Leading sports lawyers return to speak at Stanford Law School

At an all-female panel at the Stanford Law School (SLS) titled “Game Changers: Women Breaking Barriers as In-House Counsel” last Thursday, leaders across professional sports league management emphasized the legal roles available within the sports industry — and especially in the growing field of women’s sports. 

The panel, organized by the Stanford Entertainment and Sports Law Association (SESLA), was comprised of Hannah Gordon J.D. ’08, the chief administrative officer of the San Francisco 49ers; Amy Trask, former CEO of the Oakland Raiders; Amy Tovar ’99 J.D. ’03, senior vice president and general counsel for the San Francisco Giants and D’Lonra Ellis J.D. ’05, chief legal officer for the Oakland Athletics and San Jose Earthquakes. Cybele Zhang ’22 J.D. ’26, SESLA co-president and former sports editor at The Daily, was the moderator of the panel.

Throughout the hour-long event, panelists covered work-life balance, what they look for in general counsels of sports teams and more, addressing a crowd of SLS students and community members. Though the focus was on women’s sports lawyers and female general counsels, panelists made clear they wanted to be seen for more than their gender. 

“What’s really going to be exciting is for everyone to be hired without regard for race, or gender, or any other individuality which has no bearing on whether one can do a job,” said Trask.

“[Sports law] has historically been a very male space,” said Zhang.

However, an increase of women in law overall has aligned with similar shifts within sports law in “the last 10 to 15 years in particular,” said Zhang. Zhang attributes this change to women lawyers breaking barriers and creating a lineage of mentors and interns.

Some of these women on the panel lived the “lineage” Zhang mentioned firsthand. Gordon met Trask at her Raiders internship, where Trask herself had begun as an intern many years earlier. “She really gives back to interns,” said Gordon about Trask.

“Your network is everything, your people are everything… it means the genuine relationships you’re developing with people matter, and you have to maintain them over time,” said Gordon.

For Gordon, who’s worked in many sports leagues, landing a career related to football was always the goal. When she was in college, Gordon completed a public relations internship with the Oakland Raiders that convinced her to apply to law school. 

Though these interactions may sound like professional networking to some, panelists emphasized the importance of not only connecting with other female professionals but in being genuine while doing so. 

“From the front office to the playing field, there are so many women making an impact, and I’m thrilled to be part of telling that story,” Tovar wrote to The Daily.