David Frank of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly has a terrific feature article on Wyc Grousbeck, managing partner, CEO, and principal owner of the Boston Celtics. (David E. Frank, "Team Player," Dec. 5, 2005). Grousbeck is a securities lawyer who, along with a group of other investors, purchased the Boston Celtics in 2002. He was just 41 at the time. A graduate of Princeton University, Stanford Business School, and the University of Michigan Law School, Grousbeck had been general partner of Highland Capital Partners and an associate at Brobeck, Phelger & Harrison in Silicon Valley.
The article provides excellent detail on the Celtics' purchase, and how Grousbeck's background as a transactional attorney provided crucial expertise in getting the deal done:
Game Plan Chairman Robert L. Caporale, a Boston lawyer who founded the company with former New England Patriot football star Randel E. Vataha, recalls one of the first conversations he had with Grousbeck about the transaction.Grousbeck's legal training has also enhanced his decision-making as Celtics' owner, a fact noticed by other sports executives:
"A lot of people are willing to talk about doing something like this, but Wyc stood out in that he clearly had done his homework, had the background to understand what a deal like this would entail, and came into the process as focused on making this happen as anyone I've ever worked with," he describes.
A short time later, Grousbeck boarded a plane to New York and had a discussion with then-Celtics owner Donald Gaston about making the buy.
Grousbeck left the meeting, assembled a group of highly successful investors and formalized a deal with Gaston.
"It didn't take too long," Grousbeck says. "I had been part of so many transactions and seen so many negotiations that I realized that when it's time to strike a deal, both parties know it and you just go out and make the best deal you can."
Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino, a fellow Princeton graduate who like Grousbeck is a lawyer, adds: "A lot of what Wyc and I do has a legal dimension to it, and the mindset a lawyer brings to the table is certainly transferable."This is an excellent piece on how a legal training can enhance one's career in professional sports management. I actually had the good fortune of meeting Wyc Grousbeck last year (and proceeded to besiege him with questions about my beloved Celtics, which he answered in detail), and I can attest to the general tone of the article: he's a really nice guy who does very well in his profession. And that's the same reason why he answers fan questions on Celtics Blog and partakes in website interviews, like one with NBA Draft Net -- he simply "gets it."
For example, Grousbeck's legal skills came in handy when he and other members of the team had to address the situation of Vin Baker, a highly paid player whose alcohol problems ultimately led the team to terminate his contract.
Although Grousbeck's first approach was to try to work with Baker, team counsel Neil Jacobs remembers that it eventually became clear that his problems were insurmountable.
"We had a real brainstorming session about what was the best approach to take," Jacobs recalls. "With Wyc, we were able to talk things lawyer to lawyer and work out a favorable resolution from a legal perspective that accounted for our rights and responsibilities under the various player and collective bargaining agreements."
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