He's one prolific lawyer
From terrorists to NFL stars, it's all in a day's work.
Lawyer Troy Archie spent the fall defending one of his highest-profile clients, Eljvir Duka, against federal charges that he was a terrorist bent on attacking Fort Dix.
A few months later, Archie guided another notable client, Rashad Baker, through far different proceedings - negotiations leading to a contract with the Eagles.
For five years, Archie, one of the better-known criminal defense attorneys in South Jersey, has quietly built a sports agency out of his Camden office.
A strange combination? Not for Archie, a former college linebacker who coached 10 years at Camden's Woodrow Wilson High School, including his time at Rutgers-Camden law school.
Four future NFL players went through Wilson during Archie's tenure, including Baker, a defensive back who played last season for the Oakland Raiders.
"Sports was always a natural fit for me," said Archie, 40. "I said, 'I need to become a sports agent, because I know all these kids.' "
But, he added, "that didn't automatically translate into me getting those kids." Archie and two partners formed their company, Prolific Sports Group, in 2004, and signed their first client about a year later.
They now represent four NFL athletes, including Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback David Garrard, and a former NBA draft pick who plays professionally in Russia.
Baker and current New Orleans Saints cornerback Jabari Greer, roommates at the University of Tennessee, were Archie's first clients. Some critics told Baker he should have looked for a big-name agent when he left college, instead of signing with a novice.
"The thing that kept me around is loyalty. He's been a father figure," said the 27-year-old Baker. "It just worked out perfect. I didn't have no reason to look around."
For Archie, the sports agency also was a chance to go into business with a childhood friend, Victor Carstarphen.
The two grew up in Camden's Parkside neighborhood and attended Camden High together. Carstarphen, a basketball star, graduated from high school in 1988 and started three years at point guard for John Chaney at Temple.
Carstarphen missed his chance to play pro because of a broken leg his senior year, so he went to work for the agent who had represented him. He's been in the business ever since.
Through the years, he kept track of his old friend as Archie built a law practice.
"We kind of came full circle," said Carstarphen, 39. "He relates to players really well. A lot of players we represent came from humble backgrounds like ourselves."
Carstarphen also had worked with the third partner in Prolific Sports, Al Irby, a longtime agent based in South Jersey. Irby once had a company with Archie's former law partner.
Sports representation is a notoriously competitive business, as immortalized in the movie Jerry Maguire, and Archie and Carstarphen do not dispute that characterization.
There are roughly 1,500 NFL players and, by Archie's estimate, 700 to 800 registered agents. Only about 100 agents have clients, he said.
"People think it's glamorous, but it's tough," Carstarphen said. "People think you get to go to games all the time, but it's a little more than that."
Agents have to be "managers, advisers, therapists, everything" to their clients. Archie's background in high-pressure criminal cases serves him well, Carstarphen said.
"He's cool as a cucumber," he said.
Archie's criminal defense work has entailed everything from "terrorism to traffic" citations, the lawyer says, but he has become known in recent years for his work in federal court.
He was appointed in 2007 to represent Duka, one of five Muslim men accused of plotting an armed attack on Fort Dix. The case drew national attention.
All were convicted in December of conspiracy to kill U.S. soldiers, but acquitted of attempted murder. Four of the men received life sentences.
The Winslow resident, who lives with his wife and three children, is still juggling six homicide cases and 10 cases in federal courts in Camden, Newark and Philadelphia. The sports agency takes up about 20 percent of his time.
"It's cool, but I can't quit my day job," he said.
Archie, who played college football at Lafayette, would like the sports business to grow, but it's expensive and time-consuming to recruit athletes and earn their trust.
He earned Baker's respect back in high school.
"One of the things he used to do was let players stay over at his house the night before games," Baker said. "After that, it just kind of took on a life of its own. . . . He started taking care of me as kind of a father figure."
At least the agency has the advantage of being in the Philadelphia region, which produces a lot of professional athletes.
"If we can continue to build on this area, we don't really have to expand much beyond that," Carstarphen said.