US Soccer’s Law Leader Faces Test in Resolving Antitrust Cases

J. Carlos Kuri, announced this month as the US Soccer Federation’s new chief legal officer, faces an early test as the league seeks to resolve two long-running antitrust cases.

One dispute set for trial in September has the now-defunct North American Soccer League claiming it was harmed by an overly-close relationship between US Soccer and Major League Soccer.

The second lawsuit has soccer promoter Relevant Sports LLC accusing US Soccer of hurting its business of bringing elite overseas soccer teams to US shores for official games. US Soccer is the sole remaining defendant in the case after Relevant, owned by billionaire Stephen Ross, reached a settlement last month with FIFA, the sport’s global governing body.

Antitrust cases are a worry for law department leaders because of potential trebled damages and the winner’s ability to recover often sizable attorney fees and other costs. While Latham & Watkins, US Soccer’s outside counsel, will shoulder the bulk of the workload, Kuri faces decisions on issues such as whether to settle a case or change legal representation.

Kuri is unlikely to see a fast resolution. “Antitrust is generally one of the areas of law that judges have the hardest time understanding,” said Christopher Deubert, senior counsel at Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete and a former general counsel for MLS club DC United. “You have complex economic analysis from experts and a mix of economics and law.”

Latham, which has longstanding ties to US Soccer, is facing off in both cases against Winston & Strawn’s Jeffrey Kessler, a sports lawyer and antitrust litigator.

Kuri didn’t respond to a comment request. US Soccer declined to comment.

Kuri’s Challenge

In his new role at US Soccer, Kuri succeeds Karen Leetzow, who left the nonprofit late last year to be president of the National Women’s Soccer League’s Chicago Red Stars. She earned more than $528,000 in total compensation from US Soccer during its 2022-23 fiscal year, according to a federal tax filing.

Kuri had most recently been legal chief for the South by Southwest festival before taking the US Soccer job. He earlier was the lead US lawyer for beverage giants Red Bull and Heineken, both of which are soccer industry sponsors.

Before that Kuri served as general counsel for the New York Red Bull, a Major League Soccer franchise. He began his career as an associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and O’Melveny & Myers.

Kuri’s challenge is support US Soccer in its mission to promote soccer in the crowded US sports landscape without tilting the scale too much in favor of Major League Soccer, the dominant US professional soccer league—and home to Inter Miami CF’s Lionel Messi—at the expense of potential domestic competitors.

“US Soccer and MLS have a good relationship and they’ve helped each other, which has been important for the sport,” said Brown Rudnick partner Michael Winograd, a former player and soccer coach who once was a candidate to be president of US Soccer. “But it can also be a precarious position to be in.”