Players On the Move

Jon Oram, prominent partner in the sports practice at Proskauer Rose, has left that firm to chair the sports practice at Davis Polk & Wardwell. He also becomes a partner in the latter firm’s M&A group and will be based in New York. Oram had spent the entirety of his legal career at Proskauer, according to LinkedIn, joining the firm shortly after graduating law school and making partner in 2007. According to a Davis Polk release, Oram works at the “intersection of sports, finance and global investment” and “represents a diverse range of stakeholders — from leagues, teams, ownership groups and media companies to private equity sponsors, credit funds, financial institutions and family offices.” Davis Polk already had a strong presence in the sports transactions arena, working on the largest deals ever in the NFL (the sale of the Washington Commanders for $6.05 billion in 2023), the NBA (the sale of the Los Angeles Lakers for $10 billion in June of this year) and MLB (the sale of the New York Mets to Steve Cohen for $2.4 billion in 2020). Davis Polk chair Neil Barr said the interest shown by private interests has fueled a change in the types of law firms that want to play this game, that the investment in sports franchises and leagues “has become a real thing for private equity and private capital more generally. It is no longer just about historic relationships with leagues. The transactional sports practice is expanding beyond just the legacy players.” … The PGA of America has significantly restructured its legal department, including promoting longtime attorney Drew Blasband to general counsel while transitioning 10-year legal chief Henry Smokler to a senior advisory role. Blasband’s promotion caps a steady climb through PGA of America’s legal ranks. He started at the organization in 2007 as associate counsel before serving in roles including legal counsel, assistant general counsel, associate general counsel and, most recently, deputy general counsel. Smokler became general counsel in 2015 after serving in various roles at the U.S. Golf Association, including managing director of broadcast and digital media. The PGA of America also announced that it has promoted associate general counsel Ted Koehler to deputy general counsel, his third promotion since joining the organization four years ago. The legal department will now report to newly appointed chief administrative officer Vanessa Vogler. From October 2021 to September 2024, Vogler was lead attorney across multiple departments at the PGA Tour, including talent and culture, risk management and tournament business affairs. She then spent a year as senior counsel with the U.S. Soccer Foundation, where she managed corporate development projects related to the 2026 World Cup. The leadership changes at PGA of America mirror similar transitions at the Ponte Vedra Beach, FL-based PGA Tour, which recently saw its longtime legal chief Leonard “Len” Brown Jr. move into a senior advisory role, with former deputy general counsel Neera Shetty taking over legal duties. The PGA of America and PGA Tour split in 1968 and remain separate entities serving different segments of the golf industry. The Frisco, TX-based PGA of America, which has about 1,400 employees, has a mission to promote the game of golf, enhance professional standards through education and career services, and organize major championships like the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup. It consists of nearly 29,000 golf professionals who make their living working at clubs and courses. In contrast, the PGA Tour, which has about 3,300 employees, represents professionals who compete in tournaments. … AMC Entertainment, the world’s largest movie theater chain, promoted veteran in-house attorney Edwin Gladbach to senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. Gladbach had been serving as interim general counsel since February, when longtime legal chief Kevin Connor retired after 23 years with the company. A 16-year AMC veteran, Gladbach joined the theater chain as vice president of legal and has since guided it through an era of transformation for the movie industry. In his new role, Gladbach will oversee AMC’s legal, regulatory and governance matters and advise the board and senior leadership. He will report to Adam Aron, the company’s chairman and CEO and serve on the company’s executive committee. The leadership transition comes as AMC continues to steady itself after a volatile stretch for the company and the entire theater industry. The cinema giant is still managing roughly $4.5 billion in long-term debt, much of it accumulated before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and attendance remains below pre-2020 levels, as studios release fewer big-budget films and streaming competition persists. Still, AMC has posted some recent wins. Blockbusters such as Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2 helped lift 2024’s box-office revenue, and the company has made progress on reducing debt and increasing cash flow, easing the bankruptcy fears that have loomed for years. It has also leaned into premium offerings, such as in-seat dining, large-format screens and dynamic pricing to boost per-patron spending. AMC, which operates roughly 900 theaters and 10,000 screens worldwide, reported $4.6 billion in revenue for 2024, compared with $4.8 billion the previous year. The Leawood, KS-based company announced other senior promotions alongside Gladbach’s. It promoted 20-year AMC veteran Kelly Schemenauer to associate general counsel and assistant secretary, continuing to report to Gladbach. Connor, Gladbach’s predecessor, played a central role in AMC’s biggest milestones, including its 2013 initial public offering and its acquisition of Loews Cineplex, Carmike Cinemas, Nordic Cinemas Group and Odeon/UCI Cinemas. He also helped steer the company through the devastating impact of the COVID-19 shutdowns. … Fox Rothschild welcomed Ronald S. Bienstock and Mark S. Hanna to its Morristown, NJ, office as partners in the entertainment and sports law department. Associate Zachary E. Klein will be joining the Morristown entertainment and sports law department with Bienstock and Hanna. Bienstock structures transactions and commercial agreements and litigates licensing, patent, trademark and copyright infringement issues. Over his career, he has been involved in multiple landmark music industry and intellectual property cases. He works with musical instrument manufacturers, songwriters, producers, recording artists, recording artists, musicians, authors and others in the entertainment industry. Some of Bienstock’s clients have been with him for four decades; many artists for their entire careers. Hanna is a litigator and trial attorney, with nearly 25 years of first-chair trial experience. He litigates intellectual property and commercial disputes at trial and before appellate courts. In addition, he counsels clients on drafting and negotiating significant commercial, intellectual property and employment agreements, and has represented world-famous artists on licensing and transactional matters. Prior to joining Fox, Bienstock was a partner with Scarinci Hollenbeck, Hanna was a shareholder with Kinney Lisovicz Reilly & Wolff and Klein was an associate with Scarinci & Hollenbeck. … In-house attorney Michael Storm, who for the past seven years helped The Walt Disney Co. navigate emerging technologies, manage labor relations and films and movies, has joined TV station owner Graham Media Group as general counsel. Detroit-based Graham Media, which used to be part of the conglomerate that owned The Washington Post, owns seven local TV stations, all in top 70 markets. Its parent company changed its name from The Washington Post Co. to Graham Holdings after founder Jeff Bezos bought the newspaper in 2013. Storm joins Burbank, CA-based Disney in 2018 as labor relations manager for Disney Parks, Experiences & Products. He became counsel for Disney Entertainment in 2019 and senior counsel in 2021. During his tenure at Disney, Storm provided legal guidance on implementing emerging technologies and new initiatives for ABC News and ESPN, two of the media giant’s flagship properties. His work came during a period when Disney was navigating artificial intelligence adoption, streaming platform expansion and industry-wide labor strife. Storm replaces Jane Marshall at Graham. Marshall spent 19 years working at Graham, the last two as general counsel. She retires at the end of 2025. In addition to its media operations, Graham owns Graham Digital, a technology and digital-media development group; Omne, a digital advertising solutions provider; and Social News Desk, a social media management platform used by more than 2,500 newsrooms worldwide.