Speakers: Jonathan Taylor QC (Partner, Bird & Bird), Hussein Fahmy (Director, British Association for Sport and Law) and Christopher Saad (Barrister, 2 Bedford Row and Chairperson for Safeguarding, Lawn Tennis Association, England Boxing and British Rowing)
Chair: Sam Thomas (Barrister, 2 Bedford Row)
Date: Tuesday 2 March 2021
Seminar Start Time: 18:00
This seminar, will take place remotely on an appropriate platform. Those signing up will be provided with a link in advance of the seminar. Please note that the seminar is open to members only and you are asked to confirm that you are a member before joining the event.
The ARDL membership page is https://www.ardl.org.uk/sign-up/
Overview:
Join us for this remote seminar where we’ll be exploring:
An introduction to regulatory and ethical issues in sports law
Sports Law encompasses a range of legal and regulatory considerations, from the prevention of state-sponsored doping to the negotiation of international commercial contracts. ARDL are delighted to host a talk by three speakers whose practices provide an insight to the various ethical and practical challenges facing Sports Lawyers. Each speaker provides a different perspective on working as a lawyer within the sporting world, and will be available to answer questions for those interested in developing a practice in this area.
Speakers:
Jonathan Taylor QC (Partner, Bird & Bird). Jonathan practises exclusively in the sports sector, focusing on governance issues, drafting and enforcing regulations (eligibility rules, anti-doping rules, anti-corruption rules, etc.), conducting investigations, and defending challenges to governing body rules and decisions (e.g. Semenya v IAAF, Leeper v IAAF, USACA v ICC). He appears regularly before the Court of Arbitration for Sport and other sports arbitral/disciplinary tribunals. He is co-editor of Sport: Law & Practice (Bloomsbury, 4th Edn 2021) and Challenging Sports Governing Bodies (Bloomsbury 2016). He chaired WADA’s Compliance Review Committee 2016-2020 and the IBU’s External Review Commission 2018-2021.
Hussein Fahmy (Director, British Association for Sport and Law). Hussein Fahmy has worked as a Commercial Director at Team Sky and Director of Football Operations at Arsenal Football Club.
Hussein qualified at Herbert Smith, into the Mergers & Acquisitions team, before moving to a role within Sky Sports. At Sky, Hussein was responsible for negotiating broadcast rights agreements with various rights holders including the NBA, ECB, ATP and the PGA.
In 2014, Hussein became the Commercial and Business Affairs Director at Team Sky, before joining Arsenal FC, where he worked as Director of Football Operations and was a member of the Executive Team. Hussein’s experience encompasses the commercial realities of sports law and he remains a director for the British Association for Sport and Law
Christopher Saad (Barrister, 2 Bedford Row and Chairperson for Safeguarding, Lawn Tennis Association, England Boxing and British Rowing). Christopher’s practice encompasses criminal and professional regulatory law. He is ranked as a leading junior in both fields in this year’s Legal 500. In the sports sector he holds appointments at the Lawn Tennis Association, England Boxing and British Rowing. He has also advised and represented clients in FA and EFL proceedings.
Chair:
Sam Thomas (Barrister, 2 Bedford Row). Sam was recently elected to the Committee for the Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers and has taken the responsibility of working as the Head of the ARDL Sports Law Practice Group.
Since assisting Senior Counsel for Rotherham FC, in 2015, Sam’s interest and experience in Sports Law has grown steadily.
Sam’s primary practice centres around advocacy and advice in cyber compliance and regulatory law, for which he was recognised by the Legal 500, 2021.