From Albany Law to Professional Soccer: Caitlin Morgan ’10 Builds a Career in Sports Law

As the FIFA World Cup shines a spotlight on soccer across North America this summer, Albany Law School alumna Caitlin Morgan ’10 is building a unique career at the intersection of law and professional sports.

Morgan serves as Assistant General Counsel for the Kansas City Current, a professional women’s soccer club competing in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). 

Her path into sports law wasn’t one she mapped out from the beginning.

“I got involved in sports law in part by chance and then in part by working really hard at it,” Morgan said. 

After building a successful legal career in private practice, Morgan found opportunities to work with sports-related clients and quickly discovered a passion for the industry. 

“When I was at my second law firm, we had a longstanding client that was all of a sudden in litigation and needed counsel. I was the only litigation associate in the office at the time, so it was really a ‘right place right time’ moment” she said. “I felt very fortunate we got the case and enjoyed working with that particular client. From that point on, I decided to do whatever I could to stay in the sports space.”

As her sports-related work expanded, Morgan discovered one of the most rewarding aspects of the field: seeing the results of her legal work come to life beyond the office.

“At that time, I was [serving] a lot of college sports [organizations] and a lot of litigation defense work for college sports conferences,” Morgan said. “It's very cool to be part of something and then see it play out, to work on a contract for something and then actually see the game be broadcast.”

Today, her work extends far beyond reviewing contracts. As in-house counsel, she helps guide legal strategy while supporting the club’s long-term business goals and growth initiatives. One of the most exciting projects to come across her desk is tied directly to this year’s FIFA World Cup.

“A World Cup team that's going to be taking over the training center of the Kansas City Current during the World Cup,” Morgan said. “The Netherlands has selected the KC Current training facility, where our players train and we office out of, as its base camp.”

The experience has given her a firsthand look at the scale of one of the world’s biggest sporting events. 

“It has been really great learning and working with FIFA on all the things that go with providing our training facility and stadium for World Cup soccer teams,” she said. “I'm very excited to see what this does for the sport overall, with the hype around the World Cup it is going to be really interesting to see how it raises popularity of soccer in this country.”

Reflecting on her journey, Morgan encourages students interested in sports and entertainment law to focus on becoming excellent attorneys first. 

“What keeps you in the room is to just be great at what you're doing,” she said. “You've got to be a great lawyer first and then always be learning, always be open to improving.”