We are privileged to have as our guest today sports attorney Peter Roisman. Mr. Roisman has had a long career not only in the Sports Law Field, but also as an entrepreneur (he was an early employee, President, and investor in The Ticket Reserve), and he has been a long time officer of the Sports Lawyers Association. What makes Mr. Roisman a unique guest is that as a Sports Lawyer and agent he has had a chance to experience this role as a sole practitioner as well as with a major Sports management firm. Mr. Roisman can give us valuable insights into what it’s like to practice with both the small and large firm.

Sportslawtalk - Thank you for taking the time to speak with us. Why don’t we start at the beginning, and have you tell us how your love of sports like basketball and golf combined with your law school experience to get you into the field of sports law.

Peter Roisman - I was a college golfer that briefly considered a career as a professional, but quickly learned the difference between a scratch golfer and someone who could make a living in the game. While I spent my 1 year in Florida getting "schooled" by great players, I realized I could make a good career for myself in representing pro athletes if I couldn't become one myself. Thus, I arrived at the University of Connecticut School of Law knowing exactly what I wanted from my education there. I immediately sought out the one professor (Lew Kurlantzick) that had experience in the sports law field and with his input, I started a UConn Sports Law Society. We were fortunate to get the ex-President of the NCAA, John Toner, and Donald Fehr, MLBPA Executive Director, to participate in a panel discussion on campus and the event generated a fair amount of press--ESPN, local papers, etc. At the same time I was starting to create a network of sports contacts that would continue to grow over the years. It wasn't 3-4 months before I had my first pro athlete as a client, and I was still in my first year of law school.

Sportslawtalk - When you started out in the field of sports law you were basically on your own. You were looking to represent players. Tell us about your early days and some of the ups and downs. Are there some things you would do differently if you could do it over again?

Peter Roisman - When I started out as an agent, I was just starting at UConn Law School. I was basically prepared at that point to take on any client that would have me. I realized that I would make mistakes as I worked as quickly as I could get up to get up to speed in the sports field. I also figured that the clients that would give me the chance early on were truly in need of representation and probably couldn't attract the name brand agents, so they were willing to work with me. We were a good fit for each other. By the way, one important thing to note is that I wasn't at all reluctant to ask questions and seek the advice of the more experienced people in the sports field. I remember early on setting up and attending meetings at Bob Woolf's office in Boston, with Tom Seaver's agent in NYC, and at Spalding Sporting Goods in Chicopee, MA. Each meeting was informative and gave me additional "golden nuggets" that I could use in my career advancement. I don't actually think there is anything I could have done differently as a novice sports agent, but if I were management oriented (as opposed to player oriented) then I would have taken a much different approach to my career. I would have probably started somewhere as an intern and worked my way up at an organization like the PGA Tour or the NBA. The bigger sports agencies like IMG and Octagon were certainly not hiring inexperienced agents like me, so I figured I'd better go out and get the necessary training before I even considered working for a big firm.

Sportslawtalk - You have had the chance to represent major figures in the field, such as Coach Jim Calhoun and the late Reggie Lewis. Could you share how these opportunities came along for you, and some of the challenges you encountered in representing high profile figures such as these?