Taxes And Sports Law
April 15, 2009 SLT (sportslawtalk) - You are a lawyer in a CPA firm, tell us a little about your background and education. MH (Mitchell Halpern) - Sure, in undergraduate school I was a communications management major at Ithaca College (NY). I was initially thinking of being a sportscaster. After college, instead of going into the communications industry, I went to Law School at Boston University, starting in 1980. I was thinking that I might want to be a sports agent. In law school I tried to take as many tax courses and entertainment and sports law courses as possible. At the time, BU’s law School didn’t have any Sports Law courses, only an Entertainment Law course, which ended up being more about Anti-Trust Law and how it affected the motion picture industry. This course was taught by Sumner Redstone. (For those of you that don’t know, Sumner Redstone and his family are majority owners of CBS Corporation, Viacom and MTV Networks, BET, Paramount Pictures, and DreamWorks.)
In the United States when you mention April 15, most people think of taxes. Here at Sportslawtalk.com we think of taxes and the Sports Law field. Today we are pleased to have as our guest Mitchell Halpern, an attorney, Principal and Director of Sports and Entertainment Accounting Services at O’Connor & Drew, P.C., a Quincy, Massachusetts based CPA firm.
MH - After law school I pursued an opportunity with Arthur Andersen, at the time a Big Eight accounting firm (For those of you who are only sports fans, we are not referring to the athletic conference that is now known as the Big 12) that hired lawyers who had legal skills applicable to the tax field. SLT - I know you spent some time working with the legendary sports agent Bob Woolf at Bob Woolf Associates. Can you tell us how that came about? MH - At that time my goal was still to become a sports agent, and I had an opportunity work with Bob Woolf in Boston. I looked a this as an opportunity to get into the sports agent field, although my initial responsibilities were in other areas. (Bob Woolf was one of the first attorney- sports agents, representing athletes such as Larry Bird, Carl Yastrzemski, and Doug Flutie.) SLT- What were your initial responsibilities with Bob Woolf Associates? MH - My primary job was cash management (i.e. overseeing the bill paying and budgeting functions) and tax work for athletes. SLT -Tell us a little about your experiences at Bob Woolf Associates. MH - Working with Bob Woolf exposed me to some of the alternatives to being a sports agent. I made some observations at that time that led me to decide that I no longer viewed being a sports agent as the career for me. I found alternatives that would keep me in the sports industry without being an agent. SLT - What were some of your reasons for not wanting to be a sports agent? MH – One major reason was the fact that it appeared that there were more agents than athletes. This did not appear to me as a good business model for future economic success unless you were lucky enough to be one of the few at the “top”. SLT - Any other observations from your time with Bob Woolf Associates? MH - I learned not to be star struck by the athletes and to instead focus on creating a business relationship so we could service their business needs in the best way possible. SLT - How long were you with Bob Woolf Associates? MH - I was with Bob Woolf from 1986 to 1990. I left Bob Woolf for various reasons. In the long term, this ended being a good decision because within approximately ten years Bob Woolf Associates had closed their doors (Bob Woolf passed away in the 1990’s and others attempted to continue the business without him). SLT -Before we get on to the next phase of you career, do you have any tips for the youngsters out there who want to get into the Sports Law industry? MH - Three things are very important. First and foremost, find a job to make a living while you build yourself into an expert in the Sports Law industry. Second, think of ancillary sports law fields and become an expert in that field - I became an expert in tax and estate planning work. This is where more opportunities may exist than becoming a sports agent. Third, join organizations like the Sports Lawyers Association for the educational and networking opportunities.
SLT - Tell us about your career after law school.
To contact Mr. Halpern:
Mitchell S. Halpern, JD
Principal
Director of Sports & Entertainment Accounting Services
O'Connor & Drew, P.C.
1515 Hancock Street
P.O. Box 9109
Quincy, MA 02169
Fax: (617) 472-7560
E-Mail: mhalpern@ocd.com
Tomorrow: Mitchell Halpern, tells us how he built the Sports and Entertainment practice at O’Connor & Drew.
Categories: Sports Lawyers Association, Mitchell Halpern, taxes, Bob Woolf
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