management

Principal

516.423.1500

gtorborg@columbiasportsgroup.com

Greg  Torborg is an attorney who possesses a wealth of experience in the sports industry.  Greg has represented MLB clubs in salary arbitration and contract matters, preparing hundreds of cases and arguing numerous hearings since 1992 on behalf of the Minnesota Twins, Cincinnati Reds, Oakland Athletics, Miami Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Angels, New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles. Greg also advises ownership groups in the acquisition, sale, relocation and management of professional sports franchises, including transactions involving Minor League Baseball clubs (Tacoma-AAA, Fresno-AAA, Portland-AAA, Tucson-AAA, Reno-AAA, Omaha-AAA, Binghamton-AA, Richmond-AA, Pensacola-AA, Visalia-A, Bowling Green-A, Carolina-A) and professional soccer (Seattle Sounders, Tacoma Defiance and Reign FC).  Greg handles transactions on behalf of an array of clients involved in the sports industry, including media companies, public relations firms and sports marketing companies.  Prior to co-founding CSG, Greg worked in the New York law firms of Gibney Anthony & Flaherty and Herzfeld & Rubin, served in-house with several MLB clubs in a variety of capacities, including providing computer scouting and statistical analysis consulting services, and co-founded a sports management and marketing company that represented professional athletes and broadcasters in contract negotiations, salary arbitration, marketing endeavors and immigration matters. Greg was drafted by the New York Yankees in 1986 and played baseball at Duke University and Columbia University prior to earning his law degree from Fordham University.

Principal

516.768.3500

asamaan@columbiasportsgroup.com

Andrew Samaan is a professional who earned both a law degree and MBA.  Andrew has extensive experience in both the sports industry and banking and advises clients in corporate transactions and various other commercial projects from both a financial and legal perspective.  He has an expertise in sports law, capital formation, transaction analysis, negotiation and execution, and advises individuals and entities involved in the sports industry on a variety of legal  matters, including the representation of investor groups and owners in the acquisition and sale of professional sports franchises.  Aside from his expertise in representing sports industry investors and owners, Andrew has handled in excess of $5 billion in mergers and acquisitions transactions worldwide and the issuance of corporate securities on behalf of U.S. and international corporations.  Andrew has advised new media companies in capital formation, intellectual property matters and on-going operations and served as chief operations officer and legal counsel to a world-renowned experiential marketing company.  Prior to co-founding CSG, Andrew worked as a corporate securities lawyer in New York and London for Brown & Wood, counseling clients on the issuance of corporate securities, worked for Prudential Securities Inc., where he provided middle market companies with sell side, buy side and defense advisory services, and worked in various high-level positions for a media content company.  Andrew played soccer at the University of Miami and Loyola University Maryland prior to receiving his Juris Doctor and MBA from Fordham University.  Andrew currently resides in Winter Park, Florida, and his wife, Mollie, is the former Director of Athletics at Princeton University and current Commissioner of the LPGA.