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Taylor Porter Partner and sports law attorney Bob Barton will serve as a panelist for an upcoming Louisiana Law Review and Pugh Institute for Justice symposium, "Blurring Lines - Emerging Trends and Issues in Sports and Gaming Law," scheduled for Friday, Jan. 27, at 8:30 a.m. at the LSU Law Center.

Legalized gambling and sports are major contributors to local, regional, and national economies. Louisiana and Mississippi’s combined revenues from legalized gambling in 2014 alone were nearly $5 billion. Professional and college sports teams and events are also strong cultural and economic drivers, both having billion dollar impacts locally, regionally, and nationally. Both sports and gaming are, however, industries which involve complex legal issues, and these issues run the gamut from regulatory and licensing requirements to admiralty issues associated with riverboat gaming; from online gaming to employment contract issues for professional athletes.

As technology continues to evolve rapidly, new legal issues are arising in the sports and gaming arena, from fantasy football to online poker, on a near weekly basis. These complex and evolving legal issues are extremely important as they have a direct impact on major economic drivers. Furthermore, recent protests had raised issues related to the intersection of sports and civil rights into the public consciousness. In this Symposium, the LSU Law Center, the Pugh Center for Justice and experts from across the country will gather to discuss and analyze these important, complex, and evolving legal issues.

Barton serves as vice-chairman of the Taylor Porter Executive Committee and co-leader of the Business and Commercial Litigation practice. For more than 20 years, Barton has practiced in commercial litigation and transactions, regulatory and compliance matters, and general litigation, including sports law. He represents colleges and universities in matters pertaining to NCAA, NAIA, and conference rules and regulations, and in other litigation, contract and compliance matters concerning their athletic departments. He also has represented the NCAA in litigation with a former student-athlete claiming concussions and other injuries allegedly resulting from intercollegiate athletic practice and competition. Barton has represented universities in Title IX issues, and related dealings with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights. 

Barton is an adjunct professor teaching a course on Sports Law at Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center, and he is a former member of the LSU National Collegiate Athletic Association Re-accreditation Committee. He is an active member of the Business Development Committee of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber. 

​Symposium Schedule - Friday, Jan. 27, 2017
(Click here to register)
​8 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.: Registration and Continental Breakfast
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8:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.: Opening Remarks by Dean Thomas Galligan

​8:40 a.m. - 10:40 a.m.: Panel 1, Current Issues in Sports Law, Part 1

• Robert W. Barton Taylor Porter, Adjunct Faculty at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center
• Marc Edelman, Associate Professor of Law at Baruch College CCNY
• Gabriel Feldman, Associate Professor of Law, Tulane University Law School

10:50 a.m. - Noon: Panel 2, Gaming in Louisiana, Issues and Trends

• Dean A. Sutherland, Of Counsel at Jeansome & Remondet, Adjunct Faculty, LSU Law Center
• Paul S. West, Shareholder at Baker Donelson, Adjunct Faculty, Paul M. Hebert Law Center

1 p.m. - 3 p.m.: Panel 3, Current Issues in Sports Law, Part 2

• Josephine Potuto, Professor of Law, University of Nebraska College of Law
• William Berry, III, Associate Professor of Law, University of Mississippi School of Law
• Matthew Mitten, Professor of Law, Marquette University Law School

3:15 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.: Panel 4, Civil Rights and Sports: A National Conversation

• Todd J. Clark, Professor of Law, North Carolina Central University School of Law
• Laura R. McNeal, Associate Professor of Law, University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law
• Josephine Potuto, Professor of Law, University of Nebraska College of Law
• Roger M. Groves, Professor of Law, Florida Coastal School of Law