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Sports Law

Crown Office Chambers offers a team of barristers with extensive experience in sports law, combining their genuine passion for sport with specialist legal expertise. Members are frequently instructed in some of the most high-profile disputes or sensitive cases that require complete confidentiality. Our barristers are trusted advisors and advocates for clients ranging from individual athletes and agents to professional clubs and governing bodies. We have extensive experience representing clients before international forums, domestic tribunals, and disciplinary panels, including regular cases at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). We also have genuine insight into the many arbitrators available to sit on national and international tribunals and can assist our clients with their nomination of an arbitrator. This breadth of knowledge and experience enables us to provide strategic, industry-specific advice and robust advocacy across all areas of sports law. 

We have several barristers consistently ranked in the legal directories for Sports Law.  

What sets us apart? 

Our sports team is distinguished by its practical understanding of the sports industry, with some having competed at high levels themselves, including professionally, and understand the unique pressures and challenges faced by athletes, coaches, and sports organisations. This first-hand insight, coupled with legal prowess, enables Crown Office Chambers to offer a service that is both legally astute and attuned to the realities of professional sport. 

Our services 

Crown Office Chambers provides a comprehensive suite of legal services tailored to address the diverse and rapidly evolving needs of the sports industry. Our expertise spans all areas, covering the full spectrum of disputes, regulatory issues and advisory work arising in the context of sport. 

We have experience across a broad array of sports including football, cricket, golf, rugby, tennis, boxing, equestrian, athletics, motorsport, rowing and Esports. Our barristers have represented and are trusted by sports governing bodies, clubs, agents, and individual athletes/competitors. 

This breadth of expertise, combined with our practical understanding of the sports industry, enables us to offer strategic, industry-specific solutions. Our reputation for delivering high-quality legal services is built on a foundation of rigorous analysis, innovative thinking, and a commitment to achieving successful outcomes for our clients. 

Client-centric and flexible approach 

Understanding the fast-paced and high-stakes nature of the modern sports industry, our barristers are committed to providing an agile, client-focused service. We prioritise accessibility and responsiveness, making ourselves widely available outside traditional working hours to meet the demands of our clients. Whether providing strategic advice in a time-sensitive commercial dispute or guiding athletes through urgent disciplinary proceedings, our team is dedicated to handling every matter with the utmost sensitivity, professionalism, and discretion.  

We understand that no two clients or situations are the same, which is why we tailor our approach to suit each client’s specific objectives and the unique nuances of their sport. Our deep-rooted industry knowledge, combined with our flexibility and client-centred ethos, ensures that we act not just as legal advisors but also as trusted colleagues in the world of Sports Law. 

Key areas of expertise 

Commercial

  • We regularly represent parties in high-value contractual disputes involving matters such as sponsorship agreements, broadcasting rights, image rights, merchandising and player contracts. 
  • We are experienced in handling complex negotiations, breach of contract claims, enforcement of contractual obligations, and more generally in ensuring our clients’ commercial interests are robustly protected. 

Disciplinary and Anti-Doping

  • Our expertise covers both defending and prosecuting in disciplinary proceedings before national and international sporting bodies, including cases involving anti-corruption, safeguarding, and anti-doping violations. 
  • Some of our barristers sit on panels including the disciplinary panels of sports governing bodies. 

Insurance

  • We regularly act in insurance matters concerning policy coverage issues, disputes arising from career-ending injuries, product liability disputes and indemnity claims. 
  • We have represented insurers and claimants in cases involving innovative protective equipment and catastrophic sports injuries.

Professional negligence

  • Professional negligence claims often intersect with sports law, particularly in respect of financial planners or tax professionals for incorrect structuring of image rights and other earnings, legal advisors, agents or other professionals whose conduct has adversely impacted athletes, clubs or sports organisations. 
  • We are frequently instructed to represent both claimants or defendants in complex professional negligence disputes. 

Property and Construction

  • Given our strong foundation in construction matters and property law, the team is well-placed to advise on disputes arising from the development or use of sporting facilities, such as stadium construction, lease agreements, and contractual obligations related to event hosting. 

Personal injury

  • We are well-versed in both defending and pursuing claims for sports-related injuries, whether resulting from defective equipment, unsafe facilities, abusive and/or negligent coaching or training practices. 

Health & Safety

  • We have expertise in health and safety matters related to sport, including regulatory compliance and litigation arising from serious incidents during sporting events. This includes representing clubs and governing bodies in cases involving safety breaches or accidents during training and competitions. 

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

  • Many sports disputes are resolved through mediation, arbitration and other forms of ADR rather than litigation. 
  • Our team has extensive experience in representing clients across a broad range of ADR processes, providing strategic advice and skilled advocacy before all the main institutional bodies, including the CAS, Sport Resolutions, and national arbitration panels. 

 For more information on how we can support you in any sports-related legal issue, please contact our clerking team.

Sports Law Contact

Joe Shepherd

Joe Shepherd


T +44 (0)20 7797 6172
shepherd@crownofficechambers.com

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