Justin Nathan Fielkow

Justin Fielkow joined the Franklin Law Group after moving to Chicago from New Orleans, LA. He has experience in a variety of business and commercial civil litigation matters, in both state and federal court, including breach of contract, bad faith insurance prosecution, professional malpractice, qui tam, civil RICO, defamation and libel, and sports torts. Justin has obtained successful verdicts at both trial and arbitration and negotiated numerous favorable settlements. Justin also represents businesses in the sports and entertainment fields, by consulting for and providing an array of legal services to sports-related organizations, including fantasy sports ventures, sports media entities, and sports and entertainment marketing and branding companies. His insights regarding sports and entertainment law have appeared in publications such as the International Business Times, Law360, the New York Daily News, Rolling Stone, the Boston Herald, and numerous others.

Outside of practicing law, Justin has written for RotoWire, both as a featured legal columnist and as a beat writer covering fantasy football. His articles have appeared both online and in nationally-distributed magazines. He is also a co-founder and writer for The Sports Law Esquires, a website dedicated to providing legal analysis and insight generated by current events in the sports industry. In addition, Justin is passionate about volunteering his time and has worked countless pro bono hours at non-profit organizations, including the Redwood Justice Fund based in California and the ELLA Project in New Orleans.  

Representative Matters

Justin has recently:

• Obtained a jury verdict for a client, a player injured during a recreational basketball game, on a premises liability theory. (Lee v Canann, et al.).
• Drafted service agreements for a sports and entertainment marketing company, whose clients include well-known current and former professional athletes and coaches
• Drafted domestic and international employment agreements for prominent sports media entities.
• Organized and counseled start-ups and small businesses in the sports and entertainment industries regarding employment practices, sponsorship matters, and compliance with federal and state laws and regulations.
• Obtained a no-liability verdict at arbitration in defense of a not-for-profit client accused of breach of contract.
• Served as counsel for a leading helmet manufacturer in the prosecution of insurance claims arising out of a nationwide wave of concussion lawsuits filed by  NFL and NCAA players.
• Assisted in negotiating a high six-figure insurance settlement for a commercial bowling center against a specialty lines insurance company, which had accused his client of fraud.
• Obtained summary judgment against an insurance company and in favor of a commercial bank regarding a standard mortgage clause in a first-party insurance policy. (Sagar Megh, et al. v United National).
• Consulted for and prepared legal opinions and memoranda for fantasy sports companies, analyzing the potential legality of their offered fantasy sports games under federal and state sweepstakes and gaming laws.