James Earl > Fladgate LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile
Fladgate LLP Offices
16 GREAT QUEEN STREET
LONDON
WC2B 5DG
England
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James Earl
Work Department
Corporate, Sports Business Group
Position
I lead the Fladgate’s Commercial, Sports & IP team. I have extensive experience in working with the full spectrum of stakeholders across an array of issues in the broad sports field, including national and international governing bodies, funders/investors, teams and clubs alongside rights holders, brands and agencies.
I originally trained in South Australia and qualified as a tax lawyer, before moving into work in the sports sector which was cemented by moving to a UK sports law practice in 2005. This was my attempt to mix something I loved with a day job and, some two decades later, it has been a very exciting ride and is a decision I never regret.
Working in sport as a lawyer means that your horizon is unlimited in terms of opportunity and work types and it must be one of the fastest changing industries I know of. Probably the greatest part is that my clients are extremely passionate about what they do and why they do it and this genuinely makes concluding deals and solving problems for them all the more satisfying. Sports law is also very multifaceted, meaning that there many legal disciplines involved. To that end, I’ve only ever been able to achieve success by having a lot of talented people around me and that is a key reason why Fladgate has been a great home for me from day one.
Career
Trained at Kelly & Co, Adelaide, South Australia; qualified as a solicitor and barrister in the Supreme Court of South Australia in 2003; qualified as a solicitor in the High Court of Australia in 2005; and qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales in 2008. Joined Fladgate as a partner in 2016, as a lateral hire from Pinsent Masons.
Memberships
British Association for Sport and Law
Education
Geelong Church of England Grammar School (Victorian Certificate of Education) (1996); University of Adelaide, Bachelor of Arts (International Relations) (2001), Bachelor of Law (Honours) (2003); Law Society of South Australia, Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice (2003)
Lawyer Rankings
London > Corporate and commercial > Commercial contracts
Fladgate LLP handles a range of domestic work, acting for household UK names in the hospitality, retail and sport sectors – amongst others. The firm demonstrates proficiency in conducting complex outsourcing agreements, and leverages competition law and regulatory expertise to provide a full, end to end service to client’s business needs. Tim Wright, Jan Hoppe and Alex Haffner front the team, with expertise in sport, IT and supply chain issues, and technology and telecoms respectively. All three individuals are widely active on matters, and regularly work alongside James Earl, a sport-focused practitioner who has been key to a number of cross border mandates.
London > TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
James Earl leads Fladgate LLP‘s commercial, sports and IP team, working with various asset management companies on financial investments in the football sector. Earl also advises football clubs on corporate and financial transactions, as well as negotiating various licensing, sponsorship and partnership agreements for motorsport clients. Alex Haffner advises clients across a range of sports on the expansion and acquisition of technology-led solutions, and is also a key contact for clients seeking advice on competition law. Dispute resolution specialist Mark Buckley takes on a range of contentious instructions, including fraudulent misrepresentations involving the sale of sports broadcasting rights.
Lawyer Rankings
- Commercial contracts London > Corporate and commercial
- Sport London > TMT (technology, media and telecoms)
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Private client > Art and cultural property
- Corporate and commercial > M&A: Smaller Deals, £10m-£100m
Firm Rankings
- Employment > Immigration
- Insurance > Insurance litigation: for policyholders
- Real estate > Residential property
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: mid-market
- Real estate > Commercial property: corporate occupiers
- Real estate > Commercial property: development
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Gaming and betting
- Industry focus > Hospitality and leisure
- Corporate and commercial > Commercial contracts
- Real estate > Commercial property: investment
- Real estate > Construction: contentious
- Real estate > Construction: non-contentious
- Corporate and commercial > Equity capital markets – small-mid cap
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: civil
- Projects, energy and natural resources > Infrastructure: Project finance and development
- Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate
- Real estate > Property finance
- Real estate > Property litigation
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
- Corporate and commercial > Venture capital
- Private client > Family
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > IT and telecoms
- Real estate > Planning
- Employment > Employers
- Finance > Corporate restructuring & insolvency
- Private client > Art and cultural property