press releases

O’Melveny Adds Leading Sports and Entertainment Lawyer in New York

New York—January 17, 2017—Charles Baker, a nationally acclaimed sports and entertainment lawyer whose practice includes mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and venture capital transactions, has joined O’Melveny’s New York office. He will chair the firm’s Sports Industry Group.

Baker represents investment banks and consulting firms on corporate finance advisory matters, and is recognized in both Chambers USA and The Legal 500 United States for his M&A work and sports law experience. 

Baker has also represented a wide range of buyers and sellers of sports franchises in every major professional league, including the National Football League, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, and many European football leagues. He has guided the acquisition and sale of top professional franchises by investors in the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. In 2015, Baker represented the owners of the Atlanta Hawks in the sale of the NBA team, a transaction that Global M&A Networks recognized as the USA Deal of the Year.

A sought-after commentator on the business of sports, Baker appears regularly on Forbes Sports Money and other national broadcast media. Sports Business Journal recently named him to its inaugural list of “Power Players: Outside Counsel,” which honors attorneys “who are doing meaningful work and playing significant roles in sports business.”

“We welcome Chuck Baker to O’Melveny,” said Bradley J. Butwin, the firm’s Chair. “He brings a range of experience to our firm, both in corporate dealings and as one of the country’s top sports and media lawyers. He adds a dimension to our practice that is both rewarding and exciting—for our clients and for us, as his colleagues.” 

Matthew Erramouspe, Co-Chair of the firm’s Entertainment, Sports & Media Practice Group, added: “Chuck will bring a ‘best in class’ sports practice to our existing ‘best in class’ entertainment and media practice. With Chuck’s addition, we look forward to offering the sports industry a powerful combination of leading practitioners and a full suite of resources to service its needs on a comprehensive 360-degree basis.”

“I am excited to join O’Melveny and look forward to working with such highly respected and truly collaborative corporate lawyers on a wide range of transactions,” Baker said. “I have worked with many O’Melveny lawyers over the years, and am pleased to be joining them to seek creative solutions for our clients.” 

Baker received his J.D. from Cornell Law School in 1985 and is a Distinguished Lecturer at NYU’s Tisch Institute for Sports Management, Media, and Business. He is also a member of the University of Miami School of Law's Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law board.

He is active at the board level with the March of Dimes, the Challenged Athletes Foundation, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and USA Triathlon.

About O’Melveny
O’Melveny’s clients shape markets, set precedents, and break boundaries. They are stalwarts and innovators, the names you trust and the next big thing. And for more than a century, O’Melveny has been right beside them, kicking down walls and putting up defenses to help our clients achieve their most important goals. With approximately 700 lawyers in 15 offices worldwide guided by the principles of excellence, leadership, and citizenship, we uphold a tradition of treating our clients’ challenges and opportunities as our own. What do you want to achieve? For the answers, please visit www.omm.com.

Contact:
Julie Fei
O’Melveny & Myers LLP
213.430.7792
jfei@omm.com 

Chris Till
O’Melveny & Myers LLP
202.383.5237
ctill@omm.com
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