Like a pair of lineman sparring in the trenches, the seemingly endless litigation wars between the National Football League and its players have continued this year, and the lawyers on both sides have reaped the benefits.
In February, the NFL revealed in federal tax filings how much it paid during its most recent fiscal year to Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Covington & Burling and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. In an annual filing with the U.S. Department of Labor just before the Memorial Day holiday weekend, the Washington, D.C.-based labor union representing the league’s players detailed its own payments to 16 law firms, including fees for more than a half-dozen Am Law 100 firms.
