Eric Fishman

Partner

Eric is a one-stop lawyer for some of the most well-known athletes, celebrities, and artists as well as brands, advertising agencies, and media, beverage, retail, and startup companies with a unique ability to advise on both transactional and litigation matters.

Eric Fishman, Partner

Eric’s broad and diverse experience enables him to serve as a trusted advisor across the full spectrum of his clients’ legal needs. He is well known for being the go-to lawyer to many top athletes and companies in the sports, entertainment, and retail industries. His recent work includes advising globally renowned personalities and their companies on cutting-edge endorsements, innovative licensing, sponsorship, and branding deals, as well as intellectual property, financing, and corporate structuring matters.

He also advises clients on non-fungible token and other monetization strategies as new technologies like NFTs and the Metaverse create new opportunities for clients in the sports and entertainment industry to maximize their name, image, likeness (NIL).

Uniquely, Eric also has extensive experience representing his clients when litigation arises, counseling them throughout all phases of their business lifecycle to avoid lengthy, and invariably messy, disputes.

Sports and Entertainment Transactions

  • Kevin Durant in various endorsement and business deals, including a recent representation of Durant in his deal to be featured as an Operator skin in Call of Duty.
  • Boardroom, a media network that covers the business of sports, entertainment, and culture, in a groundbreaking multi-year “strategic marketing partnership and collaboration” deal with Coinbase, and a multi-year, exclusive content-focused partnership with FanDuel.
  • Thirty Five Ventures in its acquisition of a minority ownership stake in NJ/NY Gotham FC, the National Women’s Soccer League franchise based in New Jersey, and various media and content transactions.
  • Eastside Golf, an innovative lifestyle golf brand, on various media, endorsement and branding matters.
  • Just Women’s Sports, a digital-first consumer media brand dedicated to women’s sports, on a deal with iHeartPodcasts, a division of iHeartMedia, the number one audio company in the United States, on the return of ‘Snacks’, that kicked off in March 2023. 
  • A renowned artist in connection with the development of a fragrance brand.
  • Athletes in the NFL, NBA, and professional soccer leagues with respect to various issues.
  • Other artists, entertainers, and management companies in the production of documentaries and other films, investment raises, tax strategies, and business and personal agreements.

Presentations, Publications & Recognitions

Presentations

  • “Emerging Legal Issues With New Forms Of Athlete Compensation,” Moderator, NYU Center for Labor and Employment Law (November 29, 2022)

Publications

  • “Navigating the New Playing Field: What Athletes Need to Know when Monetizing NIL,” Sports Business Journal, (July 1, 2022)
  • “A Litigator’s Guide to Avoiding Lawsuits Between Owners of Closely-Held Companies,” Bloomberg Law, (November 2, 2018)
  • “Fishman & Bagley Examine How Waymo v. Uber Impacts Pre-Merger Diligence,” Corporate Counsel, (September 22, 2017)
  • “Fishman & Bagley Examine Risks of Using PIs in Litigation,” Inside Counsel, (October 6, 2016)

Recognitions

  • Super Lawyers, New York Metro List in business litigation (2013-2022)

Life Beyond the Law

As a former Division I college baseball player, Eric now enjoys coaching his children’s sports teams.

Perspectives