My experience on the LawInSport Mentoring Scheme - Umang Shah

LawInSport has been one of the pioneering organizations in the area of sports law. I had subscribed to their website and found the articles written by various subject-matter experts very informative. I came across Founder & CEO of LawInSport, Mr. Sean Cottrell's tweet inviting applications last year about the LawInSport Global Mentoring Scheme.

A glance at the list of previous mentors, who were at the top of their game globally, was enough to dispel all doubts about the mentoring scheme being Euro-centric. It is creditable that the LawInSport team selected a wide-ranging and diverse cohort of international mentees from all walks of life. Being an Olympic sports aficionado, this seemed like the perfect opportunity for me to understand the intricacies of expanding my legal practice into sports law.

A year back, I was pursuing an LL.M. with a specialisation in Intellectual Property law and writing my dissertation on the intersection of IP and sports law. I had also recently qualified as a Chartered Accountant (ACA) and received the CopyrightX certificate from Harvard Law School. My experience as a Legislative Assistant to Member of Parliament (LAMP) Fellow proved helpful in drafting the cover letter. The timing was right & I applied for the programme at the end of January 2021.

Orientation & Induction

Fortunately, Sean sent an email to inform me that my application was successful in March. I was lucky to be accepted as a part of the current group of 34 mentees for 2021-22. Our introductory induction webinar with Sean was also the first interaction for all the mentees to get to know each other; the orientation set the ground rules for the scheme in the year ahead. Sean also advised us to chart our expectations and where we would like to see ourselves career-wise in 5 years. My objective as a mentee was to diversify my knowledge base and make the most of this learning opportunity to understand the techniques and intricacies involved in being a sports lawyer. I have always been deeply interested in following legal cases, rules, and regulations in sports; so, I was keen to know more about developing a career in the sports law industry – specifically, working in the areas of taxation, commercial contracts, IP rights of athletes, dispute resolution, legal drafting, research, & establishment of sports leagues.