Players On the Move

Pryor Cashman has brought in new partner Jason Sloan to its New York litigation team fresh off a decade of his working at the U.S. Copyright Office in Washington, DC, most recently as assistant general counsel. Sloan is also now part of Pryor Cashman’s music, intellectual property, and media and entertainment practice groups, the firm announced. His experience at the Copyright Office included regulatory, policy and litigation-related matters. He advised Congress and the U.S. Department of Justice on legislation and litigation strategy, respectively. Before working at the Copyright Office, Sloan had been an associate at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp and at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. In an interview, Sloan said he decided to leave government and return to private practice because he was craving a change after more than a decade in the public sector, adding that Pryor Cashman has a variety of matters he can sink his teeth into. He also said the law firm is a good place to work from amid some upcoming developments in the copyright litigation space. As an example, Sloan pointed to the Copyright Royalty Board’s (CRB) upcoming decision on royalty rates for phonorecords, musical works and other licensed media. Those rates are set through proceedings held at the CRB every five years. The next round of proceedings begins in 2026. … Archer & Greiner announced that Stephen A. Pina has joined the firm as a partner in its sports and entertainment practice group in the Philadelphia office. Pina brings more than two decades of experience representing artists, creators, athletes and companies across the film, television, music, digital media and live entertainment sectors. An adviser and dealmaker, Pina counsels clients on a broad range of complex transactional matters, including development and production deals, talent agreements, option and purchase arrangements, recording and publishing contracts, licensing, intellectual property strategy and brand partnerships. He has represented numerous Grammy Award-nominated and Grammy-winning producers, writers, and artists, as well as Emmy-nominated film and television producers and directors. In his sports practice, Pina made a mark that includes his previous representation of dozens of professional basketball players and by negotiating several seven-figure NIL deals. He has also advised multiple college basketball programs on NIL matters. A former Division I track and field athlete, Pina competed at both Penn State University and the University of Florida, where he was a Big Ten Champion in the Long Jump, a five-time All-American and an Academic All-American. Prior to joining Archer, Pina founded and led The Pina Firm, a sports and entertainment law firm, and previously served as a sports agent with U1ST Sports, representing more than 20 NBA and international players. … A rising star in sports law has landed one of the plum jobs in college athletics: chief legal officer of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Birmingham, Alabama-based sports conference recently announced Jessica Presnall’s appointment to the role. She joins from the Irving, TX-based Big 12 Conference, where she received at least five promotions since joining the organization a decade ago as assistant director of compliance and governance. Presnall became an assistant commissioner in 2019 and vice president of legal affairs and compliance in 2022, before becoming chief business and legal affairs officer in 2023. This July, she became chief operating officer and general counsel. In September, Sports Business Journal named Presnell to its 2025 class of Game Changers, an annual list of 50 women making a big impact on professional or college sports. Sports Business Journal wrote, “Operating mostly behind the scenes, Jessica Presnall is among the dozen or so power brokers shaping college sports’ future.” She won that recognition in part for being a key player in the landmark NCAA antitrust settlement negotiated this past summer under which Division I colleges share revenue directly with athletes for the first time. The agreement provides $2.8 billion in back pay for former college athletes and sets a framework for revenue sharing going forward. At the Big 12, Presnall’s work included managing the departure of two schools from the conference and the addition of four others. She also led contract negotiations for a six-year, multi-billion-dollar media rights extension with Fox and ESPN. At the SEC, Presnall is succeeding William King, who departed in September to become general counsel of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. The SEC has 54 employees and in 2025 was poised to surpass $1 billion in revenue for the first time, double its revenue of a decade ago. The revenue surge has been driven by lucrative media rights deals, expansion of the conference to 16 member schools and the expansion of the College Football Playoff.