Reflections of Paralympic athlete & aspiring sports lawyer - Nic Beveridge

I’ve said this before (under different circumstances) however I feel it’s applicable in this instance too. Good things can find us when we least expect them to.

It was January 2021. Like many people around the world, I was in and out of lockdowns because of the pandemic. As a result, I had more time to myself than I would normally have – especially going into what would have been the start of a new triathlon season.

I was using the extra time to continue working through my law degree. I didn’t think I wanted to be a lawyer if I’m being honest. I mainly started studying law because I hated that I didn't completely understand what I was reading when I saw an athlete agreement. But as I continued to study, and amidst the additional time I had on my hands, I started to dream about what a career could look like for me beyond being an athlete. So I went onto LinkedIn, and searched for terms related to things I knew I was passionate about. I found LawInSport. After reading the first few posts on their page – hitting follow felt like a no brainer.

A week or so later I saw their most recent post advertising a Mentoring Scheme. An opportunity for lawyers, students, and athletes interested in networking and further developing themselves in the areas of law in sport to apply. It was open to everyone worldwide.

At first, I was hesitant, but only because on reflection I was doubting myself, Imposter syndrome, I suppose. Then I thought, “what have I got to lose?” Turns out that wasn’t a hard question to answer. I worked on my submission and applied to be considered for the LawInSport Mentoring Scheme. In March 2021, I was notified my application was successful and I was accepted into the Scheme.

After almost 18 months in the Scheme now, I can safely say I’m a completely different person to the one I was when I first joined. Which is always something I like to use as a marker for success - has the experience changed me?

I’d recommend the Scheme to anyone, and have enjoyed my experience, but what also became apparent to me was that there are several lessons I have learned as an athlete that seem (to me) to be equally as applicable to pursuing a career in the sports law space as well.

Sure – the most obvious lessons are that sport and law are both high-performing industries, and hard work is a required ingredient to have any remote chance of succeeding in either.

But there are more subtle lessons I noticed too.

These are those lessons.