Yakovee Law Professionals

Vered Yakovee is a sports law veteran with experience and insights from multiple vantage points in the industry. Before founding Yakovee Law, P.A., Vered served as Vice President and Associate General Counsel for the Miami HEAT and Kaseya Center (then AmericanAirlines Arena), and as Associate Team Counsel for the Boston Celtics. Prior to joining the Celtics, she worked in private practice through which she represented the Los Angeles Lakers, the Allstate Sugar Bowl, and other sports properties on a wide array of commercial transactions and risk management matters. Prior to that, she was an Associate with Dickstein, Shapiro, Morin & Oshinsky, LLP, where she co-founded the firm's Sports Insurance Initiative.

Since 2014, Vered has been an active member of the Board of Directors of the Sports Lawyers Association ("SLA"). She served as SLA Secretary and as Co-Chair of various SLA committees. She was also a long-standing member of the Governing Committee of the ABA Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries (the "Forum") and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Forum's journal, the Entertainment & Sports Lawyer, and Co-Chair of the Forum's Sports Division. 

Now based in Orlando, Florida, Vered serves Orange Couty as an appointed member of the Tourist Development Tax Sports Incentive Committee. She also selrves as a member of the Advisory Board for the Greater Orlando Sports Commission and as pro bono General Counsel for the Greater Orlando chapter of WISE (Women in Sports and Events). Before leaving Los Angeles to commence her in-house career, she was named one of Southern California's Super Lawyers Rising Stars by the publishers of Law & Politics and Los Angeles Magazine six times from 2008 through 2013.

Vered is the devoted mom of two sons and spends her free time hanging out with them. 

MANAGING ATTORNEY

Vered Yakovee

  • Vered earned her J.D. from USC Gould School of Law and her B.A. in Philosophy from the University of California San Diego. She teaches US Sports Law topics at ISDE in Madrid, Spain as a regular visitor. She previously taught Sports Law at Boston College Law School and her alma mater, USC Gould School of Law, where she also served as the founding faculty advisor for the USC Sports Law Society and taught the inaugural undergraduate Sports Law course. For one semester, she lived on campus at Dimitris Perrotis College in Thessaloniki, Greece, where she taught International Business Law and coached the men's basketball team.

    • California

    • Florida

    • Massachusetts 

    • United States District Court, Central District of California  

    • United States District Court, Southern District of California 

    • Supported an NBA team’s entry into a ten-year agreement with Fanatics, Inc. to be the team’s exclusive merchandising partner.

    • Supported a WNBA team’s entry into a new lease agreement with its home arena.

    • Supported an NBA team’s seven-figure gift to a non-profit arts establishment.

    • Supported a college football playoff bowl through a contract to host a national championship game. 

    • Managed the day-to-day legal approval process of an NBA team’s in-house merchandise brand. Advised an NFL team in the star-up of its in-house merchandise brand.

    • Advised a corporate sponsor through sponsorship agreements with NHL, NFL, MLB, and WNBA teams and through endorsement deals with individual athletes.

    • Supported NBA and WNBA teams through eight-figure sponsorship agreements with corporate partners.

    • Supported a USOPC national governing  body through its compliance requirements to start up and operate a summer camp.

OF COUNSEL

Heather
Caro Cartaya

Heather Caro Cartaya is a research attorney who works at the intersection of law, education, and strategic communications. For her first decade with LexisNexis, she taught the platform on law school campuses across Central and South Florida, helping students and faculty build strong research skills. Later, she shifted into a national marketing manager role for law schools, where she designed the very programs she once delivered on the ground, bringing a big-picture perspective to the training and communication strategies that support legal education.

Before joining LexisNexis, Heather served as a judicial law clerk for the 17th Judicial District Court in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. That early experience, paired with her background in teaching and marketing, gives her a unique ability to connect rigorous legal analysis with practical, real-world application.

Now based in Orlando, Florida, Heather stays closely connected to her Louisiana Bayou roots and frequently returns home to her community. She is especially passionate about mentoring students and colleagues, encouraging lifelong learning, and supporting the ongoing growth of the legal profession and legal education. 

  • Heather earned her J.D. from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and her B.A. in Political Science from Louisiana State University. For a decade, she taught LexisNexis on law school campuses across Central and South Florida, helping students and faculty build strong research skills.

    • Louisiana

    • Researched and advised on various Louisiana contracting and other compliance requirements. 

    • Researched and advised on corporate social media policy best practices.

    • Researched and advised on sweepstakes and contests compliance requirements. 

Kate Hardy is a highly experienced alcohol beverage attorney, with over fourteen years of US experience in addition to a wide range of international alcohol roles. 

Kate is in-house counsel to the Australian Wine Research Institute, is Senior Legal Counsel for Accolade Wines, is a Non-Executive Director of the McLaren Vale Grape Wine & Tourism Association, and advises clients about legal and business operations connected to the alcohol industry. She was a partner with Strike & Techel (precursor to Strike, Kerr & Johns) in San Francisco for five years, and a senior associate with Nixon Peabody in New York and San Francisco for six years before that. Kate spent three years in Paris, France as Unit Manager for the Law & Economy Commission of the International Wine Organization (OIV), and practiced law in Australia before that.

She speaks fluent French and Italian and is a qualified French interpreter.

OF COUNSEL

Kate Hardy

  • Kate earned her credentials in South Australia. 

    • California

    • New York

    • South Australia

    • Advised clients regarding various provisions of sponsorship agreements with alcohol beverage companies. 

    • Advised clients regarding sponsor-branded specialty drinks, co-branded drinkware, and other activation issues.

Jamie A. Hemann is a business-minded attorney and executive who operates at the center of media, sports, and entertainment. He advises companies, founders, and talent on the deals, partnerships, and strategies that bring content to life—and get it in front of audiences.

His practice focuses on media rights, talent agreements, licensing, sponsorships, and strategic commercial transactions. With a background that blends legal leadership and hands-on operating experience, Jamie is known for cutting through complexity, structuring practical solutions, and helping clients move quickly where it matters most.

Before joining Yakovee Law, Jamie served as General Counsel, North America for Better Collective, a global digital media company, where he led legal and compliance strategy across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. He also founded Chasing Astraios, advising media, sports, and consumer businesses as fractional general counsel and strategic partner.

Earlier in his career, Jamie spent more than a decade at the National Football League, where he negotiated hundreds of talent, production, and commercial agreements and played a key role in major initiatives including Thursday Night Football and the NFL Draft. He began his career at ESPN, working on flagship properties such as the X Games and ESPYs and supporting the expansion of original content and global distribution.

OF COUNSEL

Jamie Hemann

  • Jamie earned his J.D. from the University of Tulsa College of Law and his B.A. in history from Coe College.

    • Minnesota

    • Negotiated talent, media, and production agreements across major sports and entertainment platforms.

    • Structured sponsorship, licensing, and brand partnership deals with leading networks and global brands

    • Advised on media rights, content distribution, and IP-driven business strategies.

    • Counseled emerging sports and media ventures on launch, scaling, and monetization.

    • Led strategic transactions and partnerships across media and consumer sectors.

OF COUNSEL

Kelly Machiz

Kelly is an experienced transactional attorney focused on the sponsorship and marketing businesses of the NBA, WNBA, and NBA G-League, including negotiating and drafting agreements with corporate sponsors, agencies, and influencers and monitoring the use of intellectual property by partners to ensure compliance with applicable agreements and general league guidelines. 

  • Kelly earned her J.D. from Cornell Law School and her B.A in political science from the State University of New York College at Geneseo.

    • New York 

    • Advised a team client on use of player name, image and likeness compliance requirements.  

    • Drafted and advised teams in connection with agreements including those for sponsorship, preseason games, facilities use, technology vendors, player health services, ticketing platforms. 

In the United States, we are admitted in California, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota and New York only. Of Counsel to the firm provide ongoing counsel, consultation, collaboration, and support on transactional and compliance matters.

“Having known Vered for nearly a decade — first when we were both at the NBA, and then in South Florida — I can attest to her integrity, work ethic and attention to detail.  Her vast experience is matched only by her commitment to excellence and delivering positive results for her clients.” 

– MYLES PISTORIUS, GENERAL COUNSEL, MIAMI DOLPHINS & HARD ROCK STADIUM,
AND FORMER NBA LEGAL EXECUTIVE

Prospective clients may not obtain the same or similar results.

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