Inside the NFL: Racism, Brian Flores, and Beyond

The NYS Academy of Trial Lawyers is the largest statewide trial bar in the US with 5,700+ lawyer and judge members. We are committed to protecting, preserving and enhancing the civil justice system. Our highly acclaimed CLE programming features extraordinary presenters covering the most timely and important topics.

Robert Boland, J.D. a nationally known sports law professor and practitioner joined the faculty at Seton Hall Law, after serving five years in a first of its kind national role as Athletics Integrity Officer at Penn State University. The role which was created by consent decree in the aftermath of the Sandusky crisis helped ensure that Penn State's Athletic Department which was a $180 million dollar annual revenue producer with more than 350 employees was meeting all standards imposed by law and NCAA and Big Ten Rule. Boland had reporting relationships with the President and Board of Trustees. He also held teaching appointments in Penn State's Law School and School of Labor and Employment Relations Prior to joining Penn State, Boland was a faculty member for 15 years, leading acclaimed sports management programs at New York University (2001-2015), where he was Academic Chair of the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management and the founding professor of its graduate sports management program, and at Ohio University (2015-2017) where he served as the director of the MBA/Masters of Sports Administration program which has been ranked as the world's top graduate program in sports administration 8 of the last 10 years by Sports Business International, including the two years Boland led the program. He also taught at New York University Law School, where he created and co-taught a sports law class with the legendary Professor Arthur Miller. Boland is a widely sought-after expert on sports business and sports law subjects with his comments appearing in national media outlets over the last two decades. He's also published in several leading law journals and has a book on Name, Image, and Likeness under contract.

Derek Sells is the Chair of The Cochran Firm. He is an exceptional trial attorney, having achieved many successful results, including a damages trial verdict against The City of New York for $33.52M, a result featured in the Nation Law Journal’s Top 100 Verdicts of 2002. A 1985 graduate of Dartmouth College and a 1988 Yale Law School graduate, Derek began his legal career at the prestigious Washington, D.C. firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. He then joined the Washington, D.C. Public Defender Service, rising to a senior trial attorney. In 1995, Derek joined New York’s Schneider Kleinick Weitz Damashek & Shoot, later known as The Cochran Firm, Schneider Kleinick Weitz Damashek & Shoot, as a trial attorney. In May 2002, Derek became Managing Partner of The Cochran Firm’s New York office and in 2019 he was named Chairman. He has since amassed an extraordinary number of Million Dollar verdicts and settlements, exceeding a total of $100M. Derek has taught trial advocacy at various seminars, including those sponsored by the New York State Trial lawyers Association, the New York State Bar Association and Harvard Law School. He is a member of the New York and Washington, D.C. bars. Derek was selected as 2010 New York Super Lawyers for personal injury plaintiff – general. Only 5% of lawyers in the state of New York are chosen for this honor each year. The multi-phase selection process for this recognition includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff at Super Lawyers, a peer review of candidates by practice area, and a good-standing and disciplinary check.