NCAA and the Law & Lawyers

This report will address several issues related to the law, lawyers and their conduct, and student athletes. After reviewing some of the duties owed by lawyers to their clients, specifically with regard to ethical conduct as described by the American Bar Association, the report will consider issues that law firms representing athletes in general must address. Next, the report will consider how and why these duties change (to the extent that they change) when the athlete is covered by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules governing amateur athletes. Finally, the report will consider what a law firm should know when the athlete is covered by the National Football league (NFL) and its regulatory system.

Lawyers are bound by Rules of Professional Conduct promulgated by the American bar Association that directly impact upon the ways in which they function professionally. Specifically, the client-lawyer relationship is impacted by Rule 1.1, Competence, which states that "a lawyer shall provide competent representation to a client. Competent representation requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonable necessary for the representation." With respect to representing athletes, lawyers must exhibit the same types of competencies which would be exhibited in working with any other client. Among those responsibilities are avoiding conflicts of interest, wh

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g any direct contact in person, by telephone, or by mail with a professional sports organization on behalf of the individual athlete. A lawyer's presence during such discussions is considered representation by an agent. With regard to the question of whether a firm representing athletes requires malpractice insurance, common sense dictates that any law firm should purchase a reasonable amount of malpractice regardless of the focus of their professional efforts. Law firms are no more vulnerable to malpractice suits initiated by athletes than any other type of clients. In the context of fees and credentials, attorneys representing athletes must meet standard requirements imposed upon the profession. In any event, the American Bar Association Model Code of Professional Responsibility requires that: Both the fiduciary relationship existing between lawyer and client and the proper functioning of the legal system require the preservation by the lawyer of confidences and secrets of one who has employed or sought to employ him. A client must feel free to discuss whatever he wishes with his lawyer and a lawyer must be equally free to obtain information beyond that volunteered by his client. A lawyer should be fully informed of all

Category: Government - N