Transactional Alumni Spotlight: Clay Allen, JD '10

This fall, we had the opportunity to catch up with Clay Allen, General Counsel for the Houston Rockets and Toyota Center, and proud Baylor Lawyer. 

Clay’s journey from marketing professional to attorney for one of the NBA’s premier franchises highlights the power of perseverance, adaptability, and maintaining strong connections. 

He generously shared insights into his unique career path, his experience at Baylor Law, and his ongoing efforts as a legal professional in the sports industry. 

Check out our discussion below:

Can you describe how your early professional experiences, including your marketing role with the Rockets, shaped your decision to pursue a career in law?

My first job after college graduation was a part-time position with the Rockets earning minimum wage. The position was called Marketing Associate, and we were a group of young professionals eager to start a career in sports who helped the team out with community initiatives, player appearances, autograph sessions, game-day entertainment, random office work, and whatever else we could get our hands on. After serving in that role for a few months, I was promoted to a full-time position in the Events & Promotions department, and after several years I became the head of the department. After six wonderful years with the Rockets, I was looking to make a career change. Sports marketing was exciting when I was younger, but it didn’t fit my personality, and that disconnect was becoming more and more apparent. In my role with the Rockets, I had the opportunity to work with the team’s lawyer at the time: mostly simple things like contest and sweepstakes rules, waivers, and reading sponsorship agreements to understand the assets my team would be executing. I enjoyed revising sweepstakes rules on my own to send to the team lawyer for approval, and began to think that becoming a transactional attorney would be a great second career. I met with the Team president at the time, who also happened to be a lawyer, and he encouraged me to look into going to law school. 

Reflecting on your time at Baylor Law, are there particular aspects of Baylor Law’s broad-based curriculum and approach to practical learning that may have helped prepare you for the diverse responsibilities you face as General Counsel?

When I first considered attending Baylor Law, I was a little nervous about the school’s focus on trial law because I knew I wanted to be a transactional attorney. But I read about the professional tracks available and decided I could still get the training in transactional work I was looking for. Baylor allowed me to take classes in Business Organizations, Taxation, Securities Regulation, and a host of other transactional-related courses, and I was even able to obtain an externship at a local company in Waco during my 3L year. Most surprising to me, however, was how useful the Practice Court program was to my career. I dreaded the Practice Court Program, but the skills I learned have continued to prove useful to me. As a young associate at a law firm, I was often assigned projects by whatever partner needed assistance, which sometimes included litigation work. In my first year, a group of us were asked to help draft a jury charge, and I was the only associate who had any experience doing it, thanks to the Practice Court Program. As my career has progressed, I have regularly used the advocacy and persuasion skills I developed in Practice Court to effectively advocate for my client (the Rockets) in negotiating agreements. Now as General Counsel, I can’t only be a transactional attorney, and I still use the trial skills I learned at Baylor Law to help with the litigation portion of my job, including drafting and reviewing discovery and participating in depositions. Had I not attended Baylor, I likely would have had to learn those skills on the fly. 

What were some of the challenges and learning experiences during your transition from a law firm environment to an in-house counsel role?

The biggest challenge for me during my transition from a law firm to an in-house counsel role was the difference in resources. At the law firm, we had a seemingly endless database of documents I could review when I was tasked with drafting something new, not to mention the online research systems at our disposal. I also had dozens of lawyers down the hall that I could turn to, ask questions of, and seek advice. Working in-house, the only document forms I have available are the ones I’ve drafted myself. And my colleagues are business professionals, not teams of lawyers. Additionally, while most of my writing at the law firm was targeted to other lawyers, my writing as an in-house lawyer is targeted to non-lawyers, so I have to be sure to explain legal terms in plain English and avoid drafting long legal arguments. Finally, my practice at the law firm was focused on mergers and acquisitions and securities work. While I am still primarily a transactional attorney at the Rockets, I am much more of a generalist and have to tackle a wide range of legal issues.

Given your experience in both marketing and law, how has your training in business and transactional law been crucial to your success in handling legal matters for both the Houston Rockets and Toyota Center?

When I returned to the Rockets in 2013, I had no experience in sports law, but I had 6 years of experience working for the Houston Rockets and Toyota Center and 6 years of legal training at Baylor and Locke Lord. While I had never drafted a sponsorship agreement before, I had read and executed dozens of them and had drafted agreements in myriad industries before. I had never drafted sweepstakes rules before, but I’d implemented many sweepstakes before and had acquired the tools necessary to research the federal and state requirements. The time I spent in marketing with the Rockets at the beginning of my career has been invaluable to me as I developed into the sports lawyer I am today.

What are some emerging trends in sports law that you believe will significantly shape the industry over the next decade, particularly in relation to your work?

One of the biggest changes that the sports world is facing right now is how games will be broadcast in the future. For nearly 20 years, most teams have aired their games over regional sports television networks. However, these regional sports networks have faced challenges as more and more television viewers are terminating their cable subscriptions in favor of video-on-demand services. Last year, the Rockets and Astros purchased their regional sports network, now called Space City Home Network, from its parent company Warner Brothers Discovery. So now in addition to being a sports lawyer, I’ve added media attorney to my resume. Dozens of other teams across the major sports leagues are facing an uncertain future when it comes to the broadcast of their games, as the regional-sports-network model is rapidly changing. While we believe Space City Home Network is one of the strongest networks out there, we are continuing to evaluate the future of local media rights and sports broadcasting and what opportunities might arise. 

How do you plan to continue adapting to the rapidly changing legal landscape in sports, and what advice would you offer to those entering this field?

Adapting to the rapidly changing legal landscape in sports is part of the job. I read trade journals, follow the news, and network with other sports executives across the country. Luckily, we have one of the best media relations teams in the business, and they keep me updated on emerging trends.

The sports-law field is very small, and entering the industry can be intimidating when only a few positions open up each year. I recommend that those who are interested in pursuing a career in sports develop a broad-based transactional practice either at a law firm or in-house. Network by joining local sports-law groups like the Sports Lawyers Association or the sports and entertainment law sections of local and state bar associations (both the Houston Bar Association and the State Bar of Texas have one). And gain sports experience however you can. I’ve found that local sports events such as golf or tennis tournaments, Superbowl or NCAA organizing committees, rodeos, and similar initiatives are often looking for lawyers who are willing to volunteer their services.

Looking back at your career so far, what achievements are you most proud of, and how do you hope to be remembered in the sports law community?

I’m most proud of having spent over 17 years with the Houston Rockets. When I left the Rockets in 2007 to attend Baylor, I had no idea I would end up back with the team as a lawyer. I’m also proud of my career path: I began my career as a part-time Marketing Associate throwing T-shirts to fans during timeouts of Rockets games, and now I’m the team’s General Counsel. Finally, I’m proud to have been named #21 on the OutSports Power 100 list of the most influential LGBTQ people in sports, alongside sports royalty such as Billie Jean King, Jason Collins, and Baylor’s own Brittney Griner. Being an advocate for DEI initiatives and the LGBTQ+ community has always been important to me, and being named to this prestigious list with such sports heavyweights was an amazing honor.