Law360 named Covington a Sports and Betting Practice Group of the Year, and the accompanying profile included commentary from Peter Zern and Andrew Nightingale on the firm’s work in the sports and betting industry.
Peter discussed the firm’s work representing the National Football League as its owners approved private equity investment for the first time in league history. Peter stated it was "probably the biggest change in the NFL rules to come down the pike in years.” "It was really very exciting, and it's been gratifying to see it all come together," he said. "It's a great group internally at the league that we've been working with, and a great group of us here that we've been working with. For us, it's really been a highlight of the year."
Andrew added how the firm’s work on the matter was a product of his own strengths. "It really was like a lawyer's dream," Andrew said. "The NFL was very deliberative in how they went about the process. They took input from all the stakeholders. We had owner input, input from the league office, input from the funds themselves, the investment bankers who also helped on the transactions, and the lawyers. So it was a very strategic process, a lot of collaboration and deliberation." "It was really, in addition to being groundbreaking, a lot of fun," he added.
Peter further pointed out that "it's sort of the end of the beginning. There's a lot more to come. We are definitely still just in the first quarter of private equity involvement with the professional sports leagues, and the NFL in particular."
The profile also noted Covington’s successful representation of the NFL in its antitrust litigation fight with subscribers to its Sunday Ticket service. Peter attributed the strength of Covington in two relevant areas of the case: litigation and antitrust law. He said that having so much depth in so many areas pays off at times like that, even after the NFL suffered the initial jury defeat. "To be candid about it, I think it gives us a competitive edge. We see things within the industry that almost no other firms see across the entirety of the industry," Peter said. "I think that's a meaningful benefit to all of our clients when we are doing work for them on their given issues — that we have a deeper and stronger understanding of the issues facing the industry across the board."
"Some of our peer firms might be strong in one or two areas, but probably aren't strong across the board," Peter added. With Covington, "it's just an incredibly robust offering across almost every facet of the industry. I just don't think other firms have that. This is where it gets to be an incredibly fun platform to be a part of."
Reflecting on the practice group’s work, Peter told Law360, "I do think it's another really well-rounded year, when you look at sort of the full body of work. To me, that's a great hallmark of the way this place works and operates."
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