Prior to law school, Tarun Sharma, 2L, worked in analytics and operations for two Major League Baseball teams, the San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks

WHAT DID YOU DO IN MLB?
In San Francisco, I worked very closely with the amateur and professional player scouting staffs. I had an opportunity to learn about baseball and data analytics from a group that had won three World Series rings in the prior five years. Working in Arizona was a dream come true because it was my first experience working in professional sports. I will be forever grateful to Dr. Ed Lewis and the small analytics cohort still there who brought me along and taught me what they could about computer coding and scouting players.

WHERE DOES YOUR INTEREST IN BASEBALL COME FROM?
My older brother played baseball when I was younger, and I enjoyed attending his games. My father used to always make time to take me to baseball games whenever we went on road trips. As a result, I’ve had an opportunity to visit 20-plus ballparks for MLB games.

WHY LAW SCHOOL?
I decided to pursue my J.D. after my time in San Francisco because I have always dreamed of attending law school. In the future, I’d certainly be open to working with sports clients, but right now, I’m focused on completing my education and gaining as much experiential knowledge as possible.

WHY MINNESOTA LAW?
I selected Minnesota Law because of a great conversation that I had with Professor Mitch Zamoff while weighing my options. I heard about and later got to experience the great corporate client base, highly educated population, good food, great music, and, of course, sports that Minnesota has to offer.

FAVORITE STUDENT ACTIVITY OR EXPERIENCE?
I am serving as vice president of the Sports Law Association and treasurer of the South Asian Law Students Association this year. My favorite experience so far was when Chief Judge [John R.] Tunheim ’80 held a hearing at the Law School.

1L SUMMER JOB?
I was grateful to be part of the Twin Cities Diversity in Practice Summer Clerkship program this year. With [the firm of] Arthur Chapman and its corporate partner, Target, I tackled projects relating to real estate, subrogation, and tax practices. Unfortunately, owing to COVID-19, I missed out on enjoying the firm’s seats at Target Field with my colleagues.

HOBBIES AND INTERESTS?
I’m in a pretty intense fantasy dynasty baseball league with twenty 40-man-rostered teams where fellow 2L and Sports Law Association board member Kyle Ignatius is my co-owner. I also serve as commissioner for a fantasy football league with friends from high school who are now all over the country.

FAVORITE SPORTS QUOTE?
“Baseball is almost the only orderly thing in a very unorderly world. If you get three strikes, even the best lawyer in the world can’t get you off.” —Bill Veeck

ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE?
I want to give a plug to the best sports law podcast in existence, Conduct Detrimental, for allowing me to offer topic suggestions. You can find my writing on sports law topics via my LinkedIn. Thank you to the new board of the Sports Law Association (2Ls Colton Messer, Kyle Ignatius, Erin Abramovitz, and Meg Simchuk) for working to build out our sports law program. My hope is for Minnesota Law to one day have a sports and entertainment law publication, course, and clinic. You can support the Sports Law Association by following us on Twitter @UMNSportsLaw and attending our virtual programming this fall. Thank you to the Career Center, especially my counselor, Wendy Griak, for helping me find a great summer employment program. Thank you to my family for their love and support.