Entertainment & Sports Law

Hollywood Outsourcing Higher-End Legal Work to India

Even with the millions that a successful movie can make, Hollywood producers are watching their legal costs. So, instead of having high-priced U.S. law firms handle all of their entertainment matters, some reportedly are starting to send some relatively high-end legal work to attorneys in India. While outsourcing “back office”…

Nov 12, 2007 9:15 PM CST

Writers Strike Keeps Entertainment Firms Busy

Updated: The writers strike has entertainment law firms busy advising clients about strike rules, rights and obligations. The Writers Guild is striking in an attempt to obtain residuals for work transmitted over the Internet and new media, the Recorder reports. “There is a tremendous amount of work now,” said Alan…

Nov 8, 2007 7:28 PM CST

Fantasy Baseball Stats Protected by First Amendment

A fantasy baseball league does not need a license to run online games, a federal appeals court has ruled. The St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the use of the athletes’ names and statistics is protected by the First Amendment, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. “The information…

Oct 17, 2007 4:26 PM CDT

Ban on Hannah Montana Virtual Line-Cutters

Commercial resellers can’t use computer software to cut in line ahead of ordinary fans competing for tickets to Hannah Montana concerts, a federal judge has ruled. An upcoming tour by the star who plays Montana in the Disney Channel television show has ignited a frenzy of fan interest unprecedented since…

Oct 16, 2007 3:32 PM CDT

Sprinter Marion Jones to Admit Steroid Use

Olympic gold medalist Marion Jones has admitted using steroids and is set to plead guilty today in New York to charges that she lied to federal agents about her drug use. In a letter to family and friends, Jones acknowledged she used drugs as she prepared for the 2000 Summer…

Oct 5, 2007 11:00 AM CDT

EU v US in $100 Billion Landmark WTO Case

The United States reportedly could be required to pay the European Union and other World Trade Organization partners as much as $100 billion in damages, due to federal legislation last year that increased restrictions on Internet gambling. But an unnamed U.S. trade official pooh-poohed this contention, calling the damages being…

Sep 27, 2007 10:24 PM CDT

Tennis Fraud Squad Debated After Claimed Wimbledon Bribes

Tennis officials throughout the world reportedly are reeling—and thinking about pooling their organizations’ resources to develop a new fraud squad—after claims by several professional players that they have been offered bribes to lose games at Wimbledon. Yesterday a Belgian player, Gilles Elseneer, said he had been offered about $70,000 pounds…

Sep 27, 2007 4:27 PM CDT

A&P v. Workers in $1 M Veggie Video Suit

Two New Jersey brothers apparently meant to be funny when they filmed a gangsta rap parody, “Produce Paradise,” at the A&P supermarket at which they then worked. But management isn’t getting the joke. The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., which owns A&P, has not only fired the two shelf-stockers…

Aug 28, 2007 10:41 PM CDT

NBA Refs Lawyer Up in Betting Probe

The nation’s professional basketball referees have hired a criminal lawyer after an NBA announcement last week that it was retaining one of New York’s powerhouse corporate law firms to review the league’s gambling policies and its hiring, training and oversight of officials. Former federal prosecutor Gregory T. Magarity will represent…

Aug 28, 2007 9:40 PM CDT

NY Truth in Music Law Signed

New York’s governor has signed a Truth in Music law that imposes fine of up to $15,000 on music groups that misrepresent themselves as popular artists. The law was prompted by groups passing themselves off as artists like the Platters, Drifters and Coasters, Newsday reports. At least 18 other states…

Aug 22, 2007 2:20 PM CDT

Vick Agrees to Plea Deal, Prison ‘Likely’

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick reportedly will accept a plea deal in a week that is “likely” to put him to prison. Sentencing, however, is not expected to take place for months. According to one of his attorneys, Lawrence Woodward, the football superstar agreed to plead guilty to one charge…

Aug 20, 2007 6:55 PM CDT

Violent Femmes Bassist Blisters Over Royalties

The ’80s American folk-punk band known widely for its song “Blister in the Sun” is now embroiled in litigation. Violent Femmes bassist Brian Ritchie has filed a federal suit in New York against the band’s lead singer Gordon Gano, accusing him of failing to pay a fair share of royalties,…

Aug 16, 2007 4:28 PM CDT

Paris Hilton & Mel Gibson Protection Act?

A bill being considered in the California legislature attempts to regulate checkbook journalism and private investigators who pay for confidential information. The legislation, AB 920, would make it a misdemeanor for law enforcement personnel and court employees to profit by releasing confidential information or permitting photographs of a person in…

Aug 16, 2007 4:08 PM CDT

Paris Hilton Sets Celebrity Precedent

It isn’t the kind of precedent that attorneys learn about in law school. But the media circus surrounding Paris Hilton’s brief stint in the slammer earlier this summer shows that the legal rules for celebrity attorneys are different than those that take priority in less-scrutinized practice areas. “The Hilton mess…

Aug 8, 2007 11:28 PM CDT

Columnist Takes Barry Bonds ‘Case’

Now that Barry Bonds has broken Hank Aaron’s all-time home run record, a sports columnist has voluntarily taken on the role of his defense lawyer in the court of public opinion. “It’s a thankless job making a closing argument in defense of Barry Bonds, who almost everybody believes owes his…

Aug 8, 2007 6:42 PM CDT