Please join SESLA for lunch on Thursday, April 6 from 12:45-2:00 pm to learn more about the life of a GC at a professional sports franchise, including answers to the following questions and more:

• What does a GC at a professional sports franchise actually do on a day-to-day basis?
• What are the biggest pros and cons to life as a GC in professional sports?
• How did you become a GC? How can I maximize my chances of becoming one?
• What are the most important skills for your work?
• To what extent can a GC become involved in other areas and operations of the club?

Our distinguished panelists include:

Hannah Gordon (GC – San Francisco 49ers, Stanford JD ‘08)

Hannah Gordon is entering her sixth season with the 49ers and first as general counsel.

In her role, Gordon leads the legal department of the 49ers, including overseeing external affairs and risk management.  She advises on all legal issues involving both the football team and Levi’s® Stadium.  She worked with the NFL and Host Committee on Super Bowl 50, as well as on a number of other events at the stadium from Beyoncé and the Grateful Dead to re-structuring the Foster Farms Bowl and its broadcasting agreement to the upcoming 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship.  In addition to counseling the team, Gordon serves as the Secretary of the 49ers Foundation.  She was also nominated by the NFL to hear appeals as a member of the panel that administers the NFL Player Tuition Assistance Plan and the NFL Severance Pay Plan.

Gordon joined the 49ers in 2011 as its director of legal affairs, a role she held for four seasons, before becoming the vice president of legal and government affairs in 2015.  Gordon came to the 49ers from the NFL Management Council where she worked on NFL player contracts, salary cap compliance, the 2011 NFL collective bargaining agreement, and labor issues, including the 2011 lockout. Prior to the NFL, Gordon practiced at Latham & Watkins LLP.

In 2015, Gordon was named to the Legal 500’s GC Powerlist – U.S. Rising Stars.

Gordon holds a B.A. from UCLA and a J.D. from Stanford, where she has served as a Lecturer In Law.

Ed Goines (GC – Seattle Seahawks, Stanford AB ‘88)

Ed Goines serves as the Seahawks General Counsel and Vice President, Government Affairs. Goines administers the corporate legal affairs for the Seahawks and First & Goal and is responsible for managing the organization’s government relations strategy and policies.

Goines joined the Seahawks after working most recently as assistant chief counsel for Disney Interactive/The Walt Disney Company. Prior to his time at Disney, he served five years as general counsel and vice president of business affairs for the San Francisco 49ers from 2001-2007, including one year as a legal consultant to the 49ers.

Prior to the 49ers, his work in the entertainment and sports fields included serving as in-house legal counsel for Major League Soccer, Ticketmaster and Mattel. Goines began his law career as an associate in the Los Angeles office of the national law firm, Baker & Hostetler.

A graduate of University of California, Berkeley, School of Law in 1992, he obtained a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in 1988. Goines was born and raised in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Andrew Koehler (Counsel – San Jose Sharks)

After graduating from UCLA School of Law in 2009, Andrew Koehler joined Winston & Strawn’s LA office as a litigation associate. Two years later, Koehler went in-house, working at Avatar MGMT, and then YDM Management as General Counsel.

In May of 2014, he became a law clerk for the San Jose Sharks, working his way up to Associate Counsel and now Counsel. His responsibilities include served as Counsel for Sharks Sports & Entertainment and related business entities: San Jose Sharks, San Jose Barracuda, SAP Center, and Sharks Ice facilities.

Paul Fenstermaker (Assistant GC – Golden State Warriors)

Prior to practicing law, Paul Fenstermaker worked at the National Basketball Association in the Global Marketing Partnerships department. During law school, he served as articles editor for the Northwestern University Law Review, president of the Sports Law Society and vice-president of the Black Law Students Association.

Fenstermaker spent his first two years of practice at Chicago-based Katten Muchin Rosenman, focusing his practice in corporate matters. In May 2016, Fenstermaker was hired as Assistant General Counsel with the Golden State Warriors.