Adam qualified in the UK as a barrister and practised in London at a leading set of chambers, before moving to the sports law team at Kellerhals Carrard. Adam now practises exclusively in sports law, with a focus on international sports arbitration before the Court of Arbitration for Sport and other sporting bodies. His main areas of focus are anti-doping and football disputes. He has acted in a number of cases involving high-profile athletes, and he regularly acts for international sporting organizations. Adam also has experience of sitting upon disciplinary, selection and appeal panels within sport.

Deputy Legal Director at the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), she is an Irish qualified lawyer and studied Law and European Studies at the University of Limerick. She worked in the aircraft finance group of the Irish corporate law firm McCann FitzGerald. Áine completed an International Masters in the Management, Law and Humanities of Sport in 2011 and went on to work as Senior Legal Manager with the International Boxing Association before moving to the FEI in 2014.

Alastair is a sports lawyer and partner at Level. 

He acts for clients in the sports sector across a broad range of issues, from contractual matters to questions of public law. He also specialises in conduct, disciplinary and regulatory work, advising on non-contentious issues such as the drafting of regulations and procedures, as well as acting on contentious disciplinary matters (including cases related to betting and integrity). He is experienced in advisory work and has extensive knowledge of regulatory structures in football.

Alastair regularly appears as advocate in his matters, utilising his in-depth knowledge and skills as a communicator to deliver successful outcomes before disciplinary panels and tribunals. His style has been described by clients as “clear and persuasive” and “concise but hard hitting”.

Prior to joining Level, Alastair was a senior associate in the arbitration department of a magic circle firm. As well as sports work, he has previously advised on a wide range of commercial and investment treaty disputes in diverse industries including energy, pharmaceuticals and insurance.

Director of Dispute Resolution, Restructuring & Sport, Walker Morris LLP

Senior Associate, Squire Patton Boggs

With over 13 years of experience in the sports law field, Anna has extensive cross border legal background from both the sport community and from a top tier Swiss law firm. Working in an international environment has given vast experience in the global legal climate, such as knowledge of various legal and national conditions relating to sports globally, as well as a large network of talented lawyers.

She advised a wide range of sports clients (including international and national governing bodies and organisations, public bodies, event organisers, sporting venues, clubs, sponsors, agents and individual athletes) on a variety of sports-related issues, including governance and constitutional matters, anti-doping, discipline and litigation, rules and regulations, contractual and regulatory disputes.

Anna is an experienced advocate and has appeared frequently before the Court of Arbitration for Sport and other sporting tribunals. She sat as a member of the Swedish Equestrian Disciplinary Panel for several years, she also sat as a member of the Norwegian Anti-Doping Appeal Panel, hearing on-field disciplinary cases, anti-doping cases and competition appeals.

In 2016 Anna joined the Fédération Internationale Equestre (FEI) as Legal Counsel.

In 2022, Anna was elected top 5 of Sweden’s most influential equestrian women for her persistent work against horse abuse and doping in equestrian sport.

Anna competed at high level in equestrian show jumping and in freeride skiing.

Senior Director, Legal,  International Tennis Integrity Agency

Beth is a Legal Counsel at FIFA and works in the Commercial department. 

I am a partner in Bird & Bird's Sydney office, working in the Media, Entertainment and Sports group.

I provide specialist advice and represent sports clients in a wide range of matters, in particular when it comes to their regulatory, integrity, governance, and contractual affairs.

Working alongside Rich Hawkins, our Sydney team provides a full-service offering for all sports commercial and regulatory/contentious matters, servicing clients in Australia, the Asia-Pacific region, and further internationally. I also work closely with our market leading sports team in London on their international matters.

Prior to joining Bird & Bird, I worked for many years at a leading arbitration firm in Geneva. Located in the international sports hub of Switzerland, I advised numerous international federations as well as elite level athletes, clubs, and other sports bodies and individuals. As part of that work, I appeared regularly before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, as well as other international sports tribunals.

I have significant experience with sport regulatory, governance, and contentious matters, including (for example) anti-doping, anti-corruption and match-fixing, safeguarding, other misconduct, and best practice in governance. I have assisted clients at each stage of the legal process, from the drafting and day to day implementation of their regulations, to the enforcement of (and challenges to) such regulations. When it comes to sports clients, I believe we should proactively implement practices and procedures to protect the integrity, reputation, and interests of not only the governing bodies in question, but of all the stakeholders who invest so much time and passion into their respective sports.

In addition to my counsel work, I sit as a permanent arbitrator on the closed list of the Basketball Arbitral Tribunal (BAT), where I resolve contractual claims between international basketball stakeholders. I am a member of the Ethics Board of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), a Director of the Australian and New Zealand Sports Law Association (ANSZLA), and a member of the editorial board of the LawInSport international sports law publication. I am co-author or editor of several publications concerning international sports arbitration and regularly speak at sports law conferences and deliver lectures for university and post-graduate legal programs.

As a dual Australian and Swiss citizen, I speak English and French, and also have a basic knowledge of Spanish.

Celia practises across all of Chambers’ main areas of work, with particular experience of commercial disputes, sports law, public law and human rights, and employment. She is frequently instructed in cases where there is significant degree of overlap between her specialisms, such as commercial judicial reviews and sports and employment cases involving allegations of fraud. Similarly, from October to December 2016, Celia acted as sole legal counsel for the Payment Systems Regulator, advising on a 'super-complaint' by the consumer group, Which?, concerning authorised push payment fraud.

She has experience before a range of tribunals, including the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court  and has also appeared in cases before a number of regulatory bodies, such as The FA Regulatory Commission and Appeal Board. 

Chris Anderson is a highly experienced sports professional involved in elite sport for over 10 years, including Board level involvement at a Premier League football club. Chris is a qualified lawyer with track record of success in vast array of legal matters in sport, including commercial contract, player issues, selection appeals and advising governing bodies. Chris has set up legal departments at two Premier League clubs and experience of managing non legal departments. He was the former Head of Legal and Commercial at Brighton & Hove Albion FC as well as the former Head of Legal & Company Secretary at Everton FC. Additionally he is the Appeals Chairman member of Scottish Football Association disciplinary panel, as well as winner of Leaders in Sport "Leaders under 40" award in the Legal and Governance Category.

Christian Keidel has been focusing his area of expertise for more than 12 years on dispute resolution in sport and the advice of international sport associations. He has represented successfully stakeholders in sports in numerous cases in front of the dispute resolution bodies of UEFA and FIFA as well as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and state courts. He is also a long-time advisor to international sports associations with respect to regulations, good governance and the commercialisation of rights. Further, he provided legal advice in various high-value transfers of football players. His clients particularly appreciate his precise working methods and his ability to solve complex disputes with a comprehensible and convincing argumentation. Christian Keidel regularly gives lectures on sports law at the Technical University of Munich and is a member of the lawinsport editorial board.

- Since 2020 Partner at Lentze Stopper Rechtsanwälte
- 2009 to 2020 Salary Partner at Martens Rechtsanwälte
- Since 2016 Member of the lawinsport editorial board
- Since 2010 lecturer in Sports Law at the Technical University of Munich
- 2007 to 2009 Lawyer at Beiten Burkhardt (Munich)
- 2005 to 2007 Legal clerkship at the Higher Regional Court of the District of Munich, with internships at, inter alia, Waldorf Frommer and Elber Forino Vagedes Abogados (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
- 2001 to 2005 Studied law at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich
- 1997 to 2001 Studied at the State Academy of Photographic Design in Munich, subsequently working as a freelance photographer

Chris specialises in both property litigation and the regulatory/disciplinary aspects of sports law.

In sports law Chris has many years of experience in appearing before various tribunals, from small domestic disciplinary hearings to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland as well as in High Court litigation.

Chris is particularly well respected for his work in relation to selection issues and Paralympic classification issues. In respect of both he has drafted, litigated and presented at conferences.

Chris has acted for numerous governing bodies in sports as diverse as football, swimming, diving, cricket, tennis, rugby and boxing and as well as prosecuting (or defending) regulatory and disciplinary matters, Chris has extensive experience of drafting many regulations covering matters such as anti-doping, on field etiquette and selection matters.

Interim Chief Executive Officer Head of Licensing, Legal & Compliance (Legal Counsel), The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board

Dan is an associate in the Commercial Dispute Resolution team at Charles Russell Speechlys and is an active member of the firm’s sports sector team.

Dan has a broad range of civil litigation experience, but works primarily in contentious and regulatory sports matters, as well as on media and defamation disputes and data protection matters.

Dan is admitted to practice in England and Wales.

David is a senior associate at Arnecke Sibeth Dabelstein. 

• Admitted to the German bar 2020, joined ARNECKE SIBETH DABELSTEIN in April 2022
• Lawyer with a focus on sports law, commercial law and dispute resolution
• Professional experience: Legal Counsel (Syndikusrechtsanwalt) at DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH / Bundesliga International GmbH (2020 – 2022)
• While writing his doctoral thesis, he worked several years as a research assistant for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP in the dispute resolution practice group (2015 – 2018).
• Doctoral thesis in the field of private international law relating to civil procedure on the following subject: “Annex Competences in the Forum of Tort and in the Forum of Contract under the Regulation EU No 1215/2012 (Brussels Convention)”
• Legal clerkship in Wiesbaden with stages i.a. at FC Bayern München AG, Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations in New York, and Lentze Stopper Rechtsanwälte in Munich
• Studied at the Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz (2010 – 2015); Colorado State University, Pueblo, CO, USA (2011)

Farai a Partner at Razano Attorneys. His practice focuses on sports law and entertainment law. He has acted for individual athletes, football clubs, sports associations, and several clients in the film and television industry. Farai has advised and acted for various clients before national and international specialist dispute resolution tribunals. He has also acted as a Prosecutor for the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport and Boxing South Africa.

Ms. Guo Cai oversees the International Law and Sports Business practice, Jin Mao Law Firm, the first Chinese law firm to establish a practice dedicated to the sports industry. Ms. Cai graduated from Harvard Law School and China University of Political Science and Law. She also held an LLM in Human Rights (distinction) from the University of Hong Kong. Admitted to practice in China and the US (New York), Ms. Cai specializes in international dispute resolution and sports law, with the aspiration to grow with the Chinese sports industry and connect international best practice with sports in China.

Ms. Cai’s involvement in sport dated back to the Beijing Olympics in 2008, for which she served as a professional volunteer. The case of IOC v. Xinyi Chen in the 2016 Rio Olympics motivated her to specialize in the sports sectors so as to make quality legal services available to Chinese athletes where needed. Ms Cai has successfully represented sportspersons, national and international sports associations in disputes at both domestic and international level, with particular strengths in new, unsettled areas. In 2020, Ms. Guo Cai contributes to the debut of Annual Review on Sports Dispute Resolution in China (2020) published by the Beijing Arbitration Commission, the first time that sports has been broken out from entertainment for separate discussion. She is the co-author of this inaugural volume.

Associate, Onside Law