Professional football players still have a little time off before they report to training. Their lawyers, though, are likely putting in some billable hours. According to the National Football League Players Association’s annual report on its business affairs, filed with the U.S. Department of Labor on May 29, the union spent nearly $5.8 million in legal fees between March 1, 2013, and Feb. 28, 2014.
Below, the firms that billed the most. NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, formerly a partner at Latham & Watkins and Patton Boggs (now Squire Patton Boggs), added both firms to the union’s roster. Winston & Strawn forged its relationship with the NFLPA in 2012 when it hired a 60-lawyer team from now-defunct Dewey & LeBoeuf led by Jeffrey Kessler, a longtime legal adviser to NFL players.
