Review of Attorneys As Athlete-Agents by Mark Doman

In Fall 2003, Mark Doman wrote a piece in the Texas Review Of Entertainment & Sports Law titled, Attorneys As Athlete-Agents: Reconciling the ABA Rules of Professional Conduct with the Practice of Athlete Representation. I have not been able to find a free version of the article, but if you have access to LexisNexis or WestLaw, you should be able to get a copy. Either way, look below for my synopsis of the important points.

I have discussed time and time again why sports agents are important. Even if you feel that you can effectively negotiate your own contract, think about all the baggage that comes along with hearing about your flaws and why you are worth less than you think. Also, why do you think lawyers never represent themselves in court? It is good to have outside, unbiased opinions. In addition, Doman points out that there are other reasons to have an agent, including, having someone who can navigate through the press, general managers, and endorsement opportunities.
I have also said that being a lawyer is definitely not necessary to be an agent, but it undoubtedly helps with creditability and knowledge in all aspects of the business. This was an excellent quote that I made sure to highlight:
- “When the owners of professional sports franchises need representation to negotiate with the players’ unions, they seek legal counsel to draft their collective bargaining agreements, as complicated legal documents are best deciphered, interpreted, massaged, and utilized creatively by lawyers. It logically follows that the other side of the bargaining table should also use attorneys, both for collective and individual agreements, to represent the athlete whose financial futures are reliant upon the accurate interpretation and implementation of these agreements. All things considered equal, athletes should select an attorney, versus a non-attorney, who is probably more competent at deciphering complex contractual language.” – Mark Levin, NFLPA Director of Salary Cap and Agent Administration
The main argument that the paper makes is that attorney agents must either be held to a lower ethical standard than a normal lawyer or non-attorney agents must be held to the same high ethical standards that all lawyers must abide by (ABA Model Rules).
Bringing everyone up to the ABA standards may not make sense. For instance, ABA Model Rule 7.3 states, “a lawyer shall not by in-person or live telephone contact solicit professional employment from a prospective client with whom the lawyer has no family or prior professional relationship when a significant motive for the lawyer’s doing so is the lawyer’s pecuniary gain.” I find it tough for a lawyer to argue that he/she is not in it for any pecuniary gain. If this rule were to apply, lawyer’s would have a concrete wall to bust through in order to get a client (it would be nearly impossible without solicitation).
At least in the state of Illinois, an attorney who represents athletes will be subject to state bar ethics guidelines.
There is a bunch of info. about potential conflicts of interest, but I have gone in depth about that topic in the past.
- One interesting point is that the NBA and NHL do not allow agents to represent players and management, but agents are permitted to represent both entities in the NFL and MLB. The ABA would forbid such a conflict in all circumstances.
No matter if the players association or ABA governs conduct, attorney agents should use extra care and always disclose their current client list to all potential clients. Potential conflicts should always be expressed before any relationship is formed. Suggested in the article is that each player sign a waiver of consent.

That’s all I’ve got. If you want more, then go read the actual law review article!

Taylor Casey

You can download a copy from both lexis and westlaw to a word document format, the citation you need to get to it if you want to jump straight to the document using either service is 5 Tex. Rev. Ent. & Sports L. 37. Hope this helps for those who are interested. Good post good article.
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I think it’s fair to say attorneys normally make the best agents, for the reasons cited above, but I doubt the NFLPA will ever bar non-attorneys from being agents because agent certification is such a heavy-duty revenue generator for the PA. They have chosen to go light on restrictions so they can certify everyone who can pass an open-book test. It’s an interesting business model.
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Review of Attorneys As Athlete-Agents by Mark Doman

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