Dreier forms affiliated sports marketing group in Santa Monica

Dreier LLP has formed an affiliated sports marketing and consulting firm called Dreier Sports Opportunities Group LLC.

Don Gibson, former general counsel and senior vice president and acting president for Major League Baseball Properties Inc., will be chief operating officer of the group, a separate business entity based in Santa Monica, Calif. While at Major League Baseball Properties, Gibson combated infringement and counterfeiting of Major League Baseball trademarks. After that, he was chief operating officer of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., and founded his own sports management agency, XL Sports, in 2000. He is now a partner at the firm's Los Angeles affiliate, Dreier Stein Kahan Browne Woods George.

Dreier Sports Opportunities Group, which complements the New York-based firm's sports law practice, will assist athletes and their agents in marketing their products, services and images.

Earlier this year, Dreier opened a Pittsburgh office after hiring three sports attorneys who represent Major League Baseball players in an investigation into performance-enhancing drugs. Last year, Dreier launched an alliance with SK Sport and Entertainment, a firm in London, to promote athletes in U.S. and European markets.

-- Amanda Bronstad