Staying Courtside and Out of Court - What Athletic Trainers Need to Know About the Legal Process

David S. Cohen, MS, ATC, Esq. is the General Counsel of Tempus Ex Machina, Inc., a sports technology startup, a partner with the law firm of Daniel, Ebeling, Maccia, and Cohen, and Founder/CEO Major League Business LLC. With Tempus Ex, he provides strategic business, administrative, and legal advice and service to a quickly scaling sports technology startup. Cohen built and served as Head of Player Operations of the Alliance of American Football and for five years as the General Counsel of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Florida. He is a licensed California attorney and a National Athletic Trainers Association Certified Athletic Trainer. Before joining the Buccaneers, David spent nine years overseeing the legal department for Angels Baseball LP and AM830 KLAA and nine years working as an Athletic Trainer in the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, and Montreal Expos organizations. His peers in the Association Corporate Counsel (ACC) selected him as a 2013 “Top 10 Thirty-Something,” and the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society honored him as the "2001 Minor League Baseball Athletic Trainer of the Year". He was a 2014, 2016, and 2017 Tampa Bay Business Journal Top Corporate Counsel Awards finalist. David is a 2015 inductee of the West Virginia University College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences Hall of Fame. While working in-house for the Angels and Buccaneers, David was responsible for drafting and negotiating legal and business terms of contracts with sponsors, vendors, employees, season seat holders, and suite licensees. He oversaw all organizational litigation and has significant experience managing complex and class action lawsuits. David also oversaw human resources, security, insurance, compliance, and privacy functions for the Buccaneers. David earned a B.S in Exercise Physiology/Athletic Training and an M.S, in Community Health Promotion from West Virginia University School of Medicine in Morgantown, West Virginia. He also holds a Juris Doctor from California Western School of Law in San Diego, California. David also completed Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau’s Scout Development Program. David is a leader in the ACC and is currently Chair of ACC’s Network Leadership Counsel. In the past, David served as President of ACC’s Tampa Bay Chapter, Chair of the ACC Sports & Entertainment Committee, Vice-Chair and Secretary of ACC’s Network Leadership Counsel, as well as ACC-SoCal Chapter Vice-President, Board of Directors Member and Chair of its In-House Counsel Conference Committee. He was also a leader in the Tort, Trial, and Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association (TIPS). He served two years as the Student Liaison to the TIPS Council and was a leader of several task forces, general committees, and standing committees.

Kacie Kergides is an associate in Montgomery McCracken’s Institutional Response Practice Group as well as its Catastrophic Sports Injury Defense Practice Group. Kacie concentrates her practice on Title IX investigations and advising, institutional response to sex and/or gender-based harassment and misconduct and the adjudication of student, employee and management disputes, and sports injury cases including traumatic brain injury (TBI) litigation. In addition to handling investigations and litigation in both practice areas, Kacie counsels athletes, schools, and sports organizations on sports-related injuries such as concussion and TBI, provides guidance on the management of sport-related injuries and Title IX complaints, and advises these institutions on minimizing and managing risk.

Tammi Gaw is the Founder and Executive Director of Advantage Rule, a consulting group focused on athlete health and safety, with an emphasis on amateur athletes' rights. As one of only a handful of professionals licensed as both an attorney and an athletic trainer, Tammi's career has included in-house counsel positions, non-profit management and board participation, and C-suite level work with integrated planning for large and medium scale sporting events. Tammi is an international speaker on issues around sports business, law, medicine, and social justice, and is based in Washington, DC.