Top Law Schools

I've been thinking a lot lately about how it would be pretty cool to have a job like Ari Gold (I know that tv is a horrible place to get ideas from). Does anyone know a bit about the world of sports and entertainment agents, or any good books about the field? I figure the best schools for this field are probably those out in LA -- UCLA and USC, and I know Miami actually has a good S&E program (Drew Rosenhaus went there).

My main questions are:

How competitive is the field? Relative to Biglaw?
What's the money like?
Is it a career that one can get into and enjoy for a long time, or is it really hit or miss?

Any information you might have is more than I've got at the moment, so it would be appreciated. Thanks!

Sports and Entertainment Law is more based on who you know (athletes, talent, etc) than on where you went to school. Drew Rosenhaus went to Miami for undergrad, Duke for law school, but all of his clients initially were his personal friends on the dominant Miami football team. This holds pretty true for any big agent. Not many of them went to sexy law schools in NYC or LA, they just had lots of connections.

The field is competitive as hell especially since the biggest agencies acquire the smaller ones to get even larger. This year alone, Rosenhaus acquired ten football clients that were initially signed elsewhere. Athletes (specifically) want to see results even faster than immediately, and those who don't provide get dropped.

Forget about that 10% bullshit you hear agents and mangers getting from contracts. It's more like 4-8%. 4% initially, 8% after you prove yourself (obviously Drew Rosenhaus, Leigh Steinberg, and this crowd are the kings of this field and this 4-8 number doesn't apply to them).

It's hit or miss because you might think your clients are the shit, but if the professional teams don't then it doens't really matter. You might sign an athlete after he was just named an All-American at a big football school only to find them drafted on the second day. Stuff happens.

Try reading sportsagentblog.com and sportslawblog.com to give you an idea about what you might be getting yourself into. Also, obviously I'm interested in sports law so feel free to PM if you'd like.