The International and Comparative Sports Law LL.M. is a
rigorous two-semester 25-credit program that will be built around a
core of new LL.M.-level classes focused on advanced topics in the
law and business of professional and amateur sports and a second
semester practicum placing students in a law firm or the legal
office of a sports league, professional team, player's association,
or collegiate team.
First Semester (from August to December) 13 credits
- U.S. Sports Law - This will be the LL.M.
program's overview course concerning U.S. regulatory and practice
issues. This course explores contemporary legal issues in
intercollegiate, professional and Olympic sports. It examines
antitrust, contract, constitutional, gender discrimination,
international and labor law issues. A portion of the course
will be devoted to the regulation of agents and the representation
of professional athletes.
- International and Comparative Sports Law -
This course will be the LL.M. program's overview course concerning
international and foreign jurisdiction, regulation, and practice
issues. Students will primarily focus on the regulation of
sports in the U.K. and continental Europe, with an emphasis on
soccer (football).
- Negotiation, Mediation, and Dispute Resolution for
Sports - This course will supplement the LL.M.
general courses in sports law by building theoretical
and practical approaches to deal negotiations and
alternative dispute resolution in professional, Olympic, and
inter-collegiate sports. Students will be
introduced to such techniques as business negotiations,
conciliation, and arbitration in relation to sports law.
The course will be concerned with an exploration of
factors underlying these methods of arriving at agreement as
well as the ethical issues that arise in the ADR
context. Students will engage in simulated situations of
dispute resolution which will be critiqued.
- Advanced Topics in Sports Law - This
course serves two functions in the International and Comparative
Sports Law curriculum: (a) it expands upon topics taught in the
general course and introduces new areas of inquiry through the
experience and expertise of adjunct professors who are leading
practioners, and (b) it begins the student's preparation for their
master's thesis.
Second Semester (from January to April) 12 credits
- Practicum - Students will gain practice
experience in sports law through work and study in a law office,
sports league, team management office, collegiate athletics
program, or other similar placement. This semester-long,
full-time, in-residence practicum exposes students to the daily
practice of sports law. Students will have the opportunity to
work closely with experienced practioners through day-to-day
contact, informal mentoring, and regular tutorial sessions allowing
students an opportunity for guided reflection of their work and
research with experienced practioners.
- Drafting International Sports Law Documents -
Students may submit to their on-site supervisor and LL.M. professor
liaison inter alia memoranda of law, client letters,
formal meeting minutes, foreign law summaries, case analyses,
reports of investigation, staff summaries, background papers, or
regulatory drafts. The student will, at the completion of
this course, have a portfolio of professional writing relevant to
the work undertaken throughout their practicum. This course
is graded upon the quality of submitted written work.
- International Sports Law Master's Thesis - The
on-site practicum supervisor and LL.M. professional liaison will
supervise this research. Students' research may be undertaken
in conjunction with their assigned practicum duties, but the
resulting research paper must meet all thesis requirements and will
be evaluated at all stages by the LL.M. professor liaison.