Jeffrey Kessler Named a Finalist for The American Lawyer’s Attorney of the Year

Winston & Strawn Co-Executive Chairman and Co-Chair of the Antitrust/Competition Practice Jeffrey Kessler is a finalist for Attorney of the Year in The American Lawyer’s 2022 Industry Awards.

Nominated for his groundbreaking work in sports law, Jeffrey has “impact[ed] the rights and financial opportunities of thousands of athletes.” In 2021, Jeffrey secured a unanimous Supreme Court victory on behalf of Division I college athletes as lead counsel in NCAA v. Alston, in which he argued that the NCAA’s restrictions on education-related athlete benefits were a violation of U.S. antitrust laws. The decision has already caused the NCAA to abandon most of its rules limiting the ability of college athletes to market their names, images, and likenesses (NIL), leading to an explosion of marketing deals for athletes across the country.

Jeffrey is also recognized for his work as lead class counsel in Morgan et al v. U.S. Soccer Federation Inc. In that case, he secured a landmark equal pay settlement on behalf of current and former United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) players who accused the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) of wage discrimination based on gender. The equal pay settlement, along with the payment of past damages of $24 million, was a watershed in the fight for gender pay equality.

The winner of the Attorney of the Year designation will be announced at an awards ceremony held in New York on November 10, 2022.

View the full list of the 2022 honorees.