Jessica Berman, Deputy Commissioner and EVP of Business Affairs of the National Lacrosse League.

Jessica Berman, who on Monday was named deputy commissioner of the National Lacrosse League and became the first woman deputy commissioner of any professional sports league in North America, credits her success to 15 years as a sports lawyer and the last four years as a sports business executive.

Berman served as deputy general counsel of the National Hockey League when she was tapped four years ago to move to the business side as hockey's vice president for community development, culture and growth, as well as executive director of the NHL Foundation.

At the lacrosse league, Berman will use those hybrid skills, overseeing all legal affairs and transactions, managing team services and assisting with the league's growth strategy. She will be based in Philadelphia and make frequent visits to New York, according to a league spokesperson.

"Now I can incorporate all those skills directly into what I am responsible for here," Berman told Corporate Counsel. "They really enabled me to step into a role like this."

League Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz said in statement on Berman, "Her wide-ranging background fits exactly with the growth trajectory we are on, and her addition to our veteran team is a perfect cultural fit and win for the league, our member clubs and for the sport of lacrosse."

Berman said the league has been focused on expanding its footprint across North America, and that will be one of her first challenges.

"Bringing with me my most recent experience at the National Hockey League," she explained, "I want to help create the next generation of fans through community and engagement, making sure the National Lacrosse League is relevant and front-of-mind for consumers."

A second challenge, she said, would be developing a relationship with the players and their union and "building a framework for long-term stability."

Berman was a key player in the National Hockey League's past negotiations. She helped negotiate the deal that ended a lockout in 2004-2005, as well as the 10-year collective bargaining agreement reached in 2012.

In 2014 Berman was chosen one of the Sports Business Journal's "Forty under 40 most likely to succeed" for helping establish long-term labor peace between the hockey league and its players. She has about two more years before the lacrosse league's bargaining agreement expires.

She said her first priority, though, will simply be learning about the business and the league's 13 markets. For the first few months "I'll likely be drinking from a fire hose with folks at headquarters," she laughed.

Berman grew up loving sports. She said when she was in law school at Fordham University, her first choice was to become a sports lawyer at Proskauer Rose. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and general counsel David Zimmerman are also Proskauer alums.

When her dream came true, she said she "worked closely with Bob Batterman, who represented the NHL. He trained me as a lawyer and as an executive, and still remains a mentor of mine today. There is no shortage of lawyers at Proskauer that I have called on, and do call on, for advice in my life. It's almost like a work-family to me."

Batterman, who recently retired from Proskauer, could not immediately be reached for comment. He told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in 2015 that Berman "possesses not only the intellect, but the practical knowledge and a way with people. She's a great talent [and] she's got more potential than anyone I know working in professional sports."

Proskauer issued a statement congratulating Berman, adding, "We are proud to watch her star continue to rise."

It is not lost on Berman that she is the highest-ranking woman in professional sports in North America. "It is humbling, frankly," she said. "One of the benefits of being first is that hopefully people will pay attention and reflect on their own promotion and hiring decisions."

In her new job, Berman will be working to grow lacrosse's youth sports programs. She said she has learned much about youth sports from her two sons, ages 11 and 8. The younger one, she said, is just starting in lacrosse.

The challenge, Berman said, is that most youth sports are seeing sharp declines in participation, which she believes comes from a "professionalization of youth sports" at a young age. Lacrosse remains popular and growing, she said, because it is fast-paced, fun and physically active.

Being active is something Berman knows well. In 2002, right after law school, she spent seven weeks in Africa where she climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and went bungee jumping in Tanzania. "I'm an adventure traveler," she explained. "I like to experience the world and other cultures through physical activities."

This summer she said she decided to see if her sons would like the idea of adventure traveling too. They went to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Teton National Park.

"We did rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking and white-water rafting," she said. "And they have the bug."