Our Expertise

Winners of Legal 500’s Sport Set of the Year 2024 Award

Recognised in the directories as one of the leading sets for Sports Law, 4 New Square’s barristers combine their passion for sport with their experience, expertise and advocacy skills fostered in commercial litigation, professional disciplinary matters and other specialist fields of expertise. 

We are frequently instructed in high profile or sensitive cases on behalf of governing bodies, clubs, agents and individual athletes. This includes prosecuting major cases for regulators, as well as acting for participants whose livelihood is at risk. Our work spans both international matters (including before the Court of Arbitration for Sport) as well as domestic issues. Our silks and juniors are to be found regularly appearing in courts, specialist tribunals and inquiries on a diverse range of sport-related matters and across the full range of sports.

Members of Chambers also assist sporting bodies in non-contentious aspects of sporting governance. For example, we regularly advise on constitutional matters as well as legal issues relating to funding or sponsorship, and we have significant experience of drafting selection, disciplinary or anti-doping policies for national governing bodies.

Our barristers also play a significant role in resolving sporting disputes as arbitrators and tribunal members. Our team includes members of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the National Anti-Doping Panel, Sport Resolutions’ Panel of Arbitrators, and the British Horseracing Authority’s disciplinary panel amongst others. Murray Rosen KC (first Chair) and Graeme McPherson KC (panel member) were appointed to the Premier League’s new Judicial Panel in April 2020. Affiliate Jeff Benz was appointed in 2019 as chair of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Infractions Referral Committee and as a member of its Independent Resolution Panel and in the 2022 Court of Arbitration for Sport Ad Hoc Division at the Beijing Olympic Winter Games.

A number of our barristers are Direct Access qualified and so are able in appropriate cases to accept instructions directly from athletes, national governing bodies and other organisations without requiring the involvement of a solicitor.