| Biography:
Jon Oram is a partner in Proskauer Rose LLP's Corporate Department and a member of the Firm's Sports Law Group. Jon has a broad-based transactional practice with an emphasis on clients in the sports industry. He represents both established and early-stage companies, as well as investors, financial institutions and private equity funds, in a variety of acquisitions, financings and licensing transactions.
Since joining the firm, Jon has represented the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, the ATP Tour, the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and other sports leagues and tours in various corporate matters, including team ownership transfers, financings, expansions and relocations. In 2007, he advised MLS in the negotiation of its agreements with David Beckham. More recently, he represented the NBA in connection with the formation of the league’s NBA China venture and its $253 million private placement.
In addition, Jon regularly advises professional sports teams, including the Philadelphia Eagles, the New York Jets, the New York Yankees, the Washington Nationals and the New Jersey Devils, in a wide array of transactional matters, including team acquisitions and financings, employment contracts with coaches and other key executives, and the sale of sponsorship, naming rights, seat license, apparel, television, Internet and other new media rights. Among these transactions have been the Eagles’ $140 million naming rights agreement with Lincoln Financial Group, the Devils’ $105 million naming rights deal with Prudential Financial, and the WTA Tour’s $88 million global sponsorship with Sony Ericsson.
In recent years, Jon has counseled a number of teams seeking to develop and finance new stadiums, arenas and other sports facilities. He has worked with the New Jersey Devils in their efforts to construct and financing of the Prudential Center, the Philadelphia Eagles in connection with the lease and development of Lincoln Financial Field, the NBA in its negotiations with the City of Charlotte that ultimately resulted in a new $265 million downtown arena, and the New York Jets in connection with the financing of the Jets’ contribution to the new Meadowlands stadium.
Jon regularly represents both borrowers and financial institutions, such as JPMorgan Chase and Société Générale, in financing transactions involving sports properties. These have included a $650 million bond issuance by an affiliate of the New York Jets (which, together with the simultaneous issuance by an affiliate of the New York Giants, comprised the largest sports finance transaction in history), the NBA’s $1.4 billion league-wide credit facility, private placements of $250 million and $140 million by an affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers and a $225 million loan to the owners of the Houston Texans.
In addition, as a member of the Firm's Corporate Governance practice group, Jon advises public and private companies, boards of directors, CEOs, CFOs, funds and investors on matters related to corporate governance. Jon frequently counsels clients on compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the SEC rules promulgated thereunder, state law requirements and the NYSE and NASDAQ listing standards.
Jon graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University in 1996, with a bachelors degree in public policy (with distinction) and a masters degree in education. He received his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1999, where he was an Essays Editor of The Yale Law Journal and a member of the Yale Law & Policy Review. Prior to joining Proskauer, he served as a law clerk for the Honorable Peter K. Leisure of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He has been ranked by Chambers USA as one of the leading individuals in the field of sports law, named by the SportsBusiness Journal as one of the “Forty Under 40” most influential sports executives, and recognized by Lawdragon as one of the nation’s top 3,000 attorneys.
Jon and his wife, Lisa Rubin, live in Manhattan.
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