciar Garcia
Icíar García joined Fenway Sports Group in March 2016 and was named Assistant General Counsel – FSG Boston in 2022.
Icíar has been a corporate lawyer for over 15 years, starting out in private practice at the New York office of Baker & McKenzie LLP and later Hogan Lovells LLP before heading in-house to join the corporate team at a New York-based pharmaceutical company. After relocating to Boston with her family, Icíar went back to private practice joining Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP to focus on life sciences, licensing and commercial transactions. In a twist of fate, she was assigned to represent the Red Sox on a few projects that had nothing to do with life sciences and now works on all manner of corporate and commercial matters for Fenway Sports Group, ranging from mergers and
acquisitions to league governance, sponsorships and licensing, privacy, and everything else in between.
Icíar was born and raised in Queens, NY, graduating from Harvard College where she concentrated in History and Literature, and earning her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. Icíar lives “just outside Boston” in a very noisy household with her husband, in-laws, four children and her dog, Bear. She can often be found on long runs around the Blue Hills to escape them all.
Teddy Kleinman
Teddy is a key member of the firm’s sports and real money gaming teams, focusing on supporting companies across Raine’s principal and advisory work in both sectors. Since joining the firm in 2018, Teddy has executed numerous investments and advisory assignments. Notable transactions include Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s investment into Manchester United, the sale of Chelsea FC, DraftKings’ three-way merger with Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp. (SPAC) and SBTech, Silver Lake’s minority investment into City Football Group, Endeavor’s purchase of OpenBet from Scientific Games, the sale of Jackpocket to DraftKings, and DraftKings’ purchase of Golden Nugget Online Gaming. He also continues to be actively involved with a variety of companies across Raine’s portfolio, including DraftKings, Games 24×7, Fliff, Jackpocket and Midnite, where he is a Board Observer.
Sean Wildes
Sean Wildes (L’18) is a senior associate at Proskauer Rose and a member of the firm’s Sports Group. Sean focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, private equity and corporate governance in the sports and entertainment industry, advising leagues, teams and investors on high-stakes transactions.
Sean’s recent representations include:
• The Buffalo Bills in the sale of minority interests to 10 new limited partners, including Arctos Sports Partners, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady
• Trackhouse Racing on the sale of a minority interest to Avenue Sports Fund
• Joe Gibbs Racing on the sale of a minority interest to HBSE and Arctos Sports Partners, and Joe Gibbs’ acquisition of a minority interest in HBSE
• The NHL in its establishment of the Utah Hockey Club franchise
• The USFL in its merger with the XFL and formation of the UFL spring football league
• Various emerging sports leagues on formation, governance and team sales, including TGL, the X Games League, the PWHL, Major League Table Tennis and League One Volleyball (LOVB)
Keynote Speaker
Karen Lorenzo League One Volleyball
Karen Lorenzo is General Counsel, as well as Corporate Secretary and a founding team member, of League One Volleyball (LOVB), a first-of-its-kind community reimagining the future of volleyball. Prior to LOVB, Karen was General Counsel and EVP, Business Affairs at Tribeca Enterprises, a multi-platform storytelling company established in 2003 by Robert De Niro. Hired as employee #3, Karen was part of the management team responsible for growing Tribeca from a once-a-year, non-profit event into a network of year-round, for-profit branded entertainment businesses, including the world-renowned Tribeca Film Festival. Karen began her legal career as an associate at a boutique entertainment law firm in New York and spent several years as an associate at leading Silicon Valley law firms where she specialized in handling transactions and operational counselling for clients focused on the cross-section of media, live events, and technology. Karen currently serves on the Humanities Council for her college alma mater, The Johns Hopkins University, and is a member emeritus of the Dean’s Advisory Board as well as the Board’s Membership Committee and Interdivisional Committee; she concurrently served as a Hopkins Leadership Fellow and the Chair of the Board of the Maryland Film Festival, an annual international film event hosted by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Parkway Theatre in Baltimore. Karen holds a B.A. in international studies (with a concentration in international economics) and received her J.D. from NYU School of Law.
Sponsors
The Entertainment & Sports Law Society would like to extend our gratitude to our generous sponsors:
The Heisman Trophy Trust
Mayer Brown
Paul Hastings LLP
Paul, Weiss
Proskauer Rose LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
This program has been approved for 5.0 Substantive CLE credits for Pennsylvania lawyers. CLE credit may be available in other jurisdictions as well. Attendees seeking CLE credit must register for CLE credit and make a payment via the online CLE registration link in the amount of $200.00 ($100.00 public interest/ non-profit attorneys). In order to receive the appropriate amount of credit, passcodes provided throughout the program must be noted in your evaluation form.
Penn Carey Law Alumni receive CLE credits free through The W.P. Carey Foundation’s generous commitment to Lifelong Learning.