Drawing upon the firm’s ‘strength in depth’ across its media, commercial and IP divisions, CMS offers bespoke advice to governing bodies, sports broadcasters and major sports teams on all aspects of regulatory, transactional and litigious proceedings. David Zeffman leads the group, predominantly focusing upon the gambling and television sectors in a sporting context; John Cloke represents large sports competitions and sponsors; and the ’always approachable’ Tom Scourfield is knowledgeable on content protection and anti-counterfeiting strategy. John Enser is a copyright law expert, assisting rights holders and broadband companies, while Neeraj Thomas and Oliver Kichenside are also singled out as key ports of call.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘The team are very clear communicators and very friendly. The attention to detail is forensic. What's great is that they make the effort to ensure you understand the process and not just fix issues.’
‘Ben Trust really understood our business and goals for the transaction. He was responsive throughout and gave careful and measured advice that was a great fit for our business.'
- 'The associates Nana and Dion were also great team members who played an invaluable role in the transaction.’
‘Strength in depth across both transactional and litigation work.’
‘Tom Scourfield: Always approachable, intelligent and fun. A pleasure to work with him.'
‘CMS with John Cloke and Olly Kichenside operates the best-in-class sports and media rights practice in Europe. Their drafting is pitch perfect, their attention to detail and knowledge along with their profession and pragmatic approach makes them the best sports law firm in the industry.’
Key clients
- Box To Box Films Limited (Box to Box)
- British Olympic Association
- Chelmsford City Racecourse
- DAZN Limited
- Endeavor IMG
- Excel Esports
- Fédération Internationale De Football Association (FIFA)
- Football DataCo Limited (Football DataCo)
- Formula E
- England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB)
Work highlights
- Advising the English Premier League on the formulation and execution of its domestic and international audio-visual and audio rights strategy, which has recently assisted the English Premier League in concluding the largest sports media rights deal ever agreed in the UK.
- Advising the Scottish FA in relation to all disciplinary and regulatory matters, which has included advice in respect of alleged rule breaches of clubs, players and others under the jurisdiction of the Scottish FA, and investigating and prosecuting rule breaches.
- Advised FIFA in relation to media regulation in multiple European territories relating to the broadcasting of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Practice head
David Zeffman
Other key lawyers
John Cloke; Tom Scourfield; David Roberts; Ben Trust; Victoria Gaskell; John Enser; Geraldine Ryan; Dan Tench; Neeraj Thomas; Anna Soilleux-Mills; Sam Oustayiannis; David Bridge; Alasdair Lamb; Oliver Kichenside; Daniel West; Christopher Bowie