Pepperdine Law Hosts "Esports Summit: Law, Technology and Governance"

On Thursday, March 28, Pepperdine Law hosted "Esports Summit: Law, Technology, and Governance."  The conference gathered lawyers and business industry experts, along with students, gamers, fans, and professionals to examine the growing phenomenon of Esports.

Pepperdine Law students Aly Lodge and Scott Newlin, along with Esports lawyer Ian Roven, Roven Law, opened the conference with presentations on "What is Esports, How it Works, and Why," followed by panels on "The State of the Esports Industry" with Bobby Hacker, Robert A. Hacker Law and Sports Media Consulting; Rob Moore, CEO, Phoenix1 and LA Gladiators; Pepperdine Law alumnus Jordan Fish (JD '17), Principal, Up Development, Axiomatic/Team Liquid; Pepperdine Law alumnus Duran Parsi (JD '17), Collegiate Stargate; and Phil Wallace, VP Business Development, Reigning Champs.

The second panel of the conference examined "Esports Legal Issues, Gamer Rights, and Dispute Resolution" with Ian Roven; Chris Greeley, Riot Games; Krista Hiner, ESG Law; Howard Jacobs, Law Offices of Howard Jacobs; Irene Scholl-Tatevosyan, Nixon Peabody; and Aaron Swerdlow, Weinberg Gonser, LLP.  The "ESports AMA – Panelist Insights on the Future of Esports" was facilitated by Pepperdine Law third-year students Jacob T. Martin and Austin McKee.

Professor Maureen Weston organized and moderated the Summit.  The Summit was presented in partnership with the Pepperdine Law Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship, Pepperdine Law's Institute for Entertainment, Media, Sports and Culture, JAMS, and the Sports Lawyers Association.