Marc Jeffrey Kligman (born 1970) is an American sports agent and

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It prescribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law i ...

yer. After working in the San Diego County public defender's office from 1995 to 1998, he founded Total Sports Care Management and began representing players in

Minor League Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

and Major League Baseball and NCAA Division I coaches. He is noted for being a practicing Orthodox Jew.

Early life and education

Marc Kligman was born in 1970 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

. His father, a former United States Army Ranger in Korea, is an international commodities trader.Gantz, Nesanel. "Lunchbreak with Marc (Moshe) Kligman", ''

Ami AMI or Ami may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media *AMI-tv, a Canadian TV channel **AMI-télé, the French-language version * AMI-audio, a Canadian audio broadcast TV service *''Ami Magazine'', an Orthodox Jewish news magazine Businesses ...

'', June 6, 2018, pp. 48–50. He attended a

Jewish day school A Jewish day school is a modern Jewish educational institution that is designed to provide children of Jewish parents with both a Jewish and a secular education in one school on a full-time basis. The term "day school" is used to differentiate s ...

through sixth grade, although his family wasn't religiously observant. Kligman played football, basketball, and baseball in high school, earning 10 varsity letters. He played varsity baseball at Johns Hopkins University, from which he graduated in 1992 with an A&S degree in International Relations and Hispanic and Italian Studies. He earned his J.D. at Tulane University Law School in 1995.

Career

Kligman worked for over three years as a criminal trial lawyer in the San Diego County public defender's office, handling 35 criminal jury trials. He started his own criminal defense firm in 1999. In 1998 he founded Total Sports Care Management and began acquiring clients in his free time. Deciding to combine his affinities for law and sports, in 2000 he was certified by the Major League Baseball Players Association as a sports agent. His services include contract negotiations and player marketing. His clients are players at both the

and Major League level, and NCAA Division I coaches. His Major League clients have included Carlos Ruiz (

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

Justin Bour Justin James Bour (born May 28, 1988) is an American professional baseball first baseman who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies, and Los Angeles Angels. He has also played ...

(Philadelphia Phillies),

Rob Scahill Robert Joseph Scahill (born February 15, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He previously played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers, and Chicago White Sox. Career Colorado Rockies Scahill atten ...

(

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

), and Chris Heston ( San Francisco Giants). Kligman serves as a guest arbiter in the annual National Baseball Arbitration Competition hosted by the Tulane Sports Law Society.

Other activities

After relocating from San Diego to Las Vegas in 2013, Kligman established two independent baseball club teams for 10-year-old and 12-year-old boys, which his two sons joined. Kligman both administers and coaches the teams.

Personal life

During his time at law school, Kligman was introduced to the Chabad community at Tulane University and became interested in Orthodox Jewish observance. He began observing Shabbat and keeping

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

after moving to San Diego, eventually wearing a

kippah A , , or , plural ), also called ''yarmulke'' (, ; yi, יאַרמלקע, link=no, , german: Jarmulke, pl, Jarmułka or ''koppel'' ( yi, קאפל ) is a brimless cap, usually made of cloth, traditionally worn by Jewish males to fulfill the c ...

full-time. He was a

baal korei A baal keriah (Hebrew: , 'master of the reading'), colloquially called the baal korei (Hebrew: , 'master-reader'), is a member of a Jewish congregation who reads from the Sefer Torah during the service. As there are no niqqud, punctuation, or can ...

( Torah reader) for the Chabad of University City, taught a weekly Torah class, and founded a "Monday Lunch and Learn" at a local kosher restaurant. Being Shomer Shabbat, he does not answer calls on

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

or attend baseball games on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. This has precluded his attendance at some of the Major League debuts of his clients, including

catcher Carlos Ruiz, who made his debut on a Friday night in May 2006, and

Mike Zagurski Michael Justin Zagurski (born January 27, 1983), is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, Pittsburgh Pirates, and New York Yank ...

, who played his first game with the Phillies on

Shavuot (''Ḥag HaShavuot'' or ''Shavuos'') , nickname = English: "Feast of Weeks" , observedby = Jews and Samaritans , type = Jewish and Samaritan , begins = 6th day of Sivan (or the Sunday following the 6th day of Sivan i ...

2007. Kligman believes that some of his clients who are devoted Christians "feel comfortable with a man of religious values". When the Winter Meetings occur during the Hanukkah holiday, he organizes candle lighting for Jewish attendees. Kligman and his wife Leah, also an attorney, have two sons and one daughter. In 2017 Kligman hosted many of his clients and other MLB players for his son's Bar Mitzvah at The D Casino Hotel. Kligman has a first-degree black belt in taekwondo and a Practitioner 4 rank in Krav Maga.

References

External links

Marc Jeffrey Kligman #180444
State Bar of California license status {{DEFAULTSORT:Kligman, Marc 1970 births Living people American sports agents 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers American Orthodox Jews Johns Hopkins University alumni Tulane University Law School alumni People from Stamford, Connecticut Lawyers from San Diego People from Las Vegas People from University City, San Diego