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Gregg E. Clifton

Partner

  • location icon Phoenix, AZ
    2929 North Central Avenue
    Suite 1700
    Phoenix, AZ 85012

Gregg E. Clifton is a partner in the Phoenix office of Lewis Brisbois, a chair of the Collegiate & Professional Sports Law Practice, and a member of the Entertainment, Media & Sports Practice.

Gregg has extensive experience in the collegiate and professional sports world. He has advised numerous professional franchises on general labor and employment issues, including Title III ADA regulatory compliance and wage and hour issues. Gregg serves as lead counsel for several Major League Baseball teams in their salary arbitration matters and has represented NCAA and NAIA collegiate clients regarding rules compliance, investigatory matters and in disciplinary hearings. In addition, he has handled Title IX investigations and compliance issues for NCAA and NAIA member institutions. Gregg has also worked extensively in the area of agent regulation and enforcement in professional and college sports and regularly provides counsel on issues relating to NCAA and NAIA amateurism issues and athlete eligibility questions. He has also served as an expert witness in matters involving sports agents’ work and responsibilities, as well as athlete compensation issues.

Prior to joining Lewis Brisbois, Gregg spent six years as chief operating officer and vice president of Team Sports for Gaylord Sports Management. He also served as president of the Athlete and Entertainment Division for famed sports attorney Bob Woolf’s firm, Woolf Associates, in Boston.

Gregg continues to counsel clients in the areas of collective bargaining negotiations, representation cases, arbitrations and National Labor Relations Board matters.

Gregg frequently serves as an expert speaker to law schools, including Harvard University, Boston College, Hofstra University, and Arizona State University, and bar associations regarding sports law issues, including agent regulation and salary arbitration. He is often called upon by national news media as a source for his commentary and opinion on legal issues in sports.

Publications

  • Podcast Guest, "Was Kyrie Irving’s Suspension From The Nets A Violation Of Labor Law?” Sports Lawyers Association's (SLA), April 10, 2023
  • Co-Author, "What Esports Ruling Means for College Title IX Compliance," Law360, March 24, 2023
  • Co-Author, “The Worlds of Music and Collegiate Sports Combine with NIL," LEAD1 Name, Image, & Likeness (NIL) Institutional Report: Issue #10, March 9, 2023
  • Co-Author, "SC Pay-For-Play Bill For Student-Athletes Faces Obstacles,” Law360, December 22, 2022
  • Co-Author, “Student-Athlete Name, Image, and Likeness Rights: What to Expect in 2021 and Beyond,” New Jersey Lawyer Magazine (February 2021)
  • Co-Author, “In the Arena, A Sports Law Handbook,” New York State Bar Association (June 2013)
  • Co-Author, “U.S. Department of Education’s “Dear Colleague Letter” Highlights Schools’ Responsibility for Accommodating Disabled Students in Extracurricular Activities” (March 2013)
  • Co-Author, “Sexual Harassment and Professional Sports Organizations,” Professional Sports and the Law, Vol. 1, Is. 6 (January-February 2011)
  • Co-Author, “U.S. Department of Education Eliminates Title IV Safe Harbors: Questions Remain On Compensation for Athletic Personnel Legal Issues In College Athletics,” Vol. 12, Is. 3 (January 2011)
  • Co-Author, “MLBPA Issues New Sweeping Regulations Governing Agents,” Professional Sports and the Law, Vol. 1, Is. 5 (November-December 2010)

Press

Professional Presentations

Admissions

  • State Bar Admissions
    • Arizona
    • New Jersey
    • New York
  • United States District Courts
    • United States District Court for the District of Arizona

Associations

  • American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section and Forum on Entertainment and Sports Industries
  • New Jersey State Bar Association, Past Chairperson of Sports Law Committee
  • Sports Lawyers Association
    • Board of Directors (2021-Present)

Awards & Honors

  • The Best Lawyers in America©, “Sports Law” (2016-Present)
  • The Best Lawyers in America©, “Lawyer of the Year: Sports Law” (2022)
  • Legal 500 USA, “Recommended Attorney” (2018)
  • The National Law Review, “Go To Thought Leader” (2019)

Education

Hofstra University, Maurice A. Deane School of Law

Juris Doctor, 1985

Harvard University

Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, 1982

  • John Harvard Scholarship for Academic Excellence

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