Kessler Gives Keynote at Columbia Sports Law Symposium

Winston was pleased to sponsor Columbia Law School’s Entertainment and Sports Law Symposium, where Partner Jeffrey Kessler gave the keynote address and Associate Angela Smedley participated in a fireside chat. Both are Columbia Law alums.

This year’s symposium, held on March 3, focused on the role of the law in social activism in sports and entertainment. Jeffrey spoke about athletes throughout time who have turned to activism in order to fight for their communities and for those who will come after them, rarely seeing any personal benefit. He talked about his heroes growing up such as Muhammad Ali, and discussed his representation of courageous athletes who fought for the right to compete such as Caster Semenya in track and field.

During the fireside chat, Angela recounted her involvement with player activism throughout her legal career, providing attendees with a unique perspective gained from her work counseling athletes as both an in-house attorney and outside counsel. She also discussed her experiences as both a person of color and a woman working in the legal profession.