Any law student interested in sports law will tell you that studying down the street from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim is a great perk of going to Chapman. But an even bigger perk is getting the opportunity to receive career advice from Alex Winsberg, the General Counsel for Angels Baseball, LP. And that’s exactly what happened on Friday, June 14.

Several newly admitted students, current students and alumni of Chapman Law gathered underneath the giant Angels “A” in the stadium parking lot for an afternoon “meet and greet” with Mr. Winsberg before the game. Winsberg, who sits on Chapman Law’s Business Law Emphasis Advisory Board, gave Chapman Law students personalized advice and counseling on getting through law school and following a career path, like his, into sports law.

Angels“The Angels chose me because they needed a generalist.  And I demonstrated knowledge of various different aspects of the business-side of operations,” said Winsberg.  Because the Angels is such a large enterprise, Winsberg works on wide range of “behind-the-scenes” legal issues. This includes anything from transactional matters and contract negotiation, civil and commercial litigation, intellectual property protection and registration, and product liability, to corporate risk management.

“The most important thing is that you learn how to think like a lawyer,” Winsberg told Chris Lipides, an incoming Chapman Law student. Chris is interested in both sports and entertainment law and looks forward to getting involved with Chapman Law’s Entertainment Contracts Law Clinic. He is also excited that Leigh Steinberg, a well-known sports agent, will be teaching at Chapman Law starting this fall.

After listening to Mr. Winsberg talk about everything from maintaining a work-life balance to his previous jobs, Chris said he genuinely enjoyed getting to know Mr. Winsberg. Not very many incoming law students get a networking opportunity such as this.

After meeting Mr. Winsberg and eating delicious BBQ, the Chapman Law family proceeded to the stadium to watch the game. What was already an eventful afternoon ended with even more excitement as Angels fans celebrated the defeat of their rivals, the New York Yankees, followed by a spectacular stadium fireworks show.