Insights

Lyman Bullard, Jr. of Choate, Hall & Stewart Named a" Premier Power Player" by Sports Business Journal

Boston, MA, July 6, 2016 – Lyman Bullard, Jr., a partner at Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP, has been named a “Premier Power Player” by Sports Business Journal, for being one of the “sharpest, brightest minds in the business” of sports law and for “playing a part in some of the biggest deals in sports.”  The publication notes that Bullard has “built a reputation as one of the industry’s leading sports finance lawyers.” 

 Bullard represents numerous sports lending clients – Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, PNC, SunTrust Bank, U.S. Bank, and John Hancock – in commercial financing transactions, including sports lending, stadium construction and investment banking transactions, merger and acquisition and capital markets transactions.

 He has served as lead counsel on deals worth billions of dollars for both financial institutions and teams including Major League Baseball (MLB), Minor League Baseball, the National Hockey League (NHL), the American Hockey League (AHL), the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), NASCAR, Major League Lacrosse, Major League Soccer (MLS), the North American Soccer League, the National Women’s Soccer League, the PGA, and the LPGA.

 According to the Sports Business Journal, “Bullard started Choate’s sports law practice in 1991 and his fingerprints are all over an array of major transactions.  He helped construct deals for the MLB and NHL credit facilities, the acquisition of the Golden State Warriors...and stadium and arena deals in Philadelphia, Boston and Miami.  Bullard also has ventured into team and league operations, as he is the governor of the AHL Portland Pirates, soon to move to Springfield, Mass., and is a longtime member of the AHL’s executive committee.”

 Bullard was awarded the 2012 Thomas Ebright Award for outstanding career contributions to the American Hockey League. He received his J.D. from Boston College Law School in 1984 and his A.B. from Harvard College in 1977, where he played on the varsity hockey team that won a Beanpot Championship and was captain of the varsity soccer team.

 Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP, one of the nation's leading law firms, is consistently recognized for excellence by Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA, The Legal 500, World’s Leading Lawyers, International Who’s Who of Lawyers, and Expert Guides.  With all of its lawyers under one roof, Choate focuses on a core group of areas where it represents clients across the United States and internationally and provides exceptional efficiency, service and value.  Choate’s areas of focus include finance & restructuring, bankruptcy, corporate/M&A, venture capital, private equity, insurance/reinsurance, high-stakes litigation, intellectual property, life sciences, tax, wealth management, and government enforcement & compliance.