Perkins Coie Appoints Shirin Malkani as Co-Chair of Sports Industry Group
NEW YORK (December 02, 2022)—Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that Shirin Malkani, a well-known sports industry lawyer and business executive, has joined the firm as a senior counsel in its New York office, and has been appointed as co-chair of Perkins Coie's Sports industry group. She joins partners Stewart Landefeld and Jamie Schafer in leading the group.
Shirin joins the firm from a position as chief commercial officer for Buzzer Media, a startup offering curated moments in live sports on mobile devices. She has served the sports industry in both legal and business roles and was previously a senior vice president of global media distribution for the National Basketball Association (NBA).
While at the NBA, Shirin led global business development for digital products and cross-platform content relationships of the NBA and the NBA Development League. She also had budget responsibility for the league's joint venture with Turner Broadcasting, including all digital content distribution, NBA TV linear network, NBA League Pass subscription product, and other direct-to-consumer content offerings available on 15+ digital platforms.
"I am delighted to be appointed as co-chair of Perkins Coie's Sports industry group. The firm's commitment to growing its digital entertainment practice, including sports, and its broad base of tech clients and expertise made it the ideal place to build a practice approaching premium content rights from a platform perspective," said Shirin.
"Shirin's inside-the-league experience at the NBA and deep experience in negotiating content agreements with various media participants who share content with consumers will benefit our clients," said Stewart Landefeld. "Our sports practice—representing teams, owners, NCAA members, and other sports parties—relies on getting sports events and content to consumers, and Shirin brings new energy to that effort."
Shirin has significant experience in digital media and previously served as general counsel of Ziff Davis Media, a tech magazine publisher, and of Tilting Point, a free-to-play games publisher.
"As a technology lawyer with deep experience handling a variety of digital media transactions, Shirin is right at the center of the convergence of entertainment and technology," said partner John Delaney, vice chair of the firm's Technology Transactions & Privacy practice. "As our clients wrestle with how to integrate sports and other live events into their online streaming platforms, video games, virtual reality environments, and the metaverse, Shirin will be there to provide invaluable guidance and insights."
