Each year I get lots of exam papers that I enjoy reading and so this year I've given students the option of having me post their paper. This one is from Misa Eiritz. Excerpt (w/o references, which are available in the paper itself):I. Introduction: Why It Matters
Spurred by the exponential growth of athlete salaries in the mid to late nineteen-eighties, the responsibilities of sports agents and their legal counterparts began to expand and collide. Individuals looking to financially capitalize on this gain, or those simply attracted to the “glamour” associated with the sports industry, jumped into the fray and quickly tried to make their mark. While this expansion resulted in intense competition to enter the business, abuse and a myriad of unethical behaviors were rampant among practicing professionals. Agents became known for their overly aggressive tactics to recruit clients, unreasonable fees, and financial mismanagement. Many were even prosecuted under various criminal laws, ranging from tampering and extortion to racketeering. This widespread abuse led many client-athletes to turn to the legal profession for services formerly provided by agents.
V. Conclusion
In today’s world a lawyer-agent is removed from the “confines of rendering legal advice” and is perhaps more qualified than a non-lawyer agent to conduct business in the sports industry; however, the legal profession’s ethical code is hampering the flow of information and the growth of business. In an industry so driven by personal contact, and consisting of an extremely large number of attorneys, it is unfair to keep attorneys from engaging in client solicitation. Although the sports industry contains problems the solicitation rule is directly aimed at eradicating, namely client stealing and over-zealous sales pitches, there are rules in place for each professional league that ban approaching represented clients, and the initial sales pitch is part of being a professional athlete. Therefore, the original goals of the ban on solicitation in the legal profession are not at issue in the sports world. An equal playing field keeps lawyer-agents from turning to unethical alternatives to bring in new clients and benefits all parties.