Philadelphia law firm may sign on to NFL labor dispute

A Philadelphia law firm might get involved in the NFL labor dispute.

Cafferty Faucher, with offices in Center City, has had conversations with players about filing a new claim in the class-action lawsuit against the league, said Bryan Clobes, a partner at the firm.

While some observers initially interpreted the possibility of a new claim as a sign of splintering among the players, Clobes downplayed that notion. He praised the players' attorneys working on the suit set in motion by the NFL Players Association but said his firm could give even more players "an active voice."

"If someone wants to be actively involved and have a role in the discourse and the decision-making and shape the litigation, that would normally involve being named a plaintiff," Clobes said Friday. "Your thoughts, your ideas, would be directly heard through you or your lawyers."

Clobes would not say how many players to whom he has talked, or name specific players. Nothing has been filed yet. He said he initially was contacted by agents.

"This is our wheelhouse. This is what we do," Clobes said, referring to antitrust cases. His firm also represents a group of players in a class-action suit against the NCAA led by Ed O'Bannon.

Clobes said new groups routinely file their own claims in class-action lawsuits.

"It wouldn't be second-guessing" the lawyers working with the 10 active and incoming players suing the league, Clobes said, "but instead about adding value."

Another firm, Barnes & Thornburg, also had hoped to file a claim on behalf of some 70 players, but the firm has been barred because one of its partners works with the NFL on licensing music for NFL Network and NFL Films. The league denied the firm's request for a conflict-of-interest waiver.

"As we would with any client, we respect the NFL's declination of consent and will not be accepting an engagement adverse to the NFL," a statement from the Indianapolis-based firm said.