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Back in the fall of 2009, I was fortunate enough to hear attorney Joel Turner speak to my law school's Entertainment and Sports Law Society. Mr. Turner, of Frost, Brown, Todd, LLC., is the chair of the firm's equine law group, and is involved in a full range of equine legal services; syndicate, co-ownership, partnership and limited liability company agreements, equine lending documentation, purchase and sale agreements, private and public placements, administrative hearings and appeals, gaming regulatory matters, tax and estate planning, and litigation. He is knowledgeable in racing legislation in the United States and is actively working with horsemen throughout the country to attend to the needs of breeders, owners and trainers. His knowledge of the horse industry allows him to handle legal problems within that industry efficiently and successfully. Mr. Turner recently represented clients in connection with:
(1) Syndication of BIG BROWN, 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner; (2) Passage of Florida HB 1427 to regulate deceptive practices in horse sales (2007/2008); and (3) Preparation for Congressional Hearing in Washington, D.C. regarding The State of Thoroughbred Horseracing and The Welfare of the Thoroughbred (October 10, 2008).
Mr. Turner shared his insight about the Entertainment and Sports industry, and talked about following one's passion. Mr. Turner became involved with equine law because of his passion for horses and horse racing. As a former college baseball player, I myself have a passion for sports, and found his information to be very useful.
The discussion was about how one can decide what sort of career they may want to pursue (in this case Sports Law). His advice is divided into three sections: 1) Self-Evaluation, 2) The Application, and 3) The Approach.
Self-Evaluating
How to decide what career is right for you?
- What do I get excited about when I get free time, or when I wake up in the morning?
- What can I be doing to further my excitement?
- What can I do better for my clients?
- What can be done that is needed in the industry?
The Application (Sports Law)
- Most athletes don't have concept of the law, so it is important that they have someone with this knowledge in their corner.
- Be able to "talk the game." If you do not understand the game, you can't provide service to the athletes.
- Know your clients!!
- Mr. Turner discussed a situation where he lost a client once because he did not call the client back
immediately. This was a very important example of why as an agent/attorney, you need to know the needs of each of your clients.
- Since people have different personalities, the needs of your clients will vary. Some clients will want to hear from you multiple times a day, while others maybe just once a week. As Mr. Turner learned, some clients expected to be called back within 5 minutes, while others are more relaxed. The key is being able to establish personal relationships with your clients, so that you can understand their needs, and how to better serve them.
- Every business has legal relationships. I.e. General Counsel
- Establishing relationships withing the industry (BE PERSISTENT!!)
- When learning the law (or any topic), ask yourself how this principle would apply to what you want to do.
The Approach (don't take no for an answer)
- "No doesn't mean no, it means try me at another time"
- Do whatever you can to understand the nuances of the business. Ideally it would be best to learn from someone "in the trenches," who has been successful.
- Get to know people in the business/industry and find out how they became successful. Find ways to get a hold of the successful individuals and find a way to talk to them for 5 minutes. If they say no or you cannot find a way, keep trying...."keep knocking on their door."
- In this economy especially, if you cannot differentiate yourself from others, you have no chance. This can be just by having a positive attitude, showing knowledge of the industry, showing a genuine passion for the business, etc.
- Be prepared to accept a position for free. The demand to work in the entertainment and sports industry is very high and the number of jobs available is low, therefore it is likely that you will start working for free.
- Another key point is being able to manage the opportunity once you get it. The first step is getting your foot in the door. The second step is, once your foot is in the door, what are you going to do with that opportunity?
- Understand the underlying economics of the business and how difficult it is.
- You want to get hands on experience, and be able to understand the legal relationships that exist.
Mr. Turner, his wife and his family currently live on a small thoroughbred farm in Prospect, Kentucky, where they maintain broodmares, raise foals and sell yearlings or two-year-olds at various vendues in Kentucky and Florida.
He also organizes pinhooking and racing co-ownerships, LLCs, and races certain of his home-breds in Kentucky.
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