I’ve always been a big collegiate sports fan, and I have had the privilege of representing collegiate clients for well over a decade. I’m the vice chair of Polsinelli’s national sports and entertainment group and serve on the Dallas Influencers in Sports and Entertainment (DISE) advisory board and the executive board for the Dallas-Fort Worth Chapter of Women in Sports and Events (WISE), a leading voice and resource for women in the business of sports.
We’ve come a long way in women’s collegiate sports, and I’ve enjoyed seeing similar strides for women in sports and entertainment law. But there’s still room for improvement in both.
As we celebrate Women’s History Month, it’s important to reflect on the power of women, especially of every woman who brings resiliency, innovation, talent and strength to her law practice.
Here are my five tips for female attorneys to follow so that they stay strong and thrive in their career journeys:
- Surround yourself with female colleagues who lift you up. They could be your firm colleagues or even your opponents. Build a support system of women you admire and respect.
- Get involved in groups in your practice area. The Dallas chapter of WISE, founded in 2019, helps women in the business of sports and events reach their career goals through peer support, mentoring programs, training and professional development. To learn more about the DFW chapter, visit https://dfw.wiseworks.org/home.
- Find a mentor and a sponsor — they are not one in the same. A mentor provides valuable advice and encouragement. A sponsor will actively help promote you within or outside your organization. It can take years to find the right sponsor, but it’s a game-changer. I met my sponsor for the first time at an industry meeting. Seek out these relationships. You never know where they will take you.
- Don’t ever listen to someone who says you cannot achieve your goals. As a young attorney, I was told women were not commonly trial lawyers. It did not stop me or change my goals. To get into the courtroom, I took the undesirable cases if there was a higher chance it would go to trial. The partners did not want to try them, but I made it known I would try anything. Be fearless.
- If you are going to do something, do it well and do it better than anyone else. You are your client’s champion inside and outside the courtroom. If you honor that role, you will be successful.
Today, there are so many more exciting options for women in sports and entertainment law. They’re handling sports-related litigation, negotiating the next big sports contract or serving as general counsel or chief legal officer. They hold leadership roles at major collegiate sports conferences and professional sports organizations. Women before me and women after me will make sure we keep a firm seat at the table. I can’t wait to see what we accomplish next.
Leane K. Capps, a Dallas-based shareholder at Polsinelli, has over 25 years of experience. She’s the new vice chair of the firm’s national sports and entertainment group. She has served as lead defense counsel in numerous class actions and multidistrict litigation across the nation.
