This week, Ira spoke with Jim Quinn, author of “DON’T BE AFRAID TO WIN: How Free Agency Changed the Business of Pro Sports,” In this 30-minute episode of Talk About Las Vegas, Quinn talks about how he found himself in the middle of a major movement in sports; the importance of free agency and the need for competition; dealing with different leagues across different sports; why owners fought it, but ended up with a bonanza; why salary caps tied to revenue is a good idea; the critical role of Bill Bradley; and the famous 1964 twenty-one minute strike that resulted in players receiving pensions.
Quinn is one of the most accomplished trial, arbitration, and mediation lawyers in U.S. history. He spent virtually his entire career at Weil, Gotshal, & Manges LLP, a premier international law firm based in NYC. At Weil, he served for more than two decades as both head of the firm’s 350-attorney Litigation Department and as a member of the Firm’s Management Committee. Quinn practiced in all areas of complex litigation and alternative dispute resolution, with particular emphasis on antitrust, securities, false advertising, sports entertainment, patent, and related complex intellectual property litigation.
He also developed extensive experience serving as an arbitrator under, among others, ICC and AAA International rules. Quinn is currently counsel to the national litigation boutique firm Berg and Andropophy and a principal in JWQinn ADR, a mediation practice where he tries to settle, rather than start, disputes.
He received his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and his L.L.B. from Fordham University School of Law, where he teaches a course about winning at trial.
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