Ifrah Law Taps A.J. Collins as an Associate, Strengthening Its Legal Team

Ifrah Law has announced the hire of Austin John (A.J.) Collins as an associate to its legal team.

Collins will focus his practice on the legal sports betting arena, where Ifrah is widely considered one of the nation’s premier law firms.

“A.J.’s experience in litigation, investigation, regulatory, and compliance experience, both as an associate at an Am Law 100 firm and as a trial attorney for a federal government agency, make him an invaluable hire for the firm,” said Jeff Ifrah, the firm’s managing partner.

Collins’ decision to join Ifrah was an easy one.

“I was impressed with the degree of innovation and foresight Jeff, Michelle (Cohen), George (Calhoun), and Jim (Trusty) have both within their practices and their foresight towards where the legal profession is headed,” Collins said. “Gaming in particular is such a novel and rapidly changing industry and Ifrah Law’s ability to both have a deep understanding of the legal and business issues involved and be able to connect with clients and adapt as those changes are made ultimately convinced me that choosing Ifrah Law would be a great decision for my career.”

Prior to joining Ifrah Law, Collins served with the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Office of Compliance and Field Operations in the Division of Enforcement and Litigation, where he worked on investigations, enforcement, and litigation within the products liability space, with a focus on consumer products regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Act, the Poison Prevention Packaging Act, and the Child Nicotine Poison Prevention Act. He managed inspections, compiled defect reports, conducted consumer and expert interviews, and negotiated product recalls and civil penalties, often in coordination with numerous stakeholders such as compliance officers, technical experts, communications staff, other agencies, and outside counsel.

Collins also practiced at a large international firm, representing clients in the energy, telecommunications, and manufacturing industries on such complex claims as customs disputes and sanctions, shareholder litigation, and antitrust investigations. He worked with clients facing investigations and disputes before federal agencies like the Department of Justice, as well as on commercial litigation, internal investigations, environmental issues, and international trade matters.

Collins has a robust pro bono practice: he has represented juvenile asylum clients and high school students seeking vindication of their educational rights, and he assisted the Innocence Project in an investigation into a 20+ year old conviction.

While attending the University of Virginia School of Law, where he graduated in 2017, Collins served as the Managing Editor of the Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law and was elected President of his Student Bar Association. Prior to his legal career, he interned for a former United States Congressman and for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration in Pago Pago, American Samoa.

Collins had a compelling interest in the sports industry from an early age.

“I have always had a strong interest in sports,” he said. “My dad has been a baseball broadcaster for nearly all of my life – he currently broadcasts for the independent Lancaster Barnstormers – and my mom was a sports journalist for much of her adult life before switching over to becoming a teacher.

“I am also a lifelong Baltimore Ravens and Washington Capitals fan. Attending both the University of Alabama as an undergraduate and the University of Virginia for law school enhanced my sports fandom.

“With such a lifelong connection to the sporting world, it seemed like a natural interest for me within the legal industry as well.”

Ifrah Law has represented Online Gaming clients since the inception of the industry, and now represents many of the largest iGaming companies and industry associations around the world. We have been at the center of most of the important prosecutions and lawsuits in the Online Gaming industry, plus we were instrumental in the creation of the legislative and regulatory frameworks in three states which currently permit online gaming: Delaware, New Jersey, and Nevada.

Nationally ranked by Chambers USA in Gaming & Licensing Law, Jeff Ifrah and his firm bring decades of experience in betting and wagering law to advise startups in the eSports space, including both real money and skill-based p2p competition sites, on compliance with both state and federal law. Our clients in the sports betting arena include Kambi, Unikrn, Bet365, Playtech, WorldPay and the Stars Group. Jeff and his team have also gained a strong reputation in other innovative internet-based industries such as payment processing and money transmission.

The firm is a founding member of iDEA (iDevelopment and Economic Association), an association which seeks to grow jobs and expand online interactive entertainment business in the United States through advocacy and education. Its members include Golden Nugget, 888, FanDuel, BetMGM, DraftKings, and Scientific Games, among others.

On behalf of iDEA, Ifrah Law submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in the seminal sports betting case Murphy v. NCAA, which was decided in favor of iDEA’s argument urging the rights of states to direct their own economies.

Two characteristics uniquely qualify Ifrah Law to represent iGaming companies:

• Our substantial experience in both criminal defense and civil litigation. This is invaluable because even civil cases can expose iGaming companies to criminal prosecution. We are litigators who know the risks and how to avoid them.
• Our knowledge of the Online Gaming industry and the people who work in it. We are a firm of lawyers who share a passion for understanding our clients and their businesses. Through our representation of iGaming businesses since the industry’s beginnings, we have acquired an in-depth understanding which is key to our ability to craft solutions that meet our clients’ goals.