Mills & Reeve LLP joins the ranking having continued to invest in its sports law capability. Clients describe it as ‘the go-to regional firm for sport’. The practice is led by Carol Couse, who works between Manchester and Cambridge, and vastly experienced Cambridge-based international sports lawyer Alastair Cotton, who previously served as head of legal at the International Paralympic Committee. Mark Hovell is a key name, and is a member of numerous sports arbitration panels, including the Premier League Judicial Board and the National Anti-Doping Panel. He is currently advising the PGA on the restructuring of its joint ownership of Ryder Cup Europe LLP. Paddy Lynam has extensive sports law expertise due to his interest in bloodstock and horseracing. John Shea, who joined from Lewis Silkin and who works in both London and Cambridge, adds experience in sports disputes on behalf of clubs, players, agencies, and governing bodies. He also advises on high-profile football transfers.
Media, entertainment and sport in East Anglia
Mills & Reeve LLP
Responsables de la pratique:
Carol Couse; Alastair Cotton
Autres avocats clés:
Paddy Lynam; John Shea; Rustam Sethna; Phil Hutchinson
Les références
‘Very knowledgeable about the sports industry and relevant legal issues; great to work with (excellent with clients and a lovely team to work with); work extremely hard for the client.’
‘Carol Couse – highly knowledgeable, particularly in relation to football disputes, and a pleasure to work with. Phil Hutchinson – already operates at Partner level; hard-working and knowledgeable. Rustam Sethna – v bright bright and hard-working.’
‘Very strong team. very busy with sports work. The go-to regional firm for sport.’
Principaux clients
Commonwealth Games Federation
International Paralympic Committee
International Tennis Integrity Agency
International Tennis Federation
The Ryder Cup Europe LLP
British Cycling
British Canoeing
British Fencing
England Golf
Sport England
UK Sport
Cole Palmer
Kieran Trippier
Kyle Walker
Kevin De Bruyne
Romelu Lukaku
Jadon Sancho
Joelinton
Diogo Jota
Miguel Almiron
Norwich City FC
Cambridge United
Liverpool FC
Manchester City FC
Bristol City FC
Crystal Palace FC
Birmingham City FC
Rangers FC
Aberdeen FC
Wolves FC
KKS Lech Poznan FC
Nordsjaelland
Al Qadsiah FC
Professional Footballers’ Association
Rugby Players’ Association
Professional Golfers Association
Entertainment Venues / Operators|, such as Cambridge Junction, ODEON Cinemas Group and Broadwick Group
Media businesses (especially publishers)|, such as World Business Media (now sold to Thomson Reuters)|, Cambridge University Press & Assessment
Principaux dossiers
- Advised World Business Media on its sale to Thomson Reuters.
- Advised the Professional Golfers’ Association on restructuring its joint ownership of Ryder Cup Europe LLP, including amending the LLP Agreement and drafting new ancillary agreements. This work aims to protect the Ryder Cup amidst professional golf’s evolving landscape, particularly negotiations involving the PGA Tour, DP Tour, and LIV Golf. We collaborated with Ryder Cup Europe’s other partners to future-proof this prestigious competition.
- Assisted the International Paralympic Committee with matters for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, including negotiating a new multi-million-pound investment deal with the Toyota Mobility Foundation, a media rights deal with NBC Universal, and a content licensing deal with TikTok. Advised on the media marketing agency agreement for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games and assisted in prosecuting Para athletes for anti-doping violations.
Stobbs IP
The Cambridge Stobbs IP has become the central hub in a brand management powerhouse since the firm was founded in 2013, and works closely with its offices in Dublin and Eindhoven to service a stellar roster of clients in sport, media and entertainment. As well as handling the interests of bands such as Nirvana and KISS, artists including Dua Lipa and Stevie Wonder, and DJs such as Grandmaster Flash, the firm also advises a host of record labels, clubs, music equipment manufacturers, and event producers. In sports, UEFA and Harry Kane are among its high-profile clients. Chris Hawkes leads on music, media and entertainment matters, while Russ Munro is the key contact for sports clients. IP portfolio management specialist Louise Goodsell is a key contact. Claire Breheny departed the team in May 2025.
Responsables de la pratique:
Chris Hawkes; Russ Munro
Autres avocats clés:
Louise Goodsell
Principaux clients
AFTV
All England Netball Association
AOL
Automobil Lamborghini SPA
Channel 4
Dua Lipa
England and Wales Cricket Board
Facebook (Meta)
FIFA
Gene Simmons (KISS)
giffgaff Limited
GoPro Inc.
Grandmaster Flash
Greger Porsche Motorsport GmbH
Harley-Davidson Europe Limited
HK28 Ltd (HARRY KANE)
Jude Bellingham
Jurgen Klopp
Mark Knight/ Toolroom Records
Marshall Amplification Plc
Moonbug Entertainment Ltd
O2 Worldwide Limited c/o Telefonica Digital Limited
Paramount Pictures
Pharrell Williams
Snap Inc
Springer Nature Limited
Tik Tok
Trek Bicycles
Tumblr
UEFA
Yahoo Holdings Inc.
7-Eleven, Inc.
Adobe Inc.
AG Barr Plc (Irn Bru etc)
AIRWAIR INTERNATIONAL LIMITED (DR MARTENS)
All Saints Retail Limited
ASOS Plc
ASOS.com Limited
Balfour Beatty
Barclays Bank PLC
Beiersdorf (Nivea etc.)
Berry Bros
Britvic Soft Drinks Ltd
BUPA
Cambridge University Press & Assessment
Camelphat
Cancer Research UK
Capri Sun GmbH
Cemex (UK) Operations Limited
Chiaro Technology Ltd (ELVIE)
Citco Converse
Clear Score Technology Limited
Cumberland Corporate Services Ltd (Tower Records)
Danone
DKNY
Doordash
Ecolab
Energizer Holdings Inc.
Eton College
Eve Taylor (London) Limited
Federal Mogul
Fine and Country
Ford Global Technologies LLC
General Mills
Glencore International AG
Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH)
GRIDSERVE EMEA DEPC Ltd
H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB
HSBC
Informa Group Limited
Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc
Jagex Limited (4001)
Jellycat Limited
John Torode
Just Eat
Kensington RG Limited
La Prairie
Laboratoires La Prairie SA
Lycamobile UK Limited
Macmillan Publishers International Ltd (2214)
Marks and Spencer plc
Mars Petcare UK
Mars Wrigley Confectionery
Mattel, Inc
McDonald’s Corporation
Monster Inc.
Mothercare Global Brand Limited
Mountain Warehouse Ltd
Nike
Off-White (Virgil Abloh)
Orla Kiely
Ovo
PayPal
Pip & Nut
Premier Foods Group Limited 4072
Purple Bricks
PZ Cussons (International) Ltd
Raffles Hotels
Raspberry Pi Ltd
Reckitt
Ronnie Scotts
Siemens AG
Stephen Webster Ltd
The Citco Group Limited
The Goodwood Estate Company Limited
Tommy Hilfiger Europe BV
University of Cambridge (Core matters)
Upfield Europe BV
Visa
Wendy’s
Wickes Building Supplies Ltd
Wilmington Plc
Yoox Net-a-Porter
YouView
Zoe Global Limited
Principaux dossiers
- Successfully took over the management of Dua Lipa’s global trademark portfolio.
- Assisted the Harry Kane Foundation in its collaboration initiative with Starbucks to promote mental wellbeing by encouraging people to ‘kick off a conversation over a coffee’ through the Cups4Kane campaign. The campaign went live ahead of the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament.
- Successfully recovered the domain name ‘converse.co’ for Nike by winning a UDRP case against a domain investor with a history of being involved in domain disputes.
Fosters
Fosters in Norwich has a ‘highly skilled and dedicated team that works diligently to understand the needs of the client in depth’. Led by non-contentious commercial lawyer Jamie Arnall, who draws on his experience as head of legal at Norwich City FC, the practice acts in complex matters for high-profile football clubs and industry bodies, as well as providing the In House subscription service for day-to-day matters. Charlotte Darkins is actively involved in sports and entertainment work, and is a lynchpin of the In House offering.
Responsables de la pratique:
Jamie Arnall
Autres avocats clés:
Charlotte Darkins
Les références
‘Highly skilled and dedicated team who work diligently to understand the needs of the client in depth prior to providing advice. Flexible Monthly Retainer Service option available which offers incredible value and has led to us involving Fosters in some secondary matters that generally we wouldn’t have engaged legal counsel previously. The resulting outcomes from said matters have saved us many multiples of the cost of the Retainer.’
‘Whilst the entire practice provide an excellent service, Jamie Arnall and Charlotte Darkins are exceptional. Consistently delivering an incredibly high level of performance and regularly going over and above in terms what could be reasonably expected.’
Principaux clients
Super League Basketball Limited
Coventry City Football Club Limited
Norwich City Football Club Plc
Nottingham Forest Football Club Limited