SLAM 4th Edition

The winners of the Sport Law Arbitration Moot 2023 are Kaushiki Singh & Shubhan Sheth from Jindal Global Law School (JGLS).

Many congratulations to our winners and to the finalists Lara Persyn & Marcel Dejonghe from Ghent University, and to semi-finalists Zaher Bin Wahab & Muhammad Faisal from Singapore University of Social Sciences and Eva Logar & Ema Purkart from University of Ljubljana, for competing and showcasing your talent, at the spectacular new offices of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. We would like to give an honourable mention to Griffin Okemwa & Karl Simiyu from University of Nairobi, who qualified for the finals, but sadly could not be with us for the Grand Final, despite their best efforts.

As part of the SLAM Grand Finals, a seminar was held at the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Saturday.

Alexander Engelhard & Dr. David Stadtfeld of Arnecke Sibeth Dabelstein were joined by para athletes Ali Jawad PLY & Josia Topf, as they discussed what could be done to better safeguard the rights of para athletes in dispute resolution.

Following this panel, Martina Spreitzer-Kropiunik of the Criminal Court Vienna & Richard Bush of Bird & Bird sat down to discuss safeguarding issues in sport related to balancing the rights of the alleged victims and the accused.

To end a fantastic day of panel discussions, Brent Nowicki of World Aquatics & Andrew Ryan of FIBA Media shared their expertise and best advice for making the switch from being a lawyer to a sports executive.

We thank everyone involved in this year's, and previous editions of the Sports Law Arbitration Moot, including the judges, teams, speakers and guests, for their time and support which has enabled us to provide opportunities to hundreds of students, regardless of their background or location, across the world to:

• Develop and showcase their legal and advocacy skills before the world’s leading arbitrators and practitioners;
• Gain real world experience of international sports arbitration under the leading procedural rules;
• Receive training on writing submissions and advocacy from some of the world’s leading advocates and arbitrators in world sport.

We are incredibly grateful and appreciative of the support of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and in particular CAS Director General, Matthieu Reeb, for being so generous with his time and resources by hosting the Grand Finals at the CAS offices in Lausanne, Switzerland. We would also like to thank World Aquatics, and Brent Nowicki, the CEO/Executive Director, for generously hosting our pre-finals reception.

We would like to thank our sponsors for supporting the SLAM competition:

Winners Prize & Inclusion Sponsors: Arnecke Sibeth Dabelstein & JAMS.

Supporters: 4 New Square Chambers, 11KBW, Bird & Bird, Blackstone Chambers, Bolcar law Office, De Buen Law, Global Sports Advocates , Matrix Chambers, Mills & Reeve, Outer Temple Chambers & Vandellos Sports Law.

With the support of our community, we hope the Sport Law Arbitration Moot will continue to be the world’s foremost sports arbitration moot competition that has a significant impact on the next generation of sports lawyers, and international sports dispute resolution. We hope you enjoyed the competition and the seminar as much as we did organising it.

Finals Judges

Michael Beloff KC, Barrister, Blackstone Chambers
Martina Spreitzer-Kropiunik, Vice President, Criminal Court Vienna
Frans de Weger, Chairman, FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber & Partner/Founder, BMDW Advocaten
Mark Hovell, Partner, Mills & Reeve LLP
Ricardo de Buen, Founding & Managing Partner, De Buen Law
Stephen Townley, JAMS Mediator and Arbitrator
Jeffrey Benz, Mediator Arbitrator Referee Special Master, JAMS & Door Tenant, 4 New Square

Regional Oral Finals Judges

Frans de Weger - Chairman, FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber & Partner/Founder, BMDW Advocaten
Roberto de Palma Barracco - Adjunct Coordinator, CBF Academy & Member of National Dispute Resolution Chamber, Brazil
Wouter Lambrecht - Former Head of Legal, European Club Association & Former Attorney-at-law, FC Barcelona
Martina Christina Spreitzer-Kropiunik - Vice President, Criminal Court Vienna
Vladimir Novak - Associate & Co-Lead EU FDI Practice, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Jeffrey Benz - Arbitrator and Mediator, JAMS & Door Tenant, 4 New Square
Barbara Reeves - Arbitrator and Mediator, JAMS
Daniel Visiou - Founding Partner, Visoiu Law Firm
Fabio Iudica - Partner, Studio Iudica Carbone
Dr. Jan Räker - Senior General Counsel, VfB Stuttgart
Blondel Thompson - Barrister, St. Philips Chambers & former British Junior Record Holder and Senior British and Commonwealth Record Holder
André Brantjes - Managing and Equity Partner, Brantjes Advocaten
Steve Bainbridge - Partner, Squire Patton Boggs
Dr. János Katona - Partner, Katona János Ügyvédi Iroda
Jordi Lopez Batet - Founding Partner, Statim Legal
Takuya Yamazaki - Founder & Managing Partner, Field-R
Kwadjo Adjepong - Panel Member, Sport Resolutions
Dr. Leanne O'Leary - Senior Lecturer in Law, Edge Hill University
Lars Hilliger - Partner, Advice Advokatfirma

Quarter Finals Judges

Dr. Jakub Laskowski - Director of Legal & Sport Administration, Legia Warszawa
David Wu - Partner, Llinks Law Offices
Prof. Luigi Fumigalli - Professor, State University of Milan
Janie Soublière - Principal, Soubliere Sport Law
Yoshihisa Hayakawa - Professor of Law, Rikkyo University & Partner, Uryu & Itoga
Maciej Balazinski - Owner, Kancelaria Prawna Maciej Bałaziński i Współpracownicy
Benoit Pasquier - Partner, Charles Russell Speechlys
Takuya Yamazaki - Founder & Managing Partner, Field-R
Ricardo de Buen - Managing Partner, De Buen Law
Laura Abrahamson - Mediator, Arbitrator and Referee/Special Master, JAMS
Prof. Dr. Ulrich G. Haas - Professor, University of Zurich
Patrice Brunet - Founder and Managing Director of patrice.brunet.avocats

Advocate Judges

Adam Taylor - Sports Lawyer, Kellerhals Carrard
Aine Power - Deputy Legal Director, Fédération Equestre Internationale
Alastair Campbell - Partner, Level
Alexander Engelhard - Counsel, Arnecke Sibeth Dabelstein
Alistair McHenry - Partner, TYR
Andreas Desyllas - Junior Associate, Andersen Legal, Greece
Andrew Moroney - Senior Associate, Greenberg Traurig
Andrew Smith - Barrister, 11KBW
Anna Thorstenson - Legal Counsel, FEI
Brianna Quinn - Arbitrator, Basketball Arbitral Tribunal
Chris Anderson - Sports Lawyer, Sports Executive & Consultant
Christopher Stoner KC - Barrister / King's Counsel, Serle Court
Claude Ramoni - Founding Partner, Libra Law
Cliodhna Guy - Head of Licensing, Legal & Compliance, Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board
David Edet - Counsel, Dorothy Ufot & Co.
Dr. David Stadtfeld - Senior Associate, Arnecke Sibeth Dabelstein
Guo Cai - Attorney, Jin Mao Law Firm
Hannah Kent - Associate (Dispute Resolution and Regulatory), Onside Law
Jaime Cambreleng - Partner, Cavaliero & Associates SA
James Kitching - Managing Director, The FC
Jarret Huang - Lecturer in Law, Trinity College, University of Oxford
Jiří Janák - Attorney at Law, JUDr. Jiří Janák
Jodi Balsam - Professor of Clinical Law/Director of Externship Programs, Brooklyn Law School
John Shea - Senior Associate, Lewis Silkin
Josh Charalambous - Senior Associate, RPC
Kate Porter - Partner, Sports Law, Vela Wood Law
Lindsay Brandon - Director of Safeguarding, WTA
Louis Weston - Barrister, Outer Temple Chambers
Paul Greene - Attorney/Founder, Global Sports Advocates
Richard Bush - Partner, Bird & Bird
Richard Liddell KC - Barrister / King's Counsel, Four New Square
Robert McTernaghan - Barrister at Law, The Law Library
Rupert Beloff - Barrister, 4-5 Gray's Inn Square
Rustam Sethna - Associate, M&R
Sarah Hartley - Partner, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
Shadman Mostafa - Lecturer in Law, Faculty of Law at World University of Bangladesh
Siddharth Gosain - Associate, Munoz & Arias Sports Lawyers
Steven Flynn - Barrister, 2 Temple Gardens and Kings Chambers
Sven Demeulemeester - Founder/Partner, ATFIELD Sports Law
Theo Barclay - Barrister, 4 New Square
Tim O'Connor BL - Barrister, The Bar of Ireland
Tiran Gunawardena - Senior Associate, Bird & Bird LLP
Vidushpat Singhania - Managing Partner, Krida Legal

Oral Advocacy & Written Submission Training Panellists:

Raphaëlle Favre Schnyder, Partner, Barandun AG & Alternate Judge at Appellate Court of Valais/Wallis & CAS Arbitrator
Jaime Cambreleng Contreras, Partner, Cavaliero & Associates & Former Head of Litigation, FIFA
Dr. David Stadtfeld, Associate & Former Legal Counsel at Bundesliga
Jeffrey Benz, Arbitrator & Mediator, JAMS & Door Tenant, 4 New Square
Anna Thorstenson, Legal Counsel at the FEI

Thank you from all of us on the organising committee for making this ambitious initiative achievable. We look forward to next year’s event and welcoming the next generation of sports law arbitrators.

Organising Committee
Sean Cottrell
Manan Agrawal
Jeffrey Benz
Blaž Tomažin Bolcar