University of Houston Law Center alumna Elina Doolabh ’22
Jan. 12, 2023 — University of Houston Law Center alumna Elina Doolabh ’22 could not be happier in her new role as in-house associate counsel for the Philadelphia baseball team, the Phillies.
“I grew up in a household that was passionate about sports,” said Doolabh.
Working for a baseball team allows her to combine that passion for sports with her legal degree. Since she began her new role in May 2022, Doolabh has enjoyed the variety of the work and the opportunities it has created.
“There are some truly brilliant people that work for the sponsors that we contract with,” explained Doolabh, “and the fact that I get to redline back and forth with these legal teams so early in my legal career makes me feel proud of all I have accomplished to get to this point.”
During her time at UH Law Center, Doolabh focused on three things that she would recommend to any student looking to follow in her footsteps: networking, selecting the right internship opportunities, and advancing her legal skillset through her participation on the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Team.
In her first year, Doolabh interned with the UH Athletics Compliance Office learning about collegiate sports. In year two, she interned with Kuraray America, a top global chemical manufacturer. Additionally, as a 2L, Doolabh joined the ADR Team where throughout the remainder of her law school career she would compete in sports negotiation competitions and have the opportunity to be judged by and network with professionals in the sports industry. By year three, Doolabh accepted an internship with the Houston Astros, a Major League Baseball team.
“Working for the Astros gave me so much; it not only confirmed that I wanted to work in-house one day, but more so that I wanted to work for a team,” said Doolabh.
All these opportunities combined also prepared her with skills for her current role.
“When this job with the Phillies came around, I had done nearly every single item outlined in their job posting.”
Doolabh is happy to hear from any law students who would like to learn more about how she got her current role because she did the same when she was starting.
“I networked, networked, networked and…would talk with anyone working in sports law who would meet with me, and I would ask them what route they took to see if and how I could try to emulate their path.”
The highlight of her current role was a full circle moment when she found herself back in Houston when the Phillies played the Astros in the 2022 World Series.
“It was a very exciting World Series because I could not lose either way. It was either the team that gave me my start and taught me everything I needed to learn in order to get this dream job or the team that I hope to be with for the foreseeable future.”
Doolabh’s role also allowed her to bring her parents and brother to a World Series game.
“Being able to provide that opportunity for my parents who have given me absolutely everything has been my personal highlight.”
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