Knicks NBA Finals Tickets Become Big Law’s Ultimate Client Card

The hottest currency among Wall Street law firms and their clients this week is tickets to see the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

With the National Basketball Association team in the league’s championship for the first time since 1999, supply and demand has driven ticket prices to new heights. The leader of one global law firm described an “avalanche of requests” from clients eager to get inside the iconic Garden, a 20,000-seat arena where celebrities rub shoulders with business and political leaders and other elites.

The Knicks, who lost Game 3 on Monday to the San Antonio Spurs, are up 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is Wednesday night at the Garden.

“Imagine the value to an important client—anybody you invite to the Finals knows there were countless other people that could’ve been invited and would’ve died for the ticket,” said one lawyer who has attended many a Garden party. “It’s an incredible way to say, ‘Thank you,’ or recruit a new client.”

Sources spoke with Bloomberg Law on the condition of anonymity to speak freely about law firm and client activities.

That passion—and the soaring price of tickets—was evident when Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and private equity client Veritas Capital donated $1 million to a Garden-backed charity when they won a raffle for two courtside seats to Game 3.

Gibson Dunn has represented James Dolan, the executive chairman and CEO of Madison Square Garden Sports Corp., the New York-based public company that owns the Knicks, in a long-running dispute with ex-Knicks player Charles Oakley.

It’s also is one of several Big Law firms with suites at the Garden. Others are Davis Polk & Wardwell; Kirkland & Ellis; Proskauer Rose; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; Sidley Austin; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, said three sources familiar with the matter.

Sullivan & Cromwell, which has provided outside counsel to MSG Sports and other Dolan-related entities, is not among the firms that have taken a Knicks suite at the Garden, said two sources.

The firms mentioned in this story either didn’t respond to comment requests or declined to do so, citing client confidentiality. MSG Sports did not respond to requests for comment.

Dollars and Sense

Kelsey Dellovo, a partner and chief client service officer at legal advisory firm Baretz+Brunelle, said law firms can reap long-term rewards by investing in activities that help them better understand their clients. Business development and marketing costs have generally increased at large firms as a means of fueling growth, she said. Different firms, of course, often have their own calculus on how much—and where—they want to spend on clients.

“None of this is cheap, but firms have realized that it’s worth every penny to make clients feel special and valued, no matter the cost,” Dellovo said. “There’s many ways you can do so, including having sports tickets at the highest level.”

The most desirable locales within the Garden are event-level suites usable for other occasions—such as concerts or New York Rangers hockey games—while Lexus suites provide a more mid-level luxury option between the arena’s upper and lower bowls, said attorneys who have sat in both sections. Smart firms strategically manage those resources, said one lawyer.

When the Knicks and Dolan endured tough times ahead of the team’s recent success, associates would often be the ones snagging available tickets, said a Big Law alum. But success on the court can create rivalries off it, with law firm leaders tasked with determining which partners—and their clients—take priority, or if more junior lawyers can be reimbursed for potentially paying out of pocket for non-suite level tickets they purchase, the lawyer said.

Dellovo said there’s value in going out and having fun. Visibility, be it through partners at big games with clients or entertaining a prospective lateral hire, can help firms reach different target audiences in a competitive market.

“The time you spend with clients outside of the office is incredibly valuable from a business development standpoint,” Dellovo said. “Everyone is busy, but when you can find opportunities to invite your clients to things they care about, the return on investment is there.”

Law Firm Bans

Not all lawyers are welcome at the Garden during the NBA Finals.

Courts have upheld a policy enacted by MSG Sports, as well as sibling companies MSG Entertainment Corp. and Sphere Entertainment Co., to forbid attorneys at adverse law firms from accessing their venues. Dolan’s companies use facial recognition technology and their in-house counsel to enforce the bans. ESPN.com reported last year that the “attorney exclusion list” has affected more than 1,000 lawyers at 90 firms since it was implemented in 2022.

But the bans are usually lifted if a dispute is resolved. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton represented the NBA’s Toronto Raptors in a lawsuit filed by the Knicks that was dismissed last year. The firm’s lawyers are not banned from the Garden, a source said. Bryan Warner, a former Cleary associate, became head of legal for MSG Sports and the Knicks in late 2024.

The team, whose president is former litigator Leon Rose, still have support from some of the lawyers banned from the Garden. John Morgan, a billionaire founder of personal injury giant Morgan & Morgan, in an email called New York the “greatest city in the world” and wished Knicks fans the “best luck.”

Morgan was not so kind, however, to the club’s owner, directing would-be clients to a website his firm owns to bring claims against the Garden and Dolan.