© 2015 The Texas Lawbook.
By Mark Curriden
(April 17) – Business lawyers often boast about the view from their office windows, but none can match the scene from Kate Cassidy’s desk: home plate at Globe Life Park in Arlington.
Cassidy is corporate counsel for the Texas Rangers – a position she has held for a decade.
“The opening weeks of the baseball season have always been great to me because it’s a time when anything is possible,” she said. “It’s my favorite time of the year. It’s a great time to be at the ballpark and there’s eternal optimism.”
Baseball is in Cassidy’s DNA. Her father was a catcher in the Minnesota Twins farm system. As a young girl growing up in Coppell, she and her dad attended Rangers games at the old Arlington Stadium several times annually.
Her favorite memory: Cassidy was 16 and sitting in the centerfield bleachers when Kenny Rogers threw his perfect game.
“In law school, I decided I wanted to be part of something that is positive,” she said. “In law school, I saw Robert Hart speak and I was convinced I wanted to go into sports law.”
While attending SMU Dedman School of Law, Cassidy interned for Hart, who is general counsel for Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks. She also interned for the Milwaukee Brewers and Rangers.
There were no in-house positions available when Cassidy graduated in 2004. She took a job as an associate at Baker Botts.
A year later, the Texas Rangers called.
“I have my dream job,” she said. “I see Pudge [Rodriguez] and Michael Young around the office all the time. That’s pretty cool.”
Cassidy’s office in centerfield is littered with baseball memorabilia. There’s her photo with Nolan Ryan giving her a championship ring when the Rangers won the American League Championship Series in 2011. She has the infamous photo of Ryan punching Robin Ventura, which the Hall of Famer personally signed to her.
Then there’s one of her favorites: the official scorecard from Aug. 22, 2007, which is the Rangers’ 30—3 whooping of the Baltimore Orioles.
“I am the legal department here,” she said. “Anything legal goes through me.
“My job is very similar to lawyers who work in just about any corporate legal department, except that I truly love our product,” she said.
Cassidy handles employment issues, contracts with the fireworks company and vendors, trademark issues and the radio and television deals.
“Only two percent of my job is dealing with player contracts because the terms are mostly dictated by the league’s agreement with the Major League Players Association,” she said.
The big exception, she said, is when players signing new contracts are involved in activities that fall under high risk zones, such as hunting, skydiving, caving or dirt bike riding. For those, the terms have to be specifically spelled out.
By far the most complex and serious legal project Cassidy has handled was the Rangers’ 2010 bankruptcy and the bidding process.
“I learned a great deal from that experience and I hope to never have to go through it again,” she said.
A mother of three, Cassidy said she brings her family to the ballpark for about 20 games a year.
“We sit all over the park, but my favorite seats are the front row in the club level where I can put my feet up,” she said. “I look forward to seeing you there.”
FYI: The Texas Lawbook made multiple attempts to interview lawyers with the Houston Astros, but neither the lawyers nor the Astros public relations team responded to our requests.
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