David G. Feher

David G. Feher is a partner in the firm's New York Litigation Department and co-chair of its Sports Litigation Practice Group. He is one of the leading sports lawyers in the country. He also has extensive experience in complex litigations, negotiations and arbitrations involving antitrust, intellectual property, contract and international issues.

Mr. Feher has been outside counsel for the NFL Players Association and the NBA Players Association for nearly 20 years, among other clients in the sports law field. He is one of the prime negotiators of the collective bargaining agreements in the NFL (1993, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2011) and the NBA (1995, 1999, 2005 and 2011). He has been responsible since 1993 for monitoring the NFL's revenues and finances to ensure compliance with the salary cap/revenue sharing system, as well as monitoring the NBA's finances under the revenue sharing system in that industry. Mr. Feher is the principal author of the brief submitted by all of the major player associations to the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark American Needle case. He also has represented agents and their clients at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Wasserman Media Group (WMG), and other such firms in various matters.

Mr. Feher represents the player board members on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, including negotiating the new Prize Money Formula system for the WTA's Roadmap restructuring. He co-led the firm's pro bono representation of double-amputee Oscar Pistorius in the successful, historic effort to overturn the ban against Mr. Pistorius competing in IAAF track events and attempting to qualify for the Olympics, and 800M World Champion sprinter Caster Semanya in her successful eligibility dispute with the IAAF.

Mr. Feher has also been one of the principal counsel in many prominent sports cases and arbitrations, including the Reggie White and Patrick Ewing class actions, the NFL lockout insurance/network TV contract case, the Michael Vick roster bonus forfeiture arbitration, the Terrell Owens arbitrations, the NFL debt limit collusion arbitration, the Arena Football League class action, the Bill Belichick/New York Jets litigation, and the Latrell Sprewell grievance. Mr. Feher represented Joe Smith in an arbitration that overturned the NBA's efforts to prevent Mr. Smith from re-signing with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and John Elway in an arbitration concerning his contracts with the Denver Broncos. Mr. Feher also negotiated Avon's sponsorship of the Olympic Games, Avon's licensing contract with Derek Jeter, and Olympic athlete sponsorship contracts in the fashion industry. He also successfully represented noted nutritionist and New York Times best-selling author Dr. Joel Fuhrman in an arbitration and negotiation regarding the terms of a joint venture.

Mr. Feher has been involved in numerous other major cases, including the NASDAQ price fixing class action, the Freeman McNeil/NFL antitrust trial, and the NCAA/NIT antitrust trial. Mr. Feher successfully defended Avon Products, Inc. against a $100 million false advertising claim in the S.C. Johnson v. Avon Products trial and has also represented Avon in NAD advertising proceedings. Mr. Feher represented the New York Stock Exchange in connection with the "decimalization" of NYSE trading operations, and has advised companies involved in price-fixing investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Feher was also the principal author of the export controls compliance program for a major international airline and recently represented a Turkish company in successfully vacating an arbitration award on grounds of evident partiality. He has represented a number of large US and international companies in various matters, and has extensive experience litigating complex commercial disputes. He has negotiated numerous commercial contracts in the sports and other industries.

Mr. Feher often writes and speaks on antitrust and sports topics, and has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Benjamin Cardozo School of Law.

Mr. Feher has been recognized in Chambers USA - America's Leading Lawyers for Business (2005-2011) as "one of the country's leading sports attorneys", with only six lawyers in the entire country ranked higher. He also was selected in the first 100 Lawdragon's "New Stars" in 2006 and honored in 2010 & 2011 by New York Super Lawyers.

Bar Associations, Memberships and Activities

· American Bar Association

· Sports Lawyers Association

Speeches & Programs

· Speaker, Minnesota State Bar Association Panel, "Sports & Antitrust," Minneapolis, Minnesota (December 14, 2011).

· Speaker, Wharton School's 6th Annual Ivy Sports Symposium, Labor Relations and Player Personnel, University of Pennsylvania (November 18, 2011).

· Speaker, Sports Law Symposium, Collective Bargaining & Antitrust Issues, New York University School of Law, New York, New York (April 13, 2011).

· Speaker, Hofstra Sports & Entertainment Law Society, Spring 2011 Speaker Panel, Hofstra Law School, Hempstead, New York (April 11, 2011).

· Panelist, "Collective Bargaining In Sports: Impending Negotiations, Potential Lockouts, And The Main Sources of Conflict Between Owners and Unions," Fordham Law School, New York, New York (April 1, 2011).

· Speaker, Sports and Entertainment Law Journal Symposium: Stitching Together the Past, Present, and Future of Antitrust Law in Professional Sports with an American Needle: Where Do Professional Sports Leagues Stand after American Needle v. NFL?, Villanova Law School, Philadelphia, PA (January 29, 2011).

· Panelist, "Joint Ventures: Lessons from U.S. Experience for the New Canadian Law," Canadian Bar Association - 2010 Annual Fall Competition Law Conference, Gatineau, Quebec (September 30, 2010).

· Guest Speaker, American Bar Association, Antitrust Section, "American Needle and Sports Leagues," Washington, D.C. (June 16, 2010).

· Guest Lecturer, "Sports Law" Columbia Law School, New York, New York (November 18, 2009).

· Guest Lecturer, "Sports Law -- Player-Union Relations," Columbia Law School, New York, New York (September 17, 2008).

· Guest, "Oscar Pistorius," CBC Sun Day Newsmagazine Program, Canadian Broadcasting Company (May 18, 2008) -- Click to view video clip.

· Panelist, "Sports Law Careers," New York University Law School, New York, New York (January 23, 2008).

· Guest Lecturer, "Sports Law -- Player Discipline," Columbia Law School, New York, New York (September 12, 2007).

· Sports Lawyers Association, 33rd Annual Conference, "Legal Ethics in the Evolving World of Sports Agents," Cambridge, Massachusetts (May 17, 2007).

· Duke Law School, "Democracy and Liberty: Representing Athletes and Player Associations In The Real World," Durham, North Carolina (March 28, 2007).

· American Conference Institute, Sports Law Leadership Summit, "Understanding the Antitrust Implications of Sports Leagues," New York, New York (September 28, 2006).

· Guest Lecturer, "Sports Law -- Arbitration," Columbia Law School, New York, New York (September 27, 2006).

· Guest Speaker, "Recent Developments in the NFL/Collective Bargaining," Duke Law School, Durham, North Carolina (March 20, 2006).

· Guest Lecturer, "Sports Law," Columbia Law School, New York, New York (October 12, 2005).

· Guest Lecturer, "Big Suits: Temporary Restraining Orders," Columbia Law School, New York, New York (September 14, 2005).

· Guest Lecturer, "Entertainment and Media: Markets and Economics," Stern School of Business, New York University, New York, New York (April 25, 2005).

· Guest Speaker, "Fans and Professional Athletes, The Pacers/Pistons Incident & Its Implications for Professional Sports," Duke Law School, Durham, North Carolina (March 3, 2005).

· Keynote Speaker, "Winning at all Costs: Today's Addiction, A Conference on Sports Law & Ethics," sponsored by Valparasio Law School, Chicago, Illinois (February 11, 2005).

· Guest Lecturer, "Entertainment and Media: Markets and Economics," Stern School of Business, New York University, New York, New York (May 3, 2004).

· Yale Law School Entertainment & Sports Law Conference, "Top Tier Practitioners on the Legal Affairs of the NBA," New Haven, Connecticut (April 23, 2004).

· "ADR in the Professional Sports World: The Similarities, Differences, Pros and Cons," The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, New York, New York (March 31, 2004).

· "Maurice Clarett's Challenge to the NFL's Age Requirement," 8th Annual Fordham University Sports Law Symposium, New York, New York (March 26, 2004).

· "50 Years of Sports Law: A Retrospective," Eleventh Annual Villanova Sports & Entertainment Law Journal Symposium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (March 20, 2004).

· "Representing the Athlete: On and Off the Court," St. John's University School of Law, Jamaica, New York (February 7, 2004).

· San Juan, Puerto Rico, "Bunts, Dunks, Punts and Strikes in Professional Sports Arbitration," Proceedings of the 55th Annual meeting of the National Academy of Arbitrators (June 6, 2003).

· New York, NY, "Collective Bargaining in Sports," Industrial Relations Research Association, New York City Chapter (December 11, 2002).

· New York, NY, "Careers as Labor and Employment Lawyers in the Entertainment and Sports Industries," New York University Law School, Center for Labor and Employment Law (April 10, 2002).

· New York, NY, "Conflicts of Interest in Sports," Fordham Law School, 6th Annual Symposium on Current Legal Issues in Sports (March 15, 2002)."

· New York, NY, "Special State Income Taxes on Visiting Professional Athletes," Fox National News (February 22, 2002).

· New York, NY, "Sports Law & Dispute Resolution Symposium," Moderator, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (November 29, 2001).

· New York, NY, "Revenue Sharing, Contraction, Arbitration, and Other Related Issues In Major League Baseball," Columbia Law School, Entertainment, Arts, Sports Law Society Panel (April 18, 2001).

· New York, NY, "Sports & Entertainment Law Panel," Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Black Law Students Association (April 17, 2001).

· New York, NY, "Player Conduct & Discipline," Understanding Business & Legal Aspect of the Sports Industry, Practising Law Institute (February 15, 2001).

· New York, NY, "Developments in Sports Law Arbitration," New York Law School & New York State Bar Association, Entertainment, Arts & Sports Law Section: Committee on Professional Sports, 4th Annual Sports Law Symposium (November 10, 2000).

· New York, NY, "Understanding Business & Legal Aspects of the Sports Industry," Player Contracts, Player Conduct & Discipline, Practising Law Institute (February 17, 2000).

· New Haven, CT, "Recent Developments in Sports Law," Yale Entertainment & Sports Law Association, Spring Speaker Series, Yale Law School (February 15, 2000).