Century City Partners Named Among Sports Law “Elite”

SportsBusiness Journal has named Entertainment, Sports & Media partners Joseph Calabrese and Christopher Brearton as leading industry advisers in its inaugural "2016 Elite Power Players: Outside Counsel" feature. The honored lawyers were chosen based on interviews with hundreds of industry executives for their feedback on “outside counsel who are doing meaningful work and playing significant roles in sports business.”

The coverage noted the partners’ leadership roles in opening Latham’s Century City office in November 2014 and in “expanding the firm’s sports and media business” across a range of notable matters involving sports franchises, players and organizations. In particular, Calabrese was recognized for his ongoing work with the International Olympic Committee, including its $7.75 billion broadcast rights deal with NBC and the pending launch of its over-the-top network, as well as his role advising on content development and distribution deals involving basketball stars Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. 

Among his array of sports matters, Brearton was noted for representation of Tencent in its deal with the National Basketball Association to exclusively distribute NBA content in China, and for his role advising the Los Angeles Football Club as the Major League Soccer team develops a new stadium in Los Angeles in preparation for its 2018 launch.