Rapheal M. Prevot Jr., JD'84
Rapheal Prevot Jr.'s job is the stuff of locker room dreams: from his New York City office on Park Avenue, the 1984 graduate serves as labor relations council for the National Football League's management counsel. The job includes defending the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement and representing teams in disputes with players. The cases he works on make headlines.
While he has a position many would envy, Prevot traces his success to early support from the School of Law. "The Law School's dean of admission, Frank Motley, did a wonderful job recruiting me—and explaining how a law degree from IU would allow me to do anything I wanted in the legal profession." Motley was right—Indiana Law's theoretical teaching approach was exactly what Prevot needed to bring out his natural abilities.
"The skill that has come in most handy is my ability to analyze the law. It has allowed me to be prepared to move from one legal position to another," he said. Prior to his position with the NFL, Prevot worked as a litigator for Florida-based Adorno & Zeder and an assistant state attorney and division chief for Janet Reno in the Dade County, Fla., State Attorney's Office.
Generous IU staff and faculty members inspired him to reach back and help Indiana Law students. He contributes to the Charles Wilson Memorial Scholarship, named for a classmate who died in 1984. "[Charles Wilson] was an inspiration to me and showed me how to make it through law school," Prevot said. "I wanted to be able to give another student the opportunity to be inspired by someone else's generosity."
Prevot's giving spirit keeps him connected to the School. He acts as incoming chair of the Board of Visitors, was past Alumni Board president, and has been honored with a Distinguished Service Award for exceptional service to the community and School.
He tells today's students: be prepared to work hard. "If you want to be one of the best in your profession, it will take a lot of preparation," he said. "If you plan on advancing in your career—be it partner at a firm, general counsel at a business, or the attorney general of a state, or the United States—you must put in the time."