From the courtroom to the soccer pitch, lawyer finds a path to 'yes'

Michelina Carbone knows all about entering unfamiliar arenas.

Before becoming associate general counsel for the Tampa-based United Soccer League, the St. Petersburg resident competed as a Division I equestrian at Baylor University. After earning law and MBA degrees from Stetson University, she entered real estate and finance law — a field she admits she knew little about at first.

Photo by Mark Wemple

“I like to say real estate chose me,” Carbone says.

But that work eventually led her to the USL, which had been a client of her former law firm. She joined the professional soccer organization in June 2025, bringing together her legal experience, business education and background as a college athlete.

Carbone has since helped negotiate the inaugural collective bargaining agreement for the Gainbridge Super League, a Division I professional women’s soccer league. She also advises the USL on franchise expansion, stadium development and commercial partnerships.

“It just aligned with my values to create more opportunities for individuals to do what they love,” Carbone says of her position with the league. “We are creating more opportunities for people to play professional soccer in the United States.”

Her job requires more than identifying potential legal problems. Carbone works across USL’s business divisions to find ways to advance the organization’s goals while managing risk, she says.

“One of the biggest challenges is figuring out how to get to yes while navigating the legal risk,” she says. “My role isn’t simply to just identify risks anymore. It’s to understand the business objectives of the league, assess those risks and find a practical path forward.”

Carbone credits mentor Sandy Murman, a former Hillsborough County commissioner whom she met while working at the Tampa office of law firm Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, with helping her overcome the imposter syndrome she experienced as a young woman in the male-dominated law, real estate and sports industries.

Murman helped her see that she deserved to be in those rooms — and had something valuable to contribute, Carbone says.

Carbone now tries to provide similar support to younger lawyers while giving back through organizations that include the Florida Aquarium and Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Foundation. She describes herself not as self-made, but “village-made.”

“Everything I am wasn’t made by one individual,” Carbone says. “Giving back to the community and the people who have given so much to me and given me the opportunities to do what I’ve been able to do in Tampa Bay — that’s certainly part of it.”