Jackson Walker is pleased to announce that Dallas partner Robert P. Latham will be inducted into the US Rugby Hall of Fame on Saturday, September 16, 2023.

“It is such an honor to be included with this class of inductees, and those who preceded us,” Bob said. “Rugby has had such a profound impact on my life over the years. Playing rugby, of course, was the ultimate thrill, but I have had the pleasure of serving on the leadership teams of USA Rugby and World Rugby and trying to make sure that others get to experience what I did.”

“It is such an honor to be included with this class of inductees, and those who preceded us.”

Outside of practicing commercial litigation, media law, intellectual property litigation, and sports law, Bob has served two terms as Chairman of the Board of USA Rugby, a term as a member of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and a term as President of the (then) North American Caribbean Rugby Association. Perhaps more significantly, he has been a member of the World Rugby Executive Committee since 2011 and has been the Chairman of the World Rugby Regulations Committee since 2012. Notably, he was the first American to ever serve on the World Rugby Executive Committee. In 2017, Bob was inducted into the Texas Rugby Union Hall of Fame.

“Bob embodies the balance rugby is known for,” Alex Magleby, former US Eagles player and coach, stated in a profile published by the US Rugby Hall of Fame. “In one instance he could be deliberating a critical topic that impacts the game on the worldwide stage, while the next he’s sharing a laugh, conversation and a beer with a player that just walked off the pitch playing for his local club team.”

Paul Mabry, Executive Director of Rugby Texas, stated: “It was Bob’s persistent, singular leadership over two decades which resulted in the USOC granting membership to USA Rugby. This was vital to the sport’s acceptance on a wide scale in this country and well before rugby became a medal sport. Without acceptance of rugby in the USA, however, there is no way rugby would have been added to the Games. Having entrenched rugby in the landscape of the USOC, Bob was a key leader of the Olympic rugby movement internationally, traveling the globe with the IRB delegation to numerous IOC conclaves until the goal of rugby in the Games was realized.”

Bob will be recognized alongside eight other titans of rugby at the US Rugby Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on September 16, 2023, in Salt Lake City, Utah. To explore Bob’s legacy, view his profile on the US Rugby Foundation’s Hall of Fame website.

Meet Bob

Robert P. Latham has developed nationally recognized experience in the areas of media law and intellectual property litigation and leads the Media practice at Jackson Walker. As well as a trial lawyer, Bob is a published author, columnist, and a much sought-after speaker on matters related to the right of free speech, technology and IP litigation, litigation strategy, dispute resolution, and sports. In recognition of his practice, Bob has been listed among The Best Lawyers in America under Commercial Litigation, Litigation – First Amendment, Litigation – Intellectual Property, and Sports Law among other categories, and he was named Dallas/Fort Worth’s “Lawyer of the Year” for Sports Law in Best Lawyers’ 2021 edition.

In addition to his work with USA Rugby and World Rugby, Bob is the Chairman of the International Board of ARTICLE 19, the Board of Directors of the Dallas All Sports Association, and the Governing Committee of the American Bar Association Forum on Communications Law. He is also a former president of the Media Law Resource Center Defense Counsel Section.

Bob received his A.B. degree from Stanford University and his J.D. degree from the University of Virginia, where he served as Senior Editor of the Virginia Journal of International Law.