A lifelong sports fan, Rubano spent much of his early legal career focusing on public and private mergers and acquisitions, working primarily with private equity and real estate investors. But while working at Paul Hastings, an opportunity arose to represent one of the firm’s clients in a slightly different transaction: Stephen Ross’ more than $1 billion acquisition of the Miami Dolphins franchise and its stadium in 2009.

“That was really the first time my two worlds came together, and I realized this really is a career path,” he said.

He left Paul Hastings in 2010 and joined Proskauer, where he also focused on M&A. In February 2012, he joined DLA Piper, where he now works almost exclusively on sports-related matters. He was named partner in February. In the last 12 months, he has worked on the sale of the Atlanta Hawks, stadium financing for AS Roma, and the acquisition of Atlanta United FC’s MLS expansion franchise — deals Rubano says speak more to the quality of the firm than just himself.

“The culture that we’ve built here is just as important as the work product that we’re putting out,” he said. “We’re equally likely to be negotiating a purchasing agreement at 2 in the morning as we are to be throwing a football around at 2 in the morning. I don’t know if our facility manager loves us doing that, but it’s something that I think says a lot about what we have here.”

Rubano says he is driven daily by a lesson learned from his father: Be the most prepared one in the room. That advice, and those pieces of advice from his mother, shape his path.

“I think she smiles when she sees where I’ve ended up,” Rubano said of his mother, “because I get to do something that’s largely based on my education, but something I’ve really found passion in.”

— Ian Thomas