Eversheds Sutherland on Monday added a former top NCAA rules enforcement official who will help the firm serve universities as they deal with with the rapidly-changing litigation environment surrounding name, image and likeness (NIL) and athlete compensation.
Anthony Del Giudice joined the Atlanta-rooted global firm’s litigation practice group and education team as a partner after six years as associate director of enforcement with the NCAA—where his work “often focused on rules and requirements at the center of the changing landscape in college athletics,” the firm said in its announcement.
At the NCAA, he conducted investigations, recommended sanctions for rules violations and negotiated case resolutions for the Indianapolis-based organization that governs and organizes 24 sports at more than 1,000 schools nationwide, the firm said.
Del Giudice will work remotely but be based in the firm’s Atlanta office, he said. His practice will include working with clients—ranging from athletic conferences to individual college athletes—on NIL arrangements and rules arising out of pending class action litigation settlements being developed to govern institutions’ direct payments to athletes, the firm said in the announcement.
Del Giudice said in an interview he decided to move to Eversheds because it had the “bench strength” he will need as he works in such areas as tax, corporate structures and compliance with Title IX laws which prohibit discrimination in sports based on sex of the athletes.
He said he foresees spending much of his time working directly with universities’ in-house counsels and athletic department officials to create the “best structures” for dealing with the legalities surrounding NIL and related issues.
“It’s an exciting time,” he said. “There’s a lot of uncharted territory.”
He added his practice will be available to work with universities “through the NCAA infractions process in an efficient manner that protects institutional resources, promotes institutional integrity and emphasizes student-athlete welfare.”
Before joining the NCAA in 2018, Del Giudice was a commercial litigator in New York where he practiced for 11 years with Wilk Auslander and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, where he began his legal career in 2007.
Mark D. Wasserman, Atlanta-based co-CEO of Eversheds Sutherland, said Del Giudice will strengthen both its higher education and global sports practice capabilities.
“Being at the NCAA during a period of unprecedented change, Anthony’s experience in compliance investigations and enforcement will be invaluable,” Wasserman said. “His deep understanding of legal and athletic departments in colleges and universities across many athletic conferences will greatly benefit educational institutions and their legal teams.”
Rocco Testani, co-lead of the firm’s litigation practice group, said in a statement that every major college and university in the U.S. “will need to develop, implement, and monitor compliance for revenue sharing programs which currently lack a pre-existing model or playbook.”
He said Del Giudice has a “comprehensive understanding of the complex legal framework for these programs.”
