Homme souriant portant un costume bleu, une chemise blanche et une cravate bleue rayée, debout devant un arrière-plan intérieur flou, représentant des avocats de Chicago spécialisés dans le droit de la propriété intellectuelle.

Zachary A. Flagel

Associé

Zack Flagel is a commercial litigator and sports attorney at Foley & Lardner LLP. He is a member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation and Sports & Entertainment Practice Groups.

Zack represents clients in high-stakes commercial disputes, including complex contract litigation, business torts, and financial misconduct. He has led clients through all stages of the litigation process—from resolving pre-litigation disputes to managing discovery, drafting dispositive motions, and serving as trial counsel in a month-long jury trial. He has advised Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, and health systems on litigation risk and regulatory exposure.

In parallel, Zack has built a national sports law practice advising professional teams in the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL, as well as governing bodies across Olympic and college sports. He has advised on sponsorship agreements, media rights, IP licensing, NIL regulations, sports betting compliance, and league governance matters. He has successfully represented a Major League Baseball team in multiple disputes, securing summary judgment victories involving sponsorship and vendor agreements. Zack founded Foley’s NIL and Sports Betting Task Forces to support clients navigating these fast-evolving regulatory landscapes.

A graduate of Duke Law School, Zack founded the Future of College Sports speaker series, where he personally hosted conversations with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, union leaders DeMaurice Smith and Michelle Roberts, Senators Cory Booker and Chris Murphy, Hall of Famers Grant Hill and David Robinson, and ESPN’s Jay Bilas. His scholarship has been published in the William & Mary Law Review and Mississippi Sports Law Review, and featured by outlets including The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, and Sports Illustrated. Zack is also a contributing author to Sports Business Journal, where he writes about legal and business issues shaping the future of professional and college sports.

Before joining Foley, Zack interned with Wasserman’s Baseball Division, the U.S. Senate, and the Atlanta Braves. He earned his undergraduate degree in Economics from the University of Georgia and studied for a year at the London School of Economics, where he served as president of his class of 325 international students.

Engagement communautaire

  • Duke Law Alumni Association, Board of Directors (2022–present)
  • JewishColorado, Young Adult Division Ambassador (2023–present)
  • Sports Lawyers Association, Outreach Committee Captain (2021–2023)

Présentations et publications

  • Author, “Challenging the MLB Draft’s Grand Labor Slam: A Universal Proposal for an Amateur Ballplayer’s Choice of Team,” Sports Law Association Student Writing Competition (2019)
  • Co-Author, “The Faulty Law and Economics of the “Baseball Rule,” 60 William & Mary Law Review 62 (2018)
  • Co-Author, “Getting in the Game: The Demographics of Professional Sports Team In-House Legal Counsel,” 7:1 Mississippi Sports Law Review 23 (2018)
  • Contributor, American Bar Association, Recent Developments in Sports Law (2019 and 2020)
June 5, 2025 In the News

Michael Bennett and Zack Flagel Explore Pro Tennis Antitrust Battle

Foley & Lardner LLP attorneys Michael Bennett and Zack Flagel assess the antitrust litigation embroiling professional tennis in their LawInSport article, "Break(ing) Point? The Antitrust Battle that Could Transform Professional Tennis."
19 février 2025 Dans l'actualité

Les avocats de Foley étudient l'impact de l'élection sur la NCAA

Jon Israel, Zachary Flagel et John Riley, avocats chez Foley & Lardner LLP, sont les auteurs de l'article du Sports Business Journal intitulé "The 2024 U.S. election : Un tournant pour la NCAA ?"
May 28, 2024 Foley Viewpoints

The end-around: A new model of statewide online sports betting through tribal compacts

In June, a federal court of appeals in Washington, D.C., authored a decision that could drastically alter the future of sports betting across the nation.  In West Flagler Associates Ltd. v. Haaland, the court concluded
Casino Table Games
12 décembre 2023 Points de vue de Foley

Nationwide Online Sports Betting Tracker

Gros plan d'un panier de basket et d'un filet sur un fond sombre, avec une partie du panneau arrière visible en haut - un peu comme la mise au point requise par les meilleurs avocats de Chicago.
March 8, 2023 Foley Viewpoints

La présomption de non-lieu : La dernière mesure de la NCAA est-elle une aubaine pour l'application de la loi ou le prochain front de contestation juridique ?

L'ère du nom, de l'image et de la ressemblance dans le sport universitaire a donné lieu à des gros titres, des rumeurs et des signes de dollars, mais à peu de choses en ce qui concerne l'application de la loi par la NCAA.
Un ballon de football repose sur un terrain en herbe près de l'arc de cercle, avec l'ombre d'un drapeau de coin visible sur le sol - tout comme l'assistance au contentieux fournit des conseils aux avocats de Chicago qui naviguent dans des affaires complexes.
November 4, 2022 Foley Viewpoints

La NCAA a mis à jour ses directives sur l'implication des institutions dans la NIL : Explication

Le 26 octobre, le conseil d'administration de la division I de la NCAA a publié une mise à jour des directives réglementaires relatives au nom, à l'image et à la ressemblance, intitulée "NCAA Division I Institutional Involvement in Student Athlete NIL Activities" (implication institutionnelle de la division I de la NCAA dans les activités liées à la NIL des athlètes étudiants).