Fit for the Title Sporting Manchester Legal Business April 2004
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Quentin Smith Sale Sharks chairman and Addleshaw Goddard partner
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Gareth Williams MCC player member and Davies Arnold Cooper sports litigator
Andrew Price Addleshaw Goddard partner, originally transferred from Newcastle United in-house position Jason Smith supports Everton, advises Manchester United at his firm James Chapman & Co
Fit for the title Manchester’s sports lawyers are among the country’s finest, with a concentration of specialist expertise unrivalled by any other UK region. The London elite must watch out – track records are there to be broken SAM KENWORTHY
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‘THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO claim to act in sports-related law and very few who do,’ says Hill Dickinson partner Chris Farnell. ‘It’s a matter of fact as much as anything else.’ Farnell’s view is shared by the tight-knit community of practitioners whose activities have led them to be tagged as ‘sports lawyers’. There is a small elite in London, a couple of others around the country – and a glut of experts in Manchester. They have a hardearned patch to protect, and they do so with gusto. So where does advising legal issues in a sporting context become sports law?
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Peter Millichip of Wiggin & Co is now a paternal figure in this field: what’s more he comes from good sports stock. His great uncle was club solicitor for West Bromwich Albion, a role also filled by Millichip himself and his father Bert, who is best known for his role as chairman of the FA. Millichip junior pulled together the first City sports law practice at Edge Ellison, which now forms the cornerstone of the ubiquitous sports team at Hammonds. Unsurprisingly for a man who has been involved since before the phrase sports law was coined, let alone semantically debated, Millichip bristles at the suggestion that sports law does not exist or, perhaps worse, is an area that can be practised by any commercial lawyer.
Photography TIM SMITH
‘There are internal regulations to sport. It is governed by a regulatory framework, and if you are operating within that, then you are practising sports law,’ Millichip states resolutely. He identifies four key types of sports lawyer – one bogus and three legit. First are the dabblers, who advise on one deal and then disappear. ‘Then come the strategists, who advise the governing bodies on the regulation of sport,’ Millichip says. ‘Third are the commercial technicians, who advise on broadcasting contracts, IP and image
‘With the professional sportspeople it’s more about commercial contracts and sponsorship deals; with amateurs it’s more drugs or disciplinary disputes.’ Mark Hovell, George Davies Solicitors
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MANCHESTER STAR: MARK HOVELL
Firm: George Davies Solicitors Key partner: Mark Hovell Size of firm: 20 fee-earners Number of Manchester partners: 13 George Davies Solicitors’ longstanding association with the Professional Footballers’ Association has marked it out in some quarters as a ‘typical’ union firm (‘bloody minded’ says one rival). But what stands out is the innovative way in which the firm has used contacts earned
> rights exploitation; and finally the regulatory lawyers, the litigators who take issues before the governing bodies.’
Manchester The dabblers, needless to say, are treated with haughty disdain. Knowledge of the market is of paramount importance to success. ‘Non-experts will be, and have been, found out and fired by clients,’ Millichip says. When Chris Farnell says that being a sports lawyer is a matter of fact, he is talking about market exposure, client identity, frequency of activity, and market recognition. As such, Farnell concludes: ‘You can tell over a period of time who’s doing it.’ Farnell is part of a thriving sports scene in the North West, where firms are cannily cornering different elements of the market. His reputation as a rising star comes from an impressive client roster of footballers and managers in the top leagues. Round the corner, George Davies Solicitors has been acting for the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) for 50 years, and has used the firm’s insolvency practice to carve out a niche in helping financially stricken clubs avoid liquidation. From Addleshaw Goddard’s offices, you can see
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through player representation with insolvency expertise to take a leading role in football’s current financial plight. Mark Hovell has advised administrators for Oldham Athletic, Huddersfield Town and Chesterfield, and is currently working closely with his beloved, yet beleaguered, Leeds United FC. The firm manages a portfolio of loans advanced to the clubs by the PFA, ensuring that repayment dates are met and that the loans are properly secured, as well as offering general insolvency and financial advice to the clubs. ‘What we’ve done with the PFA has been quite unusual. Traditionally, when a club is in trouble, they don’t go talking to their competitors about it, because they would try to poach their best players or whatever. They don’t go to the FA or Football League because they try to impose criteria to make sure the clubs fulfil all their remaining fixtures. But they do always talk to the PFA and the players. We have become, or the PFA has become, a hub to the wheel, so to speak,’ Hovell says.
the City of Manchester stadium, which hosted the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Addleshaws advised on, sponsored, and generally boosted its profile
through the event to great acclaim. At Davies Arnold Cooper, Gareth Williams is cultivating a personal injury practice dealing exclusively with claims of a sporting nature. Maurice Watkins, backed by his highly regarded young team at James Chapman & Co, is consigliere to the biggest football club in the world, Manchester United FC, as well as a frequent adviser to the Premier League, UEFA and FIFA. And this is without the dabblers. The location of this hotbed is attributed to a variety of factors, first and foremost, heritage. The founding members of the Football League were all from Lancashire and the Midlands; Rugby League is at its most popular nationally in the area, as is ice hockey. The 2002 Commonwealth Games was a huge boost to the Manchester’s sporting profile. The increasing commercialisation of football occurred against a backdrop of domestic dominance by the likes of Liverpool FC and Manchester United. Geographically, the region is conveniently placed for accessing clients across the North East, Yorkshire and the Midlands. The firms are keen to point out that they can offer competitive rates in comparison to London rivals. While clients are glamorous, the fees are often not. The myriad of socalled smaller sports do not have money to burn – particularly at amateur level.
MANCHESTER STAR: CHRIS FARNELL
Firm: Hill Dickinson Key partner: Chris Farnell Size of firm: 362 fee-earners Number of North West partners: 98 Farnell’s extensive work with sporting individuals can be traced to back to a nascent football
career at Blackburn Rovers, which was cut short by injury. A humble beginning in offering advice to his former team-mates has blossomed into a career working alongside some of the world’s most successful football agents, advising top-level footballers on transfers and endorsement agreements. Formerly at Eversheds, Farnell moved to Hill Dickinson in 2003, where he works out of its Manchester and London offices. His work in football has included some of the more high-profile, colourful and controversial transfers in recent times, marking him out as a cool-headed deal maker, and also speaks volumes for the trust his clients place in him. ‘You must have a fantastic relationship with your clients – the industry is far more client-led than other areas,’ he explains. ‘I work around the clock for my clients and they know and respect that.’
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George Davies Solicitors is a firm with a long history in acting for players’ unions, particularly in football, ice hockey and basketball. Partner Mark Hovell notes the difference between advising professional and amateur sportspeople. ‘With the professionals it’s more about commercial contracts and sponsorship deals; with amateurs it’s more drugs or disciplinary disputes,’ he sums up. Quentin Smith, partner at Addleshaw Goddard, is more expansive on the skills required of his sports law group. ‘Company acquisitions, property, planning, commercial disputes, trusts, tax, probate, criminal, motoring offences – you must have experience, talent, and be enormously flexible,’ he notes.
Conflicts Flexibility is also required to avoid conflicts of interest. Maurice Watkins has attracted criticism for combining his legal work for Manchester United with his position on the club’s board of directors, as well as advising UEFA and FIFA, themselves at loggerheads, on transfer regulations. Cage-rattling tactics employed by Irish racing magnates JP McManus and John Magnier during their dispute with Sir Alex Ferguson included asking the now-famous ‘99 questions’ of the United board, some of which sought to address possible conflicts arising from Watkins’ close ties with firm and club, as well as contravention of transfer regulations by the club in recent deals. ‘Maurice is far too intelligent to allow himself to become conflicted,’ says Peter Millichip, who is not alone in defending Watkins’ professionalism and ability to sidestep such issues. Millichip does add one caveat: ‘Woe betide him if he does.’ Chris Farnell notes: ‘Advising an individual and a club is acceptable if they are not advised together on the same transaction, and no conflict of interest arises. Good
MANCHESTER STAR: JASON SMITH
Firm: James Chapman & Co Key partners: Maurice Watkins, Mike Blood, Jason Smith Size of firm: 91 fee-earners Number of Manchester partners: 35 ‘Manchester United’ are the words that inevitably follow any mention of James Chapman & Co, closely followed by ‘Maurice Watkins’ – the firm’s most well-known partner (see him at Old Trafford in the Legal Business profile of June 2002). But the emergence of younger partners in the industry has coincided with a diversification into other sports, including swimming, boxing and motor sports. Jason Smith’s wide experience in sports sponsorship and event organisation
practice dictates that you inform both sides first. But if you are involved in drafting a piece of legislation for a governing body, for example UK Sport, and then you advise a player or club who is accused of breaching that legislation, you will be aware of the loopholes.’ Mark Gay, of Denton Wilde Sapte, last month successfully defended Greg Rusedski against
includes a year working in-house at a sports marketing company in Switzerland, where he assisted FIFA in drafting the documentation sent out to the bidders to host the 2006 World Cup. He recently concluded sponsorship deals for major sporting events (including the Rugby World Cup 2003) on behalf of two multinational companies, and specialises in brand development and event organisation. ‘It’s about having very specific market knowledge – sponsorship deals can be far more complex than before, especially as the market currently often favours the sponsor rather than the rights holder,’ Smith explains. ‘Sponsors are increasingly looking to protect themselves against non-delivery or dilution of rights, and not gaining the media exposure they believe they are buying. ‘The days of sponsors having the attitude: “I like that sport, I’m going to throw some money at it” are long gone. ‘However, no matter who the sporting client is, the principles behind the advice are often the same, particularly when advising on their marketing programmes: its about how you build, enhance and protect the brand. It’s the same whether you are dealing with an individual, a club or a governing body. It’s how you go about it that may be different.’
doping charges, despite having worked for the doping panels before. Rusedski can afford the best advice available from the most experienced lawyer: that’s what he paid for, and that’s what he got. Hovell’s work at George Davies Solicitors involves advising administrators of financially stricken football clubs, as well as the PFA. The firm avoids conflicts, Hovell says, because ‘both sides have the same goal’. He explains: ‘At the end of the day, everyone’s trying to save the club, and by extension save all the PFA members’ jobs.’ But Hovell is aware of the limitations. ‘We’ve made good contacts and good friends at clubs, but we cannot start acting for them when we act for their players. You must decide which side of the fence you are going to sit on, otherwise conflicts will arise. Whilst you can brush things under the carpet, or do a deal here and there, I’m not sure
‘There are internal regulations to sport. It is governed by a regulatory framework, and if you are operating within that, then you are practising sports law.’ Peter Millichip, Wiggin & Co 70 Legal Business April 2004
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you could offer the best advice to both clients. They have different interests.’ Quentin Smith balances roles as chairman of Rugby Union outfit Sale Sharks with that of the club’s lawyer by only advising the club and not players or staff. Graham Shear’s vast experience with individual athletes at London firm Teacher Stern Selby gives him a healthy perspective on such matters across the country. ‘With the size and nature of the industry, and the degree and spread of specialisation, conflict issues arise constantly,’ he says. ‘The same faces pop up in different disputes because there are relatively few recognised lawyers with the experience and knowledge essential to bringing a case before a tribunal. That said, I think the sports governing bodies would prefer that lawyers not shift sides from one dispute to the next.’
The winners Manchester is only playing catch-up to the largest London practices in the arena of major corporate, commercial, and regulatory work. Firms, particularly Addleshaw Goddard (with an expanded presence in London through the Addleshaw Booth & CoTheodore Goddard merger) and the highestprofile North West sports law firm, James Chapman & Co, are advising in this area and playing catch-up well. But the London offices of Denton Wilde Sapte and Hammonds are still getting the bulk of the diet of the largest such sports-related deals (such as Sky’s broadcasting deal with the FA Premier League, when DWS advised the League). What is distinctive about most of the lawyers at these
MANCHESTER STAR: GARETH WILLIAMS
Gareth Williams is seeking to expand on a business idea he first had at Keoghs. His hope is that DAC’s more expansive insurance client list, coupled with the firm’s history in sports injury litigation, will prove fertile ground for a specialist sports injury practice, the first of its kind. He says: ‘We don’t really have competitors.’
There are two aspects to the discipline. Defending damages claims for injuries sustained while participating in sport incorporates hotly contested issues of volenti, where ‘half the expert witnesses will say a challenge was fair, and the other half will say it was the worst they’ve ever seen’. The second is the matter of quantum, and the quantification of ‘a lost chance’, particularly if the injury occurs in the early stages of an athlete’s career. Williams says both require equal skill and attention, and clients are being short-changed by lawyers who are flippant in their attitudes to evaluating lost earnings, pointing to the case of professional golfer Andrew Raitt, who claimed £6.5m damages after his finger was bitten by a dog, but ended up with an award of less than £5,000 after refusing to settle out of court. ‘Claims are ordinarily established on very basic criteria. Our skill is identifying the potential of an athlete and genuinely establishing what the earnings would have been.’ A shame for those athletes that, more often than not, they will be facing Williams rather than instructing him.
three large London firms, however, is the unwillingness to be pigeon-holed. As DWS’s Adrian Barr-Smith says: ‘I am a commercial lawyer. The fact that some of my clients are sports governing bodies is incidental.’ So speaks a man at the top of the profession, and the sector.
But for the Manchester firms, with businesses to build amid tight competition and a growing focus on their region and on sports law in general, there’s nothing incidental about their next sports client win. In the North West, coming first is a religion, and, as Mark Hovell says: ‘We know who the players are!’ LB sam.kenworthy@legalease.co.uk
Firm: Davies Arnold Cooper Key partner: Gareth Williams Size of firm: 350 fee-earners Number of Manchester partners: 2
MANCHESTER STARS: PRICEY AND SMITHY Firm: Addleshaw Goddard Key partners: Andrew Price, Quentin Smith Size of firm nationally: 723 fee-earners Number of Manchester partners: 44 ‘We are taking a 3D approach to the sector. We offer everything to our clients,’ comments Quentin Smith on Addleshaw Goddard’s growing practice, whose profile was lifted by the influx of Theodore Goddard’s experience, the organisation of the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002, and the recruitment from DLA of former in-house counsel at Newcastle United, Andrew Price. Smith, rattled by what he describes as ‘cute and
Quentin Smith (left) and Andrew Price
inaccurate’ descriptions of sports law in the national press, bullishly states: ‘There is more to it than IP rights and dispute resolution, believe me.’ The depth, breadth and variety of clients, as well as the promise of a multi-discipline service, means the firm cannot be criticised for lack of ambition in the market, and Price’s innovative work in licensing football fixture and result data to bookmakers and the media is canny. Commercial awareness is the key, and lessons learned from the organisation of the Games, while done on a fee-burning, partially value-inkind basis, were of enormous benefit in terms of experience and exposure.
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