Mark Hovell > Mills & Reeve LLP > Manchester, England > Lawyer Profile
Mills & Reeve LLP Offices
No.1 Circle Square
3 Symphony Park
MANCHESTER
M1 7FS
England
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Mark Hovell
Work Department
Sport.
Position
Mark’s role as an arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport over the last couple of decades has seen him involved in some high-profile cases, including his appointment to the 2016 Olympic ad hoc Division in Rio. He has now been involved in over 300 arbitrations. Mark was also re-appointed as an arbitrator on the Sport Resolutions Panel (Chairpersons List) in 2021 and is also a member of the National Anti-doping Panel. Mark continues to advise various sports union organisations including The Professional Footballers’ Association, The PGA and The Professional Players Federation. Mark has also represented a number of clubs, leagues and Governing bodies. He represents a number of high-profile sport and entertainment clients in negotiations relating to their image rights and marketability. Mark is a qualified insolvency practitioner and has been involved in over 60 formal and informal professional football, rugby and rugby league club insolvencies, including Portsmouth FC in 2010 and 2012. Mark was awarded the title Partner of the Year at the 2013 Manchester Legal Awards and received a special recognition award at the 2013 NW Football Awards. More recently he was the WWL International Sports lawyer of the Year in 2020. He is a lecturer/visiting professor on Sports Law and finance at numerous Universities and colleges around the world.
Career
Trained George Davies Solicitors LLP; qualified 1993; former head of corporate George Davies Solicitors LLP; licensed insolvency practitioner since 1999; arbitrator Court of Arbitration for Sport since 2002; managing partner George Davies Solicitors LLP 2007-13; Head of Sports at M&R since 2013; chair of Sports Industry Group (Pro Manchester) since 2013. Current directorships: Pro Manchester; the Manchester Football Association; the James Milner Foundation; The Factory Youth Zone.
Memberships
R3 (fellow); ICArb; RexSport.
Education
Hymers College, Hull; UMIST (1989 2(1) (Hons) Management Sciences); MMU (1991 CPE and LSF); BPP (1999 Insolvency Practitioner Finals).
Leisure
Running, football, golf and parenting.
Lawyer Rankings
North West > Finance > Insolvency and corporate recovery
The ‘energetic, committed’ insolvency group at Mills & Reeve LLP is based in Manchester, handling the full range of both contentious and non-contentious insolvency issues. Richard Dawson-Gerrard is known for his broad expertise, spanning winding-up petitions to antecedent recoveries. Mark Hovell stands out due to his distinctive focus on matters arising at the intersection of insolvency and sports law, particularly in relation to high-profile administrations. Jacob Walker is a key figure within the team.
North West > TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
(Leading partners)Both working between London and Manchester, Carol Couse and Mark Hovell jointly lead the practice at Mills & Reeve LLP, which acts for a growing number of football agencies. The group handles a range of cases concerning breaches of betting regulations and match fixing, in addition to matters involving commercial restructuring and contractual issues. Couse is a football expert who is noted for her strong focus on women’s football, often advising managers, players, and clubs on contractual arrangements, and arbitration specialist Hovell acts for a lucrative client base of professional athletes Premier League clubs, and players’ associations. Sarah Attwood often advises sporting organisations on image rights contracts, while Phil Hutchinson stands out due to his strong knowledge of anti-doping, and his expertise in disputes and regulatory issues within the football industry. Joining the group from the International Paralympic Committee, Alastair Cotton contributes his broad experience in sponsorship deals and the promotion of sports events on social media.
London > TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
(Leading partners)Lawyer Rankings
- Leading partners North West > TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
- Sport North West > TMT (technology, media and telecoms)
- Insolvency and corporate recovery North West > Finance
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Private client > Contentious trusts and probate
- Private client > Family
- Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate
- Insurance > Professional negligence
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
Firm Rankings
- Private client > Charities and not-for-profit
- Real estate > Commercial property: Manchester
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate and commercial: Manchester
- Public sector > Education
- Public sector > Health
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media and entertainment
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: Manchester
- Employment > Employment
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > IT and telecoms
- Real estate > Planning and environment
- Finance > Insolvency and corporate recovery
- Real estate > Construction