Santiago Fernandez, Esq., joined JAMS in 2023, after more than 38 years overseeing all the legal affairs of the Los Angeles Dodgers. In his role with the Dodgers, Mr. Fernandez was responsible for supervising all disputed or litigated matters relating to all facets of the company’s business. He personally, or with outside counsel, negotiated and settled numerous cases. His duties also included negotiating and drafting contracts with the team’s broadcasting partners, concessionaires, sponsors and players; licensing the team’s marks and other intellectual property; and leasing the stadium for concerts and films. He has worked on matters ranging from the establishment of the Dodgers’ training facility in the Dominican Republic in 1986 to serving on the Board of Directors of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc.

In 2009, Mr. Fernandez was awarded the Sports Counsel of the Year Award by the Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel. In 2012, the Daily Journal included Fernandez in the publication’s annual selection of the Top 20 General Counsel in California. In 2013, the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s Corporate Law Departments Section named Fernandez Outstanding Corporate Counsel of the Year, and the National Law Journal recognized Fernandez as one of America’s 50 Outstanding General Counsel in 2014.

Mr. Fernandez graduated, magna cum laude, from UCLA in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts. He received his Juris Doctor in 1980 from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings College of Law) and was inducted into the Order of the Coif.

Representative Matters

• Business Commercial
• Breach of contract claims and business disputes relating to the numerous contracts negotiated each year in connection with all the operations of a Major League Baseball team
• Negotiated and drafted contracts with all of the team’s broadcasting partners (including cable, broadcast television and radio contracts), food and merchandise concessionaires, sponsors, employee unions, announcers and hundreds of players
• Negotiated and drafted licensing agreements for the use of the team’s trademarks and other intellectual property in all areas, ranging from merchandise to films to online content
• Drafted and often negotiated the purchase agreements for giveaway items and agreements with vendors to provide services such as fireworks displays
• Actively participated in all aspects of the three sales of the Dodgers franchise, including the sale by Frank McCourt to Guggenheim Baseball Management in 2012 for a record-setting amount
• Responsible for supervising and directing the legal work relating to the establishment and construction of the Dodgers’ baseball academy in the Dominican Republic in 1986 and the continuing operation of the academy, including the renovation of the academy in 2017
• Employment Law
• Supervised labor and employment claims ranging from wrongful termination to wage and hour class actions
• Supervised employment matters that involved Dodgers employees operating in foreign countries, including the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Colombia (such as reviewing pleadings and settlement agreements written in Spanish)
• Represented the team in collective bargaining and union grievances
• Oversaw administrative claims and investigations (e.g., EEOC, DFEH and OSHA matters) for the Dodgers
• Entertainment & Sports
• Negotiated and drafted agreements with concert promoters and was the principal company representative for most of the more than 40 concerts and non-baseball events held at Dodger Stadium, including the Michael Jackson Victory Tour in 1984, the Three Tenors in 1994, Paul McCartney in 2014 and Elton John’s Farewell Tour in 2022
• Negotiated and drafted agreements with the Los Angeles Olympic OrganizingCommittee for the use of Dodger Stadium as the venue for baseball during the 1984 Olympics, Feld Entertainment’s Supercross and Monster Jam events in 2011 and 2012, two International Champions Cup soccer matches in 2013, the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series™ LA® hockey game in 2014 and Major League Baseball’s (MLB) World Baseball Classic games in 2009 and 2017
• Negotiated and drafted location agreements for numerous films, television shows and commercials filmed at Dodger Stadium
• Negotiated and drafted numerous player contracts
• Represented the company in MLB disciplinary matters relating to alleged player misconduct or violations of MLB rules and regulations
• Intellectual Property
• Initiated a trademark protection and licensing program for the Dodgers whereby formal agreements were executed to document the authorized use of the Dodgers’ marks by others
• Worked with MLB Properties on infringement actions relating to use of the club’s marks and intellectual property by third parties
• Responsible for licensing all Dodgers content for which MLB Properties was not the primary licensing agent
• Negotiated and drafted software licensing agreements for the use of the Dodgers’ digital ticketing system by five MLB clubs in the early 1980s
• Personal Injury
• Personal injury claims ranging from premises liability claims (e.g., slip-and-fall claims) to excessive-use-of-force claims made against the stadium security personnel
• Responsible for Dodgers organization compliance with the laws and regulations pertaining to matters such as sweepstakes and lotteries, the use of customer lists and privacy issues

Honors, Memberships, and Professional Activities

Memberships and Affiliations

• Board of Directors, Los Angeles Dodgers, Inc., 1998–2004
• Board of Directors, Major League Baseball Enterprises, Inc., 1997–2000
• Board of Directors, Major League Baseball Properties, Inc., 1992–1997
• Board of Directors, Pediatrics and Family Medical Center Foundation, 1992–1995
• Board of Directors, Southern California Chapter, American Corporate Counsel Association, 1985–1988
• Member, Los Angeles County Bar Association, 1980–2023
• Member, California State Bar, Admitted in 1980

Selected Awards and Honors

• Professional Achievement Award, Mexican American Bar Foundation, 2015
• Corporate Counsel Award, Los Angeles Business Journal, 2014
• America’s 50 Outstanding General Counsel, National Law Journal, 2014
• Outstanding Corporate Counsel of the Year, Corporate Law Departments Section, Los Angeles County Bar Association, 2013
• Top 20 General Counsel in California, Daily Journal, 2012
• Sports Counsel of the Year Award, Association of Media and Entertainment Counsel (AMEC), 2009
• Alumnus of the Year, Los Angeles Chapter, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, 2002

Background and Education

• Los Angeles Dodgers LLC, 2004–2022
  • Executive Vice President and General Counsel, 2018–2022
  • Senior Vice President and General Counsel, 2004–2018
• Los Angeles Dodgers, Inc., 1984–2004
  • Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary, 2000-2004
  • General Counsel and Secretary, 1998–2000
  • General Counsel and Assistant Secretary, 1987–1998
  • General Counsel, 1984–1987
  • Resident Counsel, 1983–1984
• Litigation Associate, Latham & Watkins, 1980–1984
• Juris Doctor,Order of the Coif, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, 1980
  • Senior Research Editor, Hastings Law Journal, 1979–1980
  • Member, Hastings Law Journal, 1978–1980
  • Member, Thurston Society
• Intern for Hon. Frank K. Richardson, Associate Justice, California Supreme Court, 1979
• Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, Sociology and Political Science,University of California, Los Angeles, 1976
  • Pi Sigma Alpha (National Political Science Honor Society)
  • Alpha Kappa Delta (National Sociology Honor Society)
  • Pi Gamma Mu (National Social Sciences Honor Society)