International Forum on Sports Law

Michele Bernasconi advises on a broad range of sports, media, energy, telecom and IT matters, acting for both domestic and international clients. He has particular expertise in international litigation and arbitration as well as in commercial and transactional work relating to such industries.   His recent experience includes advice on outsourcing and joint venture projects, broadcasting and sponsorship agreements, ambush marketing, regulatory and antitrust work in both the telecom and sport sector, software licensing, electricity transmission and distribution, doping matters as well as international transfers of football players.   Michele Bernasconi lectures on international sports law at the University of Lucerne. He regularly speaks and publishes articles on topics within his practice areas. He is Co-director of the UEFA Football Law Programme.   Michele Bernasconi is recognized as a leading lawyer in Chambers and Legal 500 further lists him in the Hall of Fame for his excellent work. Legal 500 and Who’s Who Legal have listed him among the leading lawyers in Switzerland in the sports as well as in the technology, media and telecommunications sector for years. In 2018 and 2019 Who’s Who Legal recognized Michele Bernasconi with the Global Award “Sports Lawyer of the Year” as well as “Thought Leader” for the Sports Law. In 2016 Who’s Who Legal ranks him among the nine “Most Highly Regarded Individuals” for Sports & Entertainment worldwide. In its 2013 edition, the International Who’s Who of regulatory communication lawyers described Michele Bernasconi as one of the “10 Most Highly Regarded Individuals Worldwide”.

As the Principal of Soublière Sports Law, Janie has been working in sports law for over 20 years and acts as Legal Consultant to various international clients in matters concerning anti-doping, safeguarding, governance, eligibility, anti-corruption, policy review, etc., practices arbitration and is regularly sought out to conduct investigations. A Chartered Arbitrator, she sits on sport dispute resolution panels including the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Ordinary and Appeals), Ultimate Fighting Championships,  Zwift ESports and the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada.  Janie is also an Anti-Corruption Hearing Officer for the International Tennis Integrity Agency and is a trained investigator actively involved in various sport-related misconduct allegations.   Janie has taught Sport Law at Carleton University and regularly guest lectures internationally in University Sport Law courses, has acted as athlete-agent to Canadian athletes, is an Executive Board member of the Canadian Ski Hall of Fame (Legal and Governance) and is a North American representative of Women in Sport Law (WISLaw). WISLaw peers voted Janie  Best Arbitrator of the Year 2021 and Best Lawyer of the Year in 2022. She also competed in NCAA Division 1 Tennis in College.

Steven Bainbridge has deep experience in the sports sector, advising clients on matters including governance issues, athlete endorsement agreements, player contracts, regulatory issues, broadcasting, anti-ambush marketing strategies, merchandising and licensing regulations and agreements, disciplinary issues, and sports-specific venue management agreements. He advises clients, including foreign law firms, corporate entities, government bodies, individuals, and institutions related to sports including motorsports, horseracing, triathlons, mixed martial arts (MMA), rugby and football, cycling, golf, tennis, cricket, and others.   Steve has law firm experience in both North America and Japan, in addition to his work in Dubai. In Tokyo he worked on matters related to broadcasting rights and sponsorship contracts in connection with FIFA World Cups, X-Games, PGA tour sponsorships, videogame licensing, and stadium naming rights deals.

Ian’s practice spans a wide range of transactional and regulatory areas of sports law. He is recognised by the legal directories as a leading “commercial dealmaker” “who has become a clear leader in the UK” and “an excellent lawyer, whose knowledge of the sports industry is unparalleled”. His expertise includes the financial regulation of sport (including salary caps and financial fair play), mergers and acquisitions, financing, governance, integrity, rules and regulations, sponsorship agreements, player transfers, player contracts and image rights.   He has a particular expertise in the use of data in the sports industry, has spoken widely on the subject, advises a number of companies in the area and sits on the board of STATSports as a non-executive director.   Ian’s recent work highlights include advising Chelsea FC on its acquisition for £4.25 billion by the Boehly/Clearlake consortium, advising Spotify on its first-of-its-kind partnership with FC Barcelona and advising Elliott Advisors on the sale of AC Milan to Redbird Capital Partners for €1.2 billion.

In Richards’s 40-year career in commercial litigation, he has expanded his perspective by cultivating relationships in the international commercial arbitration community.   Richard has memberships in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the Beijing Arbitration Commission, the London Court of International Arbitration and the Dubai International Arbitration Centre. Richard also has a seat in the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Council of Distinguished Advisors at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. International organizations such as the Sports Law Institute at Marquette University, Basketball Arbitral Tribunal in Geneva, Switzerland, and the FIA International Court of Appeal (the governing body of Formula One Racing) have sought his expertise. Thankfully, Richard likes to travel!   Richard’s wealth of international experience benefits his clients during litigation of international commercial disputes. Additionally, Richard practice includes:

• labour and employment law
• bankruptcy and insolvency
• banking and secured financing
• sports law
• alternative dispute resolution

As an Of Counsel and a member of our sports team in Düsseldorf, I am an expert sports lawyer, with decades of experience behind me. I’m also a certified specialist lawyer in employment law.   You’ll find me listed in the leading legal guides. The JUVE Handbook of German Commercial Law Firms rates me as one of the most recommended lawyers in sports law, and in 2009 I was named as one of the World’s Top 20 Most Influential Lawyers in sport by SportBusiness International magazine.   As a former member of the German national basketball team, I began my career advising athletes, sports associations and unions in amateur and professional sport at national and international level. I was a member of the Legal Committee and the Anti-Doping-Commission of the German Basketball Federation as well as a member of the Arbitration Body of the German Ice Hockey League.   Since 1999, I have been an arbitrator of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne and was a member of the CAS Ad Hoc Divisions during the London 2012 and PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games. For many years, I was the Chairman of the Sports Law Commission of the Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA). Additionally, I am a member of the International Sport Lawyers Association and of the advisory board of the German Association for Sports Law (DVSR) as well as member of the executive committee of the ‘Sportrecht’ working group of the Deutschen Anwaltverein (DAV). I am also a member of the FISA Ethic Group, which I joined in 2015.   I am the publisher of the ‘Beck’sches Formularbuch Sportrecht’ (Sports law form book), author of the practice handbook ‘Sportrecht’ (Sports law) and co-editor of the leading commentary on the Law of Clubs and Associations (‘Reichert – Vereins- und Verbandsrecht’). I have also published many articles on the legal issues surrounding sport and am a lecturer in sports law, sports management and labour law at the University of Bochum and Hochschule Fresenius Köln.