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The Legal 500 Hall of Fame Icon The Legal 500 Hall of Fame highlights individuals who have received constant praise by their clients for continued excellence. The Hall of Fame highlights, to clients, the law firm partners who are at the pinnacle of the profession. In the United Kingdon, the criteria for entry is to have been recognised by The Legal 500 as one of the elite leading lawyers for eight years. These partners are highlighted below and throughout the editorial.
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United Kingdom > Yorkshire and the Humber > TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport > Law firm and leading lawyer rankings

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Index of tables

  1. Sport
  2. Leading individuals: Hall of Fame
  3. Leading individuals
  4. Next Generation Partners
  5. Rising stars

Leading individuals: Hall of Fame

  1. 1

Next Generation Partners

  1. 1

Rising stars

  1. 1

McCormicks has impressive sport sector expertise and an enviable client roster spanning several sports including football, cricket and professional cycling; the group is particularly well-regarded for football-related work and is instructed by leading clubs and leagues in the UK and abroad. Senior partner Peter McCormick heads up the practice and has a reputation as one of the pre-eminent sports lawyers in the UK. Philip Edmondson and Heather Roberts are other names to note and handle a range of litigation and commercial property issues respectively, while senior associate Sara Morgan focuses on employment law matters.

Practice head(s):Peter McCormick

Other key lawyers:Philip Edmondson; Heather Roberts; Sara Morgan

Testimonials

'Peter McCormick has unparalleled experience both as a litigator and as a football "insider"'.

'Peter McCormick has extremely astute judgment and strategic skills'.

Key Clients

The Premier League

The Premier League Charitable Fund

Leeds United FC

The Bostik League

Professional Game Match Officials Ltd

Frank Boddy (Shoot Proprietor)

Visit Harrogate

Harrogate Town AFC

Walsall FC

McLaren Formula One

Otley RUFC

Leeds Rhinos RLFC

Yorkshire County Cricket Club

Robert Jones (Long Mountain Shoot and other shoots)

Liam Botham (son of Sir Ian Botham)

Norwich City FC

Work highlights

  • Advised The Premier League on the due diligence and approvals processes relating to the acquisitions of Crystal Palace, Everton, Aston Villa, Sunderland, Swansea and Southampton.
  • Represented The Premier League in two cases appealed to the Belgian Court of Appeal by Doyen Sports challenging the League's rules against third-party ownership  of footballers.
  • Acting for The Premier League Charitable Fund on a range of commercial matters including drafting and negotiating a sponsorship contract with BT, assisting with data protection compliance and drafting terms and condition for grants made by the charity.
  • Advised Leeds United FC on several matters including in contractual arrangements with the manager and his coaching team, as well as letting office accommodation in the team's stadium for the group headquarters of a multi-national business.
  • Acting for Leeds United FC and its head coach, Marcelo Bielsa, in a complaint made to the EFL and the FA by Derby County and other clubs regarding allegations of a Leeds United analyst observing a Derby County training session.

The sports group at Walker Morris LLP assists with the full range of issues from commercial and contractual matters, including sponsorship deals and transfer agreements, to real estate issues, disputes, disciplinary hearings, club acquisitions and disposals and other corporate and finance mandates. It has experience assisting clients in football, boxing, equestrian sports and cricket as well as investors. David Hinchliffe heads up the practice which includes commercial property partner Jeremy Moore and directors Shakeel Dad and Alistair McHenry, who specialise in employment law and disputes respectively. Senior associates Katie Reed and Liz Coley also have significant experience in the sector.

Practice head(s):David Hinchliffe

Other key lawyers:Jeremy Moore; Shakeel Dad; Alistair McHenry; Katie Reed; Liz Coley

Testimonials

'The team at Walker Morris has exceptional strength in depth - from the commercial acumen of David Hinchcliffe to the first rate litigation skills of Alistair McHenry and Liz Coley'.

'Walker Morris is excellent and definitely in the top bracket. David Hinchcliffe and Liz Coley deserve special praise; they know the game inside out and have an excellent reputation on takeovers as well as all sporting issues'.

'The team has a very strong presence in football, acting for a number of clubs and owners of clubs both in an advisory capacity and in litigation'.

'David Hinchcliffe is one of the best. Liz Coley is also outstanding'.

Key Clients

AFC Bournemouth

Burnley FC

Crystal Palace FC

Everton FC

Fulham FC

Bolton Wanderers FC

Norwich City FC

Nottingham Forest FC

Reading FC

Sheffield Wednesday FC

Rotherham United FC

Scunthorpe United FC

Leyton Orient FC

Dagenham & Redbridge FC

Langford Holdings

General American Capital Partners LLC

Amir Khan

New Era Global Sports

Work highlights

  • Acted for Langford Holdings on its €10m acquisition of the majority shareholding in Belgian football club Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.
  • Advised General American Capital Partners on the restructuring and settlement of Soccerex's existing debt and its investment in Soccerex, which involved creating a new management and operations structure.
  • Assisted Burnley Football Club with its £20m front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with Laba360.
  • Advised Everton Football Club on the multimillion pound appointment of its new manager, Marco Silva, together with an agreement for services provided by his agent.
  • Acted for Victoria Road Football and Victoria Road LLC on the purchase of a controlling interest in Dagenham and Redbridge FC.

Clarion's cross-departmental sports practice has the ability to leverage a range of experts to assist its client roster, which includes clubs, leagues, sport sector retailers and high-profile sports men and women. Practice head Richard Moran has experience in sales, purchases and the funding of football and rugby clubs, stadium acquisitions and sponsorship agreements. Other names to note include insolvency and restructuring partner Ryan Millmore, litigators Simon Young and Dominic Higham, IP specialist Esther Kirwan, and commercial lawyer Matthew Hattersley.

Practice head(s):Richard Moran

Other key lawyers:Ryan Millmore; Simon Young; Dominic Higham; Esther Kirwan; Matthew Hattersley

Key Clients

Silverstone Circuits Ltd

Cycle England / Welcome to Yorkshire

The Rugby Football League

ASICS

Yorkshire County Cricket Club

Work highlights

  • Assisted Cycle England and Welcome to Yorkshire with brand clearance and protection issues relating to its new cycle tour aimed at clients from mainland Europe.
  • Advised Asics on several matters including the negotiation of terms and agreements with ChannelAdvisor, which acts as a data broker between Asics, its warehouses and various on-line routes.
  • Acted for Yorkshire County Cricket Club on its supply chain agreements, which enable the client to provide its Yorkshire Pride Lottery and Match Day Raffle.
  • Manages Payntr Shoes' global trade mark and design portfolio.

Blacks Solicitors LLP has experience assisting sporting individuals, agents, clubs and businesses with a range of matters including commercial, contractual, corporate and employment issues. Managing partner Chris Allen heads the practice.

Practice head(s):Chris Allen

Keebles' sports practice fields a multi-disciplinary team with experience advising sports personalities, clubs, organisations and stadium owners on a range of contractual, commercial and contentious matters. Key names to note include practice head Giles Searby, who specialises in commercial disputes and contentious IP work, and associate Andrew Broadbent, who focuses on dispute resolution.

Practice head(s):Giles Searby

Other key lawyers:Andrew Broadbent

Testimonials

'Keebles boasts the capacity to leverage knowledge that it has built up over a number of years in a diverse and sometimes intricate sector'.

'Michael Peacock and associate Andrew Broadbent both offer a professional and knowledgeable approach'.

Key Clients

Chesterfield FC

Sheffield Sports Stadium Limited

Doncaster Knights RUFC

Gaming International Ltd

Brighton & Hove Triathlon Limited

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