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Provides Testimony In

Risk Management Sports Management Facility Administration Recreational Sporting Equipment,Foul Ball Cases Worked On Several Cases Involving Bats Balls In The Stands, Parking Lot Violence, Dram Shop Cases, Sport Facilities Concessionaires Alcohol Service Sport Events, Hockey Puck, School Liability, Standard of Care School Officials, Spectator Injury Fans Sporting Events Rock Concerts, Stadium Safety Stampede, Crowd Management Moshing, Sport Violence Logo Dispute, Basketball Injury Valuation, Traumatic Injury, Paraplegia, Quadriplegia, Brain Injury Wrongful Death, Escalator Malfunction, Sexual Abuse School District, Failure To Supervise Coaching Teaching, Wilderness Design Maintenance Recreation, Competitive Outdoor Events, Stair-Climbing Machine Fitness Facility, Sports Management Facility Administration,

Academic Background

J.D.      The Ohio State University College of Law, 1990.
Research Assistant for the Associate Dean on a sports contract law book

M.A.    The Ohio State University, 1990.
Major:  Physical Education emphasis in Sport Management

B.S.     California State University, Sacramento, 1986.
Major:  Business Administration,  Minor:  Communications

Employment History

Teaching Experience

Tenured, Associate Professor,(1999-Present) Chair of the Management (2004-present), Hospitality & Tourism, Public Administration, Labor Relations, Health Care Administration (combined together with Management in 2005), A local university, School of Business.  Teach various courses including: business law, employment law, sport law, sport finance, sport management, crowd management, and facility administration. Responsible for coordinating/placing all student internships in the School of Business.  Also responsible for developing external programs, coordinating advisory board, coordinating MBA concentration in sport management, coordinating M.S. degree and concentration in facility management (1999-present), coordinating M.S. degree in human resources (2004-present), editing program newsletter, and serving on various university committees (Chair, Graduate Committee (three years); Chair, Fitness Center Planning Committee).  Responsible for obtaining International Association of Assembly Managers (IAAM) accreditation for M.S. program, which is only one of three accredited programs in the world. Research emphasis includes sport finance, employment law concerns, facility safety issues, and crowd management issues. Received tenure in 2002.

Accomplishment include:

Developing senior executive networking group

Hiring 14 new adjuncts, providing training, and developing new mentoring program for adjuncts

Developed external advisory board to shape degrees and develop a proposed HR Institute

Producing yearly conferences and career-fairs

Developed professional enrichment program for students/faculty

Restructured curriculum to insure greater student retention, educational achievement, and national accreditation

Responsible for coordinating all School career placement activities

Adjunct Professor, Yeshiva University, Sy Simms School of Business, 2003-present.  Taught a sports marketing course and have been asked to teach future courses as my schedule permits.

Assistant Professor, Curriculum Coordinator, Sports and Fitness Administration Curriculum, University of Houston. 1995 to 1999.  Taught a variety of sport administration classes at the graduate and undergraduate level including sports law, finance, marketing, management, sports facilities administration, human resource administration and managing special events.  Responsibilities included advising over 50 graduate and undergraduate students, curriculum management, coordinating faculty teaching assignment, representing curriculum area in college meetings, soliciting internship opportunities, actively working with the business community to place students in full-time positions upon graduation, and developing and implementing a national marketing campaign to attract new graduate students from the business sector.  Research emphasis included sports employment issues, youth sports administration, sports dispute resolution, sports fundraising, and sports facility management.  Also served as an Adjunct Professor with the University of Houston Law Center, teaching sports law.  Received tenure in 1999.

Adjunct Faculty of Physical Education, The University of San Francisco, 1993 to 1995.  Taught sports law and legal/ethical issues in sports to Master’s degree students.  Alternate instructor for economics and finance for sports and fitness managers and facility planning and opera­tions management courses.  Participated in curriculum development for sports law, marketing and event management, human resource management, facility plan­ning and operations, and sports economics and finances courses.  Active in program man­agement, internship placement and student recruiting.

Part-Time Faculty of Physical Education, California State University, Sacramento, 1985 to 1987.  Taught at least one beginning and intermediate bad­minton classes each semester.  Supervised all gymnasium use for all badminton related activities.

Legal/Consulting Experience

Managing Partner, Private Corporation, 1993 to Present.

Manage consulting business focused on risk management, facility security, and all aspects of sports liability analysis. Hired by law firms, businesses, and insurance companies to prepare legal and economic reports primarily for sports related actions. Serve on the board of directors of World Trade Copiers and advise other boards. Provide assistance in all phases of trial preparation and strategy.  Primary areas of specialization include: negligence, risk management, program administration, economic damages, and facility safety issues. Expert witness for various matters including: the State of Wisconsin in nine suits stemming from the 1993 Camp Randall Stadium student rush, standards of care for numerous injury cases, injuries to various amateur and professional athletes, the 1994 death of an Alabama State University football player, numerous foul ball injury cases (mainly as an expert for Plaintiffs), numerous concert injury cases (mainly for Defendants) focused on purported industry standards such as the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA’s) Life Safety Code.

Of Counsel, Sabia & Hartley, LLC, 2004-Present

Work with a boutique firm specialized in business, commercial, employment, and litigation matters.  Helped develop an employer hotline concept to help answer questions raised by municipal managers.

Facility Consultant and Director of Risk Management, OR&L Facility Management, LLC, 2002—Present

Serve as a facility inspector, auditor, crisis management advisor, and assist facilities (primarily schools/universities and public assembly facilities) in understanding their risk management needs.  Responsible for providing risk management assistance for several million square feet of school space in Connecticut and surrounding states. Coordinates the Advisory Board and assist in all facets of business development activities.

Of Counsel for a Connecticut Law Firm, 2002-2004

Work with insurance defense firm providing basic legal services in the sport and employment law areas.  Firm defends almost every major sport facility and 13 municipalities in Connecticut.

Counsel, for a Connecticut Law Firm, 2000-2002.

Provided advice to the firm and served as a figurehead for their work in the sport and employment areas.

Of Counsel for a Connecticut Law Firm, 1996-1999.

Provide advice and client assistance as General Counsel or Special Counsel for sports organizations such as: the Sportsplex Operators and Developers Association (SODA), Texas Special Olympics, Houston Youth Sports Development Foundation (part of the Houston Park and Recreation Department), World Amateur Sports Association, and the Resort and Commercial Recreation Association.

Special Assistant to the Director, Houston Park and Recreation Department, 1996-1998
Responsible for implementing risk management strategies and education for the fourth largest park and recreation department in the United States.

Director and Litigation Associate for a Sports Law Center, 1992 to 1995.

Legal practice emphasizing sports facility, employment, and business law issues.  Provided a full range of legal services to meet clients’ needs including newsletters, seminars, risk management audits, compliance audits, contract negotiations, and event management.  Edited the SLC’s “Sports Law Reporter” and “Sports Facility Law Reporter” legal newsletters.  Provided extensive research into case valuation to assist insurance companies litigating injury related claims.  Worked on numerous employment law cases for SKOB including sexual harassment, wrongful termination, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, Americans with Disability Act, and other statutory disputes.  Worked on numerous personal injury issues and was successful in resolving several wrongful death and serious injury cases.  The Sports Facility Law Reporter was renamed Safety Solution in 1998 and was underwritten by Champion America, Inc. until the company was sold in 1999.

Sports Industry Experience

Analyst, Paul Kagan Associates, 1990 to 1992.

Researched and performed in-depth financial analysis concerning sports broadcast contracts, the value of sports media rights, sports economics/finance, and the advertising revenue generated by sports broadcasting.  Responsible for all data acquisition, verification, statistical analysis and final presentation.  Wrote over 90 articles and special studies for Paul Kagan’s “Media Sports Business” Newsletter.

Director of Promotions and Marketing for the 1990 National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Northeast Regional Women’s Gymnastics Championships, The Ohio State University Athletic Department, 1989 to 1990.

Advised, taught and managed the activity of fellow Masters and Ph.D. students in developing event master plans, event budget, securing required funding and developing comprehensive promotional strategies.

Vice-President Marketing, Women’s Pro Basketball League, 1989.

Developed the league’s and an individual team’s marketing plans, pro forma budgets, and public relations ma­terial for a start-up professional league.

Director, Central Ohio Senior Olympics, 1989.

Hired five months prior to the event, but increased participation by 120 percent and sponsorship by 250 percent.  Supervised the 39 different events at four different facilities while coordinating 250 volunteers.

Coaching Experience

2000-Present, Volunteer Head Coach Yale Badminton Club, Yale University, New Haven, CT.  From 1984 through 1990,  served as the head badminton coach at three different universities including: the State Capitol Badminton Club (CSUS from 1984 to 1986) which won the 1986 Northern California Championships; the Stanford University Badminton Club (1986 to 1987) which finished second in the 1986 National Intercollegiate Badminton Championship; and The Ohio State University’s Buckeye Badminton Club (1987 to 1990).  Had three players named All-American, produced two U.S. National Team members, the U.S. Nation­al Women’s Champion, and one future U.S. Olympic Team member.

Publications

Available upon Request

Scholarly Activities

1997-2004       Editorial Advisory Board and Reviewer, International Sports Journal.

1996-1999       Editorial Board, Journal of Convention and Exhibition Management.  Assistant Editor of the Risk Management section.

1996-Present  Contributing Editor, From the Gym to the Jury.

1995-Present  Reviewer, Society for the Study of Legal Aspects of Sports and Physical Activity’s (Now called Sport Recreation Law Association) Journal of Legal Aspects of Sports.

1994-1995       Reviewer, The Journal of Sports & Social Issues.

Academic And Professional Affiliations & Memberships

Member, United States District Court, Connecticut. 2002-present.

Member, American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) 2000-2003.  Serve on various committees relating to sports and security concerns.

Member, International Association of Assembly Managers (IAAM). 2000-present. Faculty category.

Member, National Standards Advisory Committee for the National Fitness Therapy Association, 1998-2000.

Committee Member, Houston 2012 Olympic Bid, 1998-1999.

Participant, International Association of Assembly Managers, 1998-Present.  One of five industry representatives responsible for developing industry standards for training facility managers and employees in crowd management strategies.

Panel of Reviewers, NASPE-NASSM’s Sport Management Program Review Council, 1997-2000.

Diplomate and Member, American Board of Forensic Examiners, 1997-2003.

Advisory Board, Special Olympics, Project Urban Partnership $330,000 grant involving Texas Special Olympics, University of Houston, Houston Independent School District and Houston Park and Recreation Department, as part of a $2 million campaign in which I serve as Chairman of Sports Commission, 1996-1999.

Arbitrator, National Association of Security Dealers (NASD), 1996-present.

Member, Chair Marketing Committee, Society for the Study of Legal Aspects of Sports and Physical Activity. 1995-2001.

Arbitrator, Athletic Dispute Resolution Service (“ADRS”), 1994-present.
This service arbitrates and mediates sports and athletic related disputes to help avoid litigation.

Member, United States District Court, Northern District of California. 1994-present.

Member, State Bar of California. 1992-present.

Arbitrator, Panel of Arbitrators, American Arbitration Association, 1992-present.  Candi­date for arbitrating sports, negligence, and employment cases.

Invited Delegate, Summit on the National Standards for Athletic Coaches. 1994-1995.

State of Ohio Co-Chairman, Coalition of Americans to Protect Sports, 1988 to 1990. Assisted in promoting awareness about tort reform and litigation’s impact on sports in America.

Board Member, Northern California Intercollegiate Badminton League, 1984 to 1987.  Involved in redesigning the league’s by-laws, and serving on the rules, finance, and cham­pionships committees which govern the 17 school league.

Honors

Available upon request.

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