Leigh Augustine
An intellectual property attorney by trade, Mr. Leigh Augustine explains that sports, entertainment, and IP overlap in many ways. His client list includes pro athletes, coaches, TV personalities, pro sports teams, writers, and artists.
His zest for life certainly doesn’t end when he walks out of his office. An avid guitar player, snowboarder, photographer, author, patent-holding inventor, and black belt in taekwondo, he is the proud father of two daughters, and retains a long list of accomplishments. In 2014 he published a novel titled “The Grid” about a young lawyer whose identity is stolen by a pretty girl and her high-tech company, and he coached Team Switzerland at the lacrosse World Championships in both 2014 (outdoor) and 2015 (indoor).
“I bring a unique perspective to my practice since I’ve been on both sides of the table,” says Augustine. “As an athlete, coach, and author myself, I truly understand the issues my clients are facing and can provide them with the proper foresight to ensure exceptional protection.”
Leigh has taught and guest lectured for the Sports Law class at the University of Denver’s College of Law since 2006. A graduate of CU Boulder’s College of Business and DU’s College of Law, he lives and works in Colorado.
Elliot Saccucci
Elliot is a Partner in the firm’s Labour and Employment Group and the Head of its Sports Law Group. He practices employment law, administrative law and sports law.
Elliot has extensive sports law experience as both a lawyer and an arbitrator. He has acted as counsel for professional and amateur athletes, national and provincial sports organizations, and professional teams, including National Hockey League clubs. He represents clients in professional and amateur athletic issues, including salary negotiation, endorsement advice and negotiation, and arbitrations involving salary, carding, team selection, discipline and doping violations.
Elliot represents clients in mediations, arbitrations, and before a variety of boards, courts and tribunals. He has appeared before the Sports Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada panel, the Greater Toronto Hockey League Discipline Committee, the NHL/NHLPA salary arbitration panel, the Disciplinary Panel of the Law Society of Ontario, the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, the Ontario Labour Relations Board, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the British Columbia Supreme Court, the Ontario Divisional Court, and the Federal Court of Appeal.
Elliot holds his Juris Doctor (Magna Cum Laude) from Osgoode Hall Law School, and his B.B.A (Hons) from the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University.
Rich Furlong
Lacrosse Background: Rich played field lacrosse beginning at age 7 and continuing through High School (St. Mary’s, Manhasset NY) and college (SUNY Oneonta). For the past four (4) years Rich has been an assistant coach for High School boys teams in Melbourne Florida.
Contract Advisor Background: From 2002-2019 Rich represented dozens and dozens of PLPA/NLLPA members in their negotiations with the clubs. He has also represented players, to a limited extent, in the Major Lacrosse League and the Premier Lacrosse League.
International Representation: In 2018, working for the National Lacrosse Teams Players Association and with Gary Gait, attorney Trish Ward (Dillon’s Mom), Dan Dawson and others, we achieved a historic labor agreement with the Canadian Lacrosse Association.
Labor Attorney Background: I have practiced union side labor law for 36 years. I was the attorney who represented the NLLPA in the litigation that resulted in $400,000 in damages being paid by the NLL to the NLLPA. That money was subsequently paid to current and past players on a pro rata basis. Lipsitz Green, the firm I am affiliated with, handled the pension fund work on that case.
Matt Glose
Matt is an NLLPA certified Regional Attorney. His passion for player representation stems from not only his connection to sports, but more importantly, the care and determination Matt has for his clients.
Matt grew up and attended high school in Buffalo, NY. He went on to study political science and play college football at Duquesne University. After his 4 years in Pittsburgh, Matt went on to attend SUNY Buffalo Law School, where he had a focus on sports law and contract negotiations.
“Seek first to understand, and then to be understood.” -Stephen Covey. Matt constantly draws from his athletic background to provide his clients with personalized and detailed representation.
Currently, Matt resides in Buffalo, NY and is a New York State licensed attorney. Matt believes that the three pillars of high-quality sports representation are: communication; trust; and tenacity.
Mark Lively
Mark Lively is a corporate commercial lawyer in Vancouver, British Columbia that represents public and private companies in complex domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, private and public financings, private venture financings, public equity offerings, bank financings and general corporate matters.
Mark grew up playing lacrosse in the Vancouver area and played at the colligate level in Philadelphia. Mark utilizes his corporate negotiating and drafting skills to advocate for the players in their contract negotiations with their respective teams or during the free agency period.
Mark is a fan of the National Lacrosse League and is excited to assist players in their negotiations and to help grow them game of lacrosse.
Eliott Cheeseman
Eliott is a lawyer and agent who routinely works with individual talent in the sports and esports spaces, representing his clients in negotiations with brands, production companies, teams, and national sport organizations. Eliott also acts as a representative for athletes at the Sports Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada on a variety of matters.
Eliott grew up in Ontario, Canada and played high-level competitive sports from a young age, including lacrosse, hockey and baseball. His experience in sports allows Eliott to understand the unique demands and challenges faced by NLL players. With his background in business law, and a legal practice focused primarily on the entertainment and digital media industries, Eliott is able to provide unique perspectives and advice to the athletes he represents.
Eliott is an associate with WeirFoulds LLP in Toronto, Ontario. He completed his undergraduate degree at Western University, and received his law degree from Queen’s University.
Alessia Grossi
Alessia is an associate at Loopstra Nixon LLP, and practices in the firm’s Labour, Employment and Sports groups, where she is developing her practice litigating and advising on a broad range of employment issues, including wrongful dismissals, breach of restrictive covenants, executive compensation, and Human Rights Code violations. She has appeared before the Ontario Superior Court, the Ontario Small Claims Court, and on behalf of clients in a number of mediations.
Alessia obtained her J.D. from Queen’s University, where she was actively involved in extracurriculars, including Queen’s Law Sports and Entertainment Society, Queen’s Law Cancer Society and student government. Alessia also holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto, where she graduated with high distinction
Alessia’s background in employment law provides her with a unique perspective when it comes to contract negotiation, and she is able to utilize these skills to advocate for her clients.
Mark Gurenlian
Mark is an agent—with a license to practice law in the State of Pennsylvania—at Wilson Management Alliance and he has worked with multiple clients to negotiate team contracts and endorsement deals. In addition to being an NLLPA Regional Attorney, Mark is a certified contract advisor for the NFLPA and CFLPA. Mark’s older brothers introduced him to lacrosse at a young age, and he pursued his passion to play the sport at Springfield High School in Springfield, Pennsylvania.
Mark has an Associates degree in Business Management from Eastern Gateway Community College, a Bachelors degree in Criminology from Penn State, and a Juris Doctorate degree from Widener University Delaware Law School. Mark will also obtain his Masters degree in Sports Administration from Arkansas State University in July of 2022.
Mark has aspired to represent professional lacrosse players since his brothers first introduced him to the sport. He looks forward to enhancing the game of lacrosse by assisting players to maximize their worth and potential through negotiations. He is excited to join the NLLPA family.
Adam Soliman
Adam works at Tyr LLP, a leading Canadian litigation firm. He represents professional athletes, executives, and companies in a diverse range of areas, including contract, arbitration, employment, intellectual property, and anti-doping. Adam’s work with athletes is focused on empowering them to make informed decisions. He has extensive experience negotiating agreements and has appeared before the Courts and arbitral panels in a number of jurisdictions within Canada and internationally.
Cason Liles
Cason is an associate at Kirkland & Ellis LP, where he is principally focused on representing private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies in complex business transactions, including structuring and negotiating mergers & acquisitions, debt-financing, corporate restructurings, joint ventures and general corporate matters. Cason’s passion for player representation began when he worked at Katz Brothers Sports, a leading NFL player representation agency, where he subsequently became a licensed Athlete-Agent in the state of Florida and frequently represented NFL players in a vast array of marketing deals.
Cason grew up in Northern Virginia and played Division I lacrosse at SUNY Albany and then was an All-American Division III player at Sewanee: The University of the South. Following college, Cason earned his law degree and an MBA in finance from William & Mary. Cason brings a certain level of creativity and attention to detail that provides his clients with complete representation and support throughout their athletic career.
Cason currently resides in Austin, Texas and is a Texas State licensed attorney.
Adriana Carnevale
Adriana has been practicing Business Law for approximately 30 years in the Greater Toronto Area.
Adriana advises clients ranging from one-person to multi-national corporations who compete on the global stage. In many cases, the Carnevale Law Office team is deeply embedded within these organizations becoming part of our clients’ overall strategic teams.
Adriana has worked in Sports Law for approximately 20 years advising sports organizations, athletes (pro and amateur), coaches, broadcasters and teams. Adriana works with these clients to assist with negotiations, contracts, sponsorships, financing, business formation and litigation.
Adriana has been a certified mediator since 2018 working to settle complex cases, including contract disputes within sports organizations.
The Carnevale Law Office 14 member legal team includes former university and professional athletes (including a current NLL athlete).
With our main offices located in Whitby, a hot bed of lacrosse talent (players, teams, etc.), we are easily accessible to many players.