Bob DuPuy rejoins Foley & Lardner after long stint as MLB president

Robert Bob DuPuy, former Major League Baseball (MLB) president, has rejoined law firm Foley & Lardner's sports industry practice group in New York as a partner.

DuPuy, who also works as an adjunct professor at his alma mater, Cornell University Law School, had helped negotiate a $280 million collusion settlement with the Major League Baseball Players Association during his prior stint with the Washington D.C.-based law firm.

In 1998, DuPuy, who was a partner with Foley and a member of the firm's management committee, landed a full-time job with MLB and served as executive vice president of administration and COO before rising through the ranks. In March 2002, he was appointed as MLB's president. He also served as the principal outside counsel to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig for several years.

When DuPuy left Foley, the firm didn't have a New York office. However, Foley expanded to New York by merging with litigation boutique Friedman, Wang & Bleiberg in June 2004. The New York office currently has around 40 attorneys, according to Peter Wang, managing partner of the New York office.

It is believed that shortly before announcing his resignation from MLB on October 31, DuPuy had expressed his intention of returning to the law firm to Foley CEO Ralf-Reinhard Boer.

DuPuy is expected to assist sports industry chair Mary Braza, vice-chair Irwin Raij, and antitrust head James McKeown in representing Foley's clients on various issues. Foley's sports industry practice group counts Green Bay Packers (Super Bowl XLV winner), Miami Dolphins, Milwaukee Brewers, Washington Nationals and Milwaukee Bucks among its clients and had recently closed deals for the successful buyers of the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs.

Bob's return to Foley illustrates the value he brings to the many clients within our thriving sports industry practice. His experience runs the gamut of the business issues that continue to challenge professional sports as a whole and his ability to navigate those issues will prove to be invaluable for clients, Boer said in a statement.