Professor Novak, who is a graduate of Thomas Jefferson School of Law, served as a federal prosecutor under both President Ronald Reagan’s and President Herbert Walker Bush’s administration.
Over the past 25 years, he has held several of the highest legal positions in professional sports and entertainment. He is the only lawyer to have held top legal positions in all of the three major areas of professional sports: (1) He has been one of the top sports lawyers having provided player representation to many of the top NFL players, including former winners of the Heisman, Outland and Lombardi Trophies. He also represented several NFL head coaches and PGA Tour professionals, as well as local and national on-air sports personalities, (2) He has represented team ownership having served General Counsel and interim Director of Operations of the Los Angeles Rams (St. Louis Rams); and, (3) He has provided representation to a major television and sports network having held the position of Senior Counsel of Fox Broadcasting Company and Fox Sports. During his time at Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation as Senior Counsel at Fox, he also provided legal services to Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation as well as Harper Collins Publishing Company.
Professor Novak’s television and motion picture experience includes that of senior legal counsel to several made-for-television movies- of-the-week, situational comedies, television specials, tabloid news programs, commercials, television sports events, animated films, children’s network television programming and television dramas. In film, Mr. Novak has produced award-winning documentary feature films, and has served as senior legal counsel to documentaries and feature films. In addition, Mr. Novak has also represented various production companies, national radio talent and still-photography models.
His successful law practice has been combined with prominent teaching experience at Harvard University, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Northeastern University School of Law, Charleston School of Law, University of San Diego School of Law, and Charles University First Faculty of Medicine in Prague, Czech Republic.
Specifically, he has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at Thomas Jefferson School of Law for the past twenty years and has taught as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of San Diego School of Law. He is a Visiting Professor/Instructor in Medicine at the Institute of Public Health and Medical Law at Charles University First Faculty of Medicine in Prague, Czech Republic where he teaches Global Health, Law and Medicine and USMLE Medical Ethics related courses. He also attended three years of medical school at the First Faculty of Medicine in Prague as well as Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at the Division of Medical Sciences at Harvard Medical School.
Professor Novak is also a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University where he earned a Master of Liberal Arts, Concentration in Biology in Extension Studies. He is a two-time Derek Bok Award recipient, Harvard University’s Certificate of Distinction in Teaching acknowledging his special contribution to the education of students at Harvard College.
Upon his high school graduation in Georgia, Mr. Novak signed a golf scholarship on the NCAA Championship team at the University of Texas at Austin. After graduating from Texas, he competed on the professional golf tours in Europe, Asia, and South America. He is the winner of several international events and is a former winner of the South American International Amateur and runner-up in the Austrian Internationals.
Professor Novak is currently engaged in the private practice of law with an emphasis in representation of domestic and international clientele in the fields of sports and entertainment law, intellectual property law, international law, business and corporate law, law and medicine, and high-level litigation.
The courses that Professor Novak teaches at a variety of professional schools include:
Entertainment Law: Entertainment Law, Entertainment Law Transactions, The Law of Television and Motion Picture Production
Sports Law: Behind Closed Doors: Representing the Professional Athlete and Team Ownership, Sports Law
Intellectual Property: Licensing Intellectual Property
Transactional Law: Contracts Drafting
Medicine: Law and Medicine; Medical Ethics, Global Health
He is a member of the California, Georgia, and Massachusetts State Bars.