Joshua Meredith was scrambling Friday afternoon.

The Syracuse University law student paced up and down the halls of SU’s College of Law trying to contact several people to notify them of a last-second change in arrival plans for his star speaker.

This was the last hurdle before Meredith, a second year law student and the president of the Entertainment and Sports Law Society club, would unveil his catch to SU. Following weeks of preparation, Meredith landed his club its biggest speaker to date and one of the most successful sports agents in the world – Leon Rose.

Rose will speak in room 175 in the law school today, with a question and answer session to follow.

‘It was a difficult process to secure Mr. Rose, as it took numerous e-mails to just get in touch with him,’ Meredith said. ‘But I feel he is very interested in speaking to our club members.’

The Entertainment and Sports Law Society provides a forum for students to explore both entertainment law and sports law, since there is currently no certificate program within the College of Law. It also brings guest lecturers throughout the year.

The Dickinson College graduate works with NBA stars Allen Iverson, Rip Hamilton and LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Meredith and the rest of the club were given the chance to reach out to Rose by Alan Milstein, a sports agent and one of the club’s previous speakers, who formerly worked in the same law firm as Rose.

‘Thinking back to the beginning of the year, Rose was the type of name we had in mind for the growth of our club,’ Meredith said. ‘So I contacted Allan Milstein in December, and reached out to Rose in January, and then it took about a month or two to sure things up.’

Steve Saperstein, Meredith’s colleague and the club’s founder and former president, served as the intermediary between Millstein and Meredith.

Saperstein, a third-year law student, is now an advisor to the club and a member of its executive board. He said he recognizes how unique Rose’s appearance will be.

‘He even told us himself, he rarely does this,’ Saperstein said. ‘So we truly appreciate Mr. Rose taking the time out to come to the university.’

For Meredith and Saperstein, Rose’s appearance means more than just another successful speaker sharing his or her thoughts on campus. The only two presidents in the club’s history hope Rose’s appearance will go a long way in helping to realize their goals.

‘The bottom line is, we are trying to push the Syracuse College of Law as a hub for sports and entertainment law,’ Meredith said. ‘Right now we are putting together a proposal for a certificate program, and hopefully Mr. Rose will help bolster support for the certificate by showing student support for the topic.’

Saperstein said he feels the certificate program is the final piece to the puzzle he helped create over the past two years.

‘It’s another way to market our graduates to employers,’ Saperstein said. ‘When people apply to Syracuse, we want to be known as a premier place for sports and entertainment law. We are trying to boost our national prestige in that department.’

Meredith, Saperstein and the rest of the board have carefully planned out the particulars for today’s event, as everyone involved in the process can’t wait for Rose to visit the law school.

‘Sometimes law school clubs bring in lesser known speakers and don’t receive the ‘pomp and circumstance,” Meredith said. ‘But if we are going to get a speaker, I want it to be the best, and on Tuesday I think all the hard work will pay off.’

aolivero@syr.edu

Published on April 6, 2009 at 12:00 pm