Hand Baldachin Adds Former WPS Commissioner

NEW YORK, August XX, 2014 – Hand Baldachin & Amburgey (HBA) is pleased to announce the addition of Jennifer Pogorelec O’Sullivan, former CEO and Commissioner of Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), to the firm’s Sports & Entertainment practice group. Ms. O’Sullivan comes to HBA most recently from RSE Ventures, where she served as General Counsel and oversaw the corporate, legal and business affairs of RSE and its myriad portfolio companies.

Ms. O’Sullivan has extensive experience representing high-profile sports and entertainment focused clients, in addition to overseeing the legal affairs and day-to-day operations of two professional sports leagues. During her tenure as Commissioner of WPS, she secured from the U.S. Soccer Federation recognition of WPS as a Division 1 league, the highest competitive designation. She secured new league sponsors, headed expansion efforts, and moreover, WPS generated a profit for the first time in its history with Ms. O’Sullivan at the helm. Previously, she was the Vice President of Legal and Labor Affairs with the Arena Football League (AFL) where she served as the league’s acting General Counsel and presided over a bankruptcy process that saw the AFL successfully emerge from Chapter 11.

“HBA is lucky to have a team of outstanding lawyers who are tirelessly dedicated to serving the complex needs of their clients,” said Ms. O’Sullivan. “I look forward to learning from them and growing my practice in such a unique and positive environment.”  

Ms. O’Sullivan also brings extensive business and leadership experience from previously held positions with the National Football League, the law firm of Nixon Peabody, and Constituency Management Group, an arm of the Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG), where she specialized in work with various IPG agencies including Octagon, its global sports, entertainment and lifestyle marketing agency.

“We are thrilled to have such an exceptional attorney join our team,” said Douglas Hand, one of HBA’s founding partners. “We are confident the addition of an attorney with Jennifer’s background and experience will be invaluable to our sports and entertainment clients, and expand our ability to fully serve their needs.”

Ms. O’Sullivan, who is a member of the Sports Lawyers’ Association and a former member of the national board of directors for Women in Sports and Events, graduated from the University of Richmond and The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law.

About Hand Baldachin & Amburgey LLP

Hand Baldachin & Amburgey LLP is a boutique law firm working with businesses in all aspects of corporate life, including formation and day-to-day business matters, capital raising and restructuring, mergers and acquisitions and other strategic transactions, litigations and arbitrations, compensation and benefits matters, and intellectual property. Its clients operate in many industries, including media, sports and entertainment, fashion and lifestyle brands, publishing, technology, and health care.

HBA also represents financial institutions, including national and boutique brokerage firms, investment banks, private equity firms, investment advisors and hedge funds, and individuals on transactions, employment matters, securities litigations and arbitrations, and regulatory and enforcement matters.