Sports law

In many ways, there is no such thing as ‘sports law’. Sports law is all about applying existing areas of law – eg corporate, commercial, dispute, regulatory – to the sports environment and sector. Sports sector work is therefore very wide as it quite literally covers all of the recognised legal disciplines.

Graduate careers in sports law

There is, therefore, no such thing as a typical transaction or piece of work. For example, a commercial sports lawyer will often be involved in advising on complicated commercial contracts, such as sponsorship agreements. On the other hand, sports litigation specialists will work on complex litigation involving, for example, a dispute that might arise out of a sponsorship arrangement between a sponsor and a football club. Generally speaking, however, even the more complex commercial or corporate sports law matters are dealt with by small specialist teams involving two to four lawyers.

Often the timescales can be relatively tight, involving a quick turnaround. Sports sector clients are wide and varied. They range from the professional sports clubs (eg football, rugby and cricket) to the regulatory bodies, such as the Football Association; the Rugby Football Union; and the England and Wales Cricket Board. There are also a number of organisations that represent players’ interests, eg the Professional Footballers’ Association and the Rugby Players’ Association. These organisations will, from time to time, require specialist sports law support on issues.

The work is interesting, dynamic and, often, high profile. As in other areas of work, the key to success is for the lawyer to understand the sector and, armed with solid legal skills, be able to provide pragmatic, commercial solutions. It is almost a prerequisite for anyone wishing to specialise in this area of the law to have at least an interest in, if not a love of, sport. However, an interest or love will only take the practitioner so far; you will need to understand your own legal discipline, the business of sport, what particular regulations are in place and how those regulations are enforced and governed by the various regulators.

Is sports law recession-proof?

While it would be misleading to suggest that sports law work is entirely recession proof, our experience is that the market has held up very well during the recent credit crunch period. Workflows have continued to be strong across most legal disciplines.

What skills does a sports lawyer need to do the job?

• A genuine interest in sport and the business behind it.
• Good people skills.
• The ability to provide pragmatic, commercial solutions.

What is it like doing a trainee solicitor's job in sports law?

Trainee solicitors working for a practice that has a specialist sports law group can expect exposure to a wide variety of legal disciplines, delivered on a specialist basis to that sports sector client base. Usually this will involve a lot of quality client contact and the ability, at an early stage of a trainee’s career, to be involved in interesting, dynamic and high-profile pieces of work.

Types of law practised

• Corporate.
• Commercial.
• Dispute.
• Regulatory.
• Employment.
• Real estate.

About the author

KEVIN JONES is head of CLARKE WILLMOTT LLP’s sport sector. He graduated with a degree in law from Cardiff University.