Third Year Law Student Robert Eisner Wants to Practice Sports and Entertainment Law

Robert was born in Champaign, Illinois, and raised in Kentucky. When asked about his upbringing, he said, “I was an only child with two loving parents who remain married to this day and who have provided me with a tremendous sense of stability.”

At Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Robert received the CALI Excellence for the Future Award for International Trade Law (2014). He is also studying to receive certificates in Health and International law, while also taking classes that will allow him to sit for any Compliance Certification Board (CCB) certification exam. He is currently a member of the Health Law Society, Sports and Entertainment Law Society, and the Loyola Law Republicans. Robert is also currently active with the Illinois Association of Healthcare Attorneys.

Also in the summer of 2013, Robert served as an intern for Cull and Hayden in Frankfort Kentucky. “While there I shifted my focus from only health law and its intersection with elder law to more health law in general. I was able to help write legislation for the Funeral Directors Association of Kentucky.” He also had an opportunity to work on a proposal for the Commonwealth’s ACA Health Benefit Exchange program and certificate of need applications. Robert added, “I served as a clerk but because what I worked on had direct results, (i.e. a hospital CON approved, or legislation enacted) I felt like was able to help and I gained tremendous insight into health law.”

From August 2014 till December 2014, Robert will serve as an intern for the Gray Talent Group in Chicago, a full service talent agency focusing on the representation of actors. From October 2013 to May 2014 and from August 2014 to now, Robert currently serves as an intern with the Arena Football League. “As the league operations and legal intern I wear many hats, I started out doing market research, workers comp and then eventually progressing onto analyzing contracts and helping with litigation.” Robert also worked extensively with trademark and copyright issues, which helped to introduce him to a whole side of the law that he never really studied. “Above all else I felt like he really made a difference, especially considering that the league only employs one full time sports attorney, I am always kept very busy with issues.”

Robert’s Academic Law Career and Future Aspirations

He shared his aims and aspirations. “As much as I like the stability that can be found in the health law industry, my work in the Arena Football League and with the Gray Talent Group, have been enough to sway me over to potentially wanting to stay in entertainment and sports law. In truth I want to do exactly what Ari Gold’s character in Entourage did, or a real life example Ari Emanuel (who Ari Gold is based on!).”

He discussed his key strengths and skills that he would like to use to advance his career goals. Robert noted:

“I like to think that I am pretty personable and that I always tend to leave a good impression on every person that I meet. Also for an attorney I am able to do a lot of math comparatively, mainly because of my business background that I have now come to see as a rarity amongst people who enter the law profession. For my age I am also extremely well versed in many aspects of health law. Aside from those I voraciously read any amount of news that I can get a hold of so I like to think that I am very well cultured and knowledgeable in relation to most people my age.”

Does Robert have any particular achievement or activity that he would like to share with our readers?He explained:

“While at Indiana University I participated in two activities which were very impactful. Everyone should do some charity work and while at IU the charity that stood out was Pages for Prisoners. I would go and help to collect books to send to prisoners in an effort to encourage self-education amongst our large prison population. We would also write letters as part of the book packages and I just felt a lot of joy being able to help these men and women in such a constructive way. The second activity was helping on a political campaign. People are far too apathetic about politics in this country and since the laws politicians make affect everyone people should care more about who they put in office. I worked on Representative Andy Barr’s first campaign and though he lost in a close election (he would win two years later!) being able to see the process first hand and see what all went into a campaign was a truly enlightening experience.”

As for his weakness, Robert admitted, “I am not very sympathetic, however I think it is a useful trait especially in the context of law. I also have very little patience for people who are either doing something stupid or in my mind not successfully doing something correctly that is relatively easy.”

Many readers are probably wondering how he handles new assignments. The third year law student shared his process:

“I think about the assignment, then I will put it off on the backburner as I address assignments that are due earlier. But in terms of a big semester long project I’ll think about it for a while and outline it. I will outline it to the point of the outline being all of my coherent and workable thoughts in one long document. Then I will produce what I need from that document, if it’s a presentation I’ll make it into a speech, PowerPoint, Prezi, etc. or if it’s a paper I’ll make the outline readable. That is how I address all classes where writing or speaking is a focal point. When I was doing finance and accounting classes in undergrad, and tax classes in law school I like to get those out of the way as soon as I learn the new point the assignment is about. Numbers and formulas tend to leave my memory much quicker than something I read.”

Where does Robert derive his confidence? “I derive confidence from my faith in my own abilities and the knowledge of what I have accomplished in the past.”

Three Wishes to Live By, Forming Solid Relationships, Coping with Fear, Remaining Healthy, Community Service and Most Influential Traveling Experience

If Robert had three wishes, what would he wish for? He asserted:

“The first wish would be to have unlimited wishes, though as we learned from Aladdin, a genie (RIP Mr. Williams) will rarely grant that. But jokes aside, as much as I would like to wish for world peace and immortality, it’s a waste of time to speak of absolute impossibilities, even in the context of wishes. As a result of that thought, my first wish would be for mankind to develop the means of traveling the galaxy (and potentially universe) within my lifetime. The opportunity to step foot on another planet has always been one of my greatest dreams. The second wish would be for science to rapidly progress to the point where treating any disease took little to no effort and that the treatment itself was so cheap that anyone of any economic means would be able to use it. My final wish would be for the world economy to recover to the point where countries are no longer going bankrupt or having their credit downgraded, and that the citizens of all the countries in the world have the means to achieve their own dreams and reach relative financial stability. These wishes could all happen in my lifetime and I certainly hope that they do.”

What is his top priority outside of work? “Maintaining solid relationships with my friends and family.”

In regards to handling fear, Robert stated:

“Well, considering my greatest fears are childish (spiders, large insects, and swimming) I try my best to openly avoid them and as a worst case scenario have someone remove the problem for me, or I get a vacuum and remove the threat that way (though this does not work with swimming). In a given situation I might be afraid, but I likely put myself in that spot, so I usually got to suck it up and hit the challenge head on no matter how afraid I am.”

Has Robert faced any obstacles in his life? He acknowledged:

“I was brought up in a fairly small college town by two educated parents. I am upper middle class and a white male. To be blunt, I never faced any of the extreme obstacles that many people face in my life. My biggest obstacles were health related I was 12, when I developed severe migraines that have really impacted by ability to do anything, my school work, overall health, and friendships suffered greatly. I still suffer severe migraines to this day, but I have done my best to overcome them through a mixture of working out, prescriptions, and dieting. I am proud to have overcome these issues and reach the point in my life that I have.”

Has he been involved in community service? Robert stated:

“As I mentioned earlier, while an undergrad I worked with Pages for Prisoners in Bloomington Indiana. This program focused on providing literature and educational materials to inmates throughout the country. I also volunteered for Andy Barr’s Kentucky congressional campaign. I created calling lists for the campaign in its early stages and later I made calls to people in the community touting Representative Barr’s ability to positively impact Fayette County and the rest of the district. In Bloomington I also participated in service days at the Wonderlab (Children’s Museum), where I would essentially do manual labor making sure the premises were well kept and clean. While in law school I went on a service trip to Tallahassee, Florida in the spring of 2013. I went to community centers and small community health clinics to learn about the issues that immigrants and the poor have in trying to receive adequate health care.”

Does Robert have a most influential traveling experience? He pointed out:

“I have never been out of the country save for Canada and Puerto Rico (still US so I do not really count it). I have been throughout the US up and down both coasts and everywhere in between, and have really come to appreciate many things about this great country. Within the US my most influential experience was the field study I mentioned earlier. I went to Tallahassee to see the difficulties migrant workers and the unemployed have in finding adequate health care and what we as lawyers can do to help improve their lot in life.” 

Being The Best Person He Can Be, Personal Philosophy, People You Want to Surround Yourself With, Favorite Quote and Final Thoughts

Does Robert have any legal role models? “I do not believe in role models in general. By comparing yourself to other people you are not allowing yourself to naturally develop and you are constricting your own growth potential by trying to be someone you are not. And frankly, I try and be the best person I can be and as long as I do that, role models are not even necessary.”

What is his personal philosophy? “If I devote myself fully I will be able to achieve anything.”

The future attorney discussed what he believes holds more truth in light of his personal philosophy. Was it fate or choice? “I personally believe that no one is fated to do anything, you make your own choices in life and that affects your future. I believe that if fate existed, life would be pointless, you would just sit around waiting for something to happen and never actually live.”

What kind of situations and people is Robert attracted to? What kind of situations and people does the law student avoid? “I like situations where I will learn something, where I will gain something by attending or will have fun. I am attracted to ambitious, energetic people who are always striving to improve their lot in life and achieve the goals in their lives.” As for situations and people to avoid, he said, “I avoid situations where I know I will be bored, and where I know nothing will be gained by going. I avoid people with no future and who are so complacent that they do not care or take affirmative action to improve their lives.”

Robert has three favorite quotes. “My favorite motivational quote is by Marilyn Monroe: ‘This life is what you make it. No matter what, you're going to mess up sometimes, it’s a universal truth. But the good part is you get to decide how you’re going to mess it up.’ My favorite non-motivational quote for sheer impact is from the Bhagavad Gita spoken by Robert Oppenheimer: ‘Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.’ The inventor of the atomic bomb understood what he had done, and how self-reflective and personal he made that quote has always captivated me. My favorite comedic quote is by Homer Simpson: ‘To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems.’”