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supervisors.” Harrington was assigned to MSG Sports and worked under Jamaal Lesane, the Vice President of Legal and Business Affairs for Teams and Sports Operations. “There I was,” says Harrington, “this kid from Cleveland-Marshall surrounded by lawyers from Columbia, Yale and Harvard,” he said. No matter how surreal the experience, it was a successful one for Harrington. Carfagna and Nard wanted to have a similar impact on students at the Academy. The question became how to provide such unique externship opportunities to students in the Academy. Of course, one of the reasons Carfagna chose to teach in Cleveland in the first place is the unprecedented access to sports and arts institutions here in town. For example, Global Spectrum, part of the Comcast Group, is the on-site agency that manages the Wolstein Center for athletic events and music events as well. “Would they appreciate a clinical student who can help them go over their forms and manage event related contracts for sports and events?” says Carfagna. “Of course, and if a student can get that placement, they will have a huge advantage.” Carfagna and Nard began soliciting local organizations for externship opportunities and Global Spectrum, Nelligan Sports Marketing and Cleveland State University’s NCAA Athletics organizations were among the first. The counsel for the Cleveland Browns, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Lake Country Captains and the Greater Cleveland Film Commission have since joined the expanding list. “Our plan is to provide the top students in this summer’s inaugural Academy class with direct placement into these organizations for externships,” says Carfagna. In May 2012, the Great Lakes Sports and Entertainment Law Academy will open its doors for its first class of students. Students will be immersed in four courses over three weeks: Representing the Professional Athlete, Negotiating Strategies in Sports Management, Representing the Musical Artist and Entertainment Law: Film and Television. The faculty includes Peter Carfagna, Mark Avsec, partner and vice-chair of the Intellectual Property Practice Group at Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff, LLP, and David Shall, Head of Business Operations & General Counsel at Vuguru LLC. “These faculty members are unique,” says co-director Craig Nard. “Mark Avsec, for example is also a professional musician,” he says. “He’s going to simulate what it’s like to represent an artist from the early days of a band all the way to becoming a heritage band.” The first day, students from the course will travel to a music studio, see how musicians work in the field and learn about the legal issues involved in recording. Each of the courses leverages the three-week immersive format to the fullest. “With guest speakers, field trips and more to look forward to, this year’s Academy program will be wonderfully rich,”
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