In the Sports Arena: Shelby Klose, ’17, Chicago Fire Football Club Deputy General Counsel
While an undergraduate at Drake University, Shelby Klose, ’17, had her first exposure to working for a professional sports team, interning for the Iowa Wild hockey team. “I really enjoyed the environment and experience,” she said.
At the Law School, Klose initially contemplated a corporate law career and enrolled in the Doctoroff Business Leadership Program. “As part of that, I met with [Associate Dean for Admissions] Ann Perry in my first year, and she asked what kind of internship I would like. I asked her if sports law was a job outside of the movies, and she said, ‘Yes!’” With Perry’s help, Klose secured an internship with Major League Baseball, working with Sarah Horvitz, ’05, and Mitchell Schwartz, ’03.
Klose began her legal career at Skadden, doing mergers and acquisitions work. She later moved to Katten, where she was able to gain exposure to the firm’s growing sports law group. At Katten, she had the opportunity to work on several major sports-related transactions, including the sales of the Kansas City Royals baseball team and Utah Jazz basketball team.
When an opportunity to go in house with the Chicago Fire soccer team opened up, Klose was ready to run with it. She joined the team as associate general counsel and has since moved to deputy general counsel, serving under another Law School alum, Chief Legal and Administrative Officer Laura Warren, ’03. Klose says Warren has been both a wonderful boss and mentor to her.
“I loved the show Ted Lasso, but one thing they got wrong is the business side.”
“Laura and I operate as a small law firm here at the Fire, doing a little bit of everything,” Klose said. “I think what differs about sports and entertainment law is that there is industry knowledge that’s important. There are types of agreements we work with that you would never run across in other jobs, such as broadcast rights, sponsorship, and naming rights agreements.”
Each league also has its own rules and governance structures that lawyers have to be conversant in, Klose pointed out.
Many people don’t realize how complex the business side of sports is, she said. “I loved the show Ted Lasso, but one thing they got wrong is the business side. On the show, there are three people working in the team’s front office: Rebecca, Higgins, and Keely. In real life, there are usually hundreds.”