Sport
UK Guide 2025 : UK-wide
Band 1
About
Provided by Northridge
About Northridge
Northridge is an independent law firm that focuses on the most complex and important matters in sport. Founded in 2017, it has already established itself as the firm the sports industry turns to when the stakes are highest. As Europe’s largest sports practice, the firm offers a unique combination of scale and expertise, providing the depth required to staff the largest and most demanding projects.
Work highlights
- Acting for Farhad Moshiri on the on-going sale of Everton FC.
- Acted for Betway on its major sponsorship of Arsenal.
- Acted for Chelsea FC on its sale in May 2022.
- Advised Elliott Advisors on the sale of AC Milan.
- Acted for Spotify on a ‘first of its kind’ sponsorship agreement with FC Barcelona.
- Advised The FA on the wide-ranging implications of the Government’s high-profile Fan-Led Review (chaired by Tracey Crouch MP).
- Advised AEG Worldwide on the renewal of the O2 naming rights sponsorship of the O2 Arena and the title sponsorship of the All Points East Festival.
Representative clients
The FA, Puma, Premiership Rugby, Premier League football clubs, the British Horseracing Authority, Welsh Rugby Union, Rugby Football League, Betway, Spotify, Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho, Mohamed Salah, Thierry Henry, Raheem Sterling, Two Circles, E20 (owner of the London Stadium), AEG Worldwide.
Chambers Review
Northridge Law has an outstanding team with a wide range of experience advising on high-profile contentious and non-contentious matters in football, rugby union and motorsport, among others. It has a respected track record of acting for governing bodies, sports clubs and athletes on a range of mandates including regulatory enforcement, appeals processes and independent reviews. It is also active on commercial contracts, sponsorship and marketing instructions, with an increasingly established presence in the sports technology sphere.
Work Highlights
- Northridge acted for The FA in a landmark case brought by various agencies in relation to the domestic implementation of FIFA’s reformed agent regulations. The arbitration was conducted pursuant to an expedited timetable, given the deadline for domestic implementation of FIFA’s rules in late 2023.
Strengths
Provided by Chambers
"Northridge has grown to a size where they can really take on the bigger firms in sports litigation. Unlike other boutiques they can provide a wall-to-wall service. A cutting-edge organisation."
"Northridge has an excellent blend of experts across its team and is capable of dealing with any topic.They are always 'on' and available to help, and their commercial sense is first class."
"Northridge have built a strong bench of top-tier legal and sporting knowledge and developed a new generation. They always call back and they always get the job done."
"They provide the clear impression that the service and approach is tailored to the particular client’s needs. They are hugely responsive and give highly commercial advice."
"Northridge understand our business well and are highly commercially-minded in weighing this up against legal concerns."
"Northridge has grown to a size where they can really take on the bigger firms in sports litigation. Unlike other boutiques they can provide a wall-to-wall service. A cutting-edge organisation."
"Northridge has an excellent blend of experts across its team and is capable of dealing with any topic.They are always 'on' and available to help, and their commercial sense is first class."
"Northridge have built a strong bench of top-tier legal and sporting knowledge and developed a new generation. They always call back and they always get the job done."
"They provide the clear impression that the service and approach is tailored to the particular client’s needs. They are hugely responsive and give highly commercial advice."
"Northridge understand our business well and are highly commercially-minded in weighing this up against legal concerns."
Notable Practitioners
Ian Lynam is renowned for his work assisting leading sports clients in the full range of transactional and regulatory activity including financial regulation, M&A, and players' transfers and contracts. He also has a strong focus on the use of sports data.
"Ian is one of the best lawyers I have worked with. His expertise is vast and he is extremely personable and solutions-focused."
"One of the best sports lawyers around."
Ian is very strong on the corporate side.
Jonathan Ellis offers clubs and governing bodies the benefit of his great depth of expertise and experience in significant contentious issues and regulatory proceedings.
"Jonathan is very capable."
"An incredibly safe pair of hands."
James Eighteen continues to impress market commentators with his work on regulatory enforcement and investigations across a variety of sports.
"James is a leading regulatory lawyer and provides clear and expert advice on contentious matters."
"A very good litigator."
"James Eighteen has huge industry knowledge, is always available, and is thorough and extremely easy to work with. He's also great in front of stakeholders."
"He is just excellent - very calm, patient and capable. Nothing is ever a problem, even when things are stressful."
Jon Walters advises sports clients on corporate transactional work, governance and sponsorship agreements. His clients include investors, sports agencies and regulatory bodies.
"Jon gives down-to-earth, practical advice. He is always responsive to client needs."
"Jon has a thorough understanding of the sports sector and the ability to tailor his advice accordingly."
Paul Shapiro advises household-name sector clients on all manner of commercial and corporate arrangements and regulatory matters. He is particularly experienced with regard to sponsorship, media rights, events and talent work.
"Paul Shapiro's knowledge is second to none and he is hugely commercial. He sees new angles to the issues we bring him."
Oliver Harland is primarily a litigator who supports clients in several strands of sports law, such as contentious and non-contentious regulatory, image rights and talent work.
"Anexcellent litigation junior. Extremely thorough and always on top of the detail."
"Oliver has a very nice manner, is very calm and intelligent, and will anticipate problems before they happen."
Ranked Lawyers at
Northridge
UK-wide
Members
Provided by Northridge
Felicity Williamson-Sarll
George Willis
Hannah Brunskill
James Norrey
Jamie Feldman
Kingsley Boateng
Mike Herbert
Oliver Harland
Paul Shapiro
Sarah Boulton
Scott Treleaven
Tom Edmonds
Will Moir