Speaker details

Biography

Ian’s practice spans a wide range of transactional and regulatory areas of sports law. He is recognised by the legal directories as a leading “commercial dealmaker” “who has become a clear leader in the UK” and “an excellent lawyer, whose knowledge of the sports industry is unparalleled”. His expertise includes financial regulation of sport (including salary caps and financial fair play), mergers and acquisitions in sport, financing, governance, integrity, rules and regulations, sponsorship agreements, transfers, player contracts and image rights. He has a particular expertise in the use of data in the sports industry, has spoken widely on the subject, advises a number of companies in the area and sits on the board of STATSports as a non-executive director. Ian’s recent work highlights include acting for AC Milan in its successful appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, advising Farhad Moshiri on increasing his shareholding in Everton FC, advising STATSports on its ground-breaking $1.5bn US Soccer deal. Ian is a contributing author to a number of leading textbooks including “Sport: Law and Practice”, “Football and the Law”, “The Sports Law Review” and “The Negotiator’s Desk Reference”. He regularly speaks at conferences (including the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference 2017 & 2019) and lectures on a number of undergraduate and postgraduate university programmes. Ian is ranked as a “Leading Individual” in UK Sport by Legal 500 and in Band 1 for UK Sport by Chambers and Partners. Ian is also recommended in Who’s Who Legal in the Sports & Entertainment category. Ian is admitted to practise in England & Wales, Ireland and New York.