4 New Square Chambers

4 New Square Chambers is one of the leading sets for Sports Law in the UK. Chambers is widely recognised for offering expertise in the field of sports law, across the full range of matters in this sector.

Our barristers have significant experience in sports law, in which they combine their passion for sport as well as their experience, expertise and advocacy skills fostered in commercial litigation, professional disciplinary matters and other specialist fields of expertise. 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. 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.

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 QC (first Chair) and Graeme McPherson QC (panel member) were appointed to the Premier League’s new Judicial Panel in April 2020.

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.

Chambers & Partners 2020 – “Sought out by individuals, clubs and regulators for representation in widely reported disciplinary actions in rugby, horse racing, football and cricket. Such matters typically relate to anti-doping, betting and match fixing, as well as the conduct of players, coaches and trainers outside the game. The barristers appear before the adjudicating panels of the major national and international governing bodies, as well as the CAS, and members are also selected as panellists by these institutions. Recent highlights have included persuading the cricket board to relax sanctions against Alex Hales for bringing the game into disrepute, as well as the defeat of a proposed four-year anti-doping ban against the rugby player Ryan Bailey. The set's traditional specialism in professional negligence has also made it a key destination for sports-related disputes in that practice area, such as the claim by Ched Evans against the solicitors who represented him at his first rape trial.”

Legal 500 2020 – “A set with a 'a very good reputation in the sports field', 4 New Square is active in sports discipline and anti-doping matters. 2019 silk appointment Daniel Saoul QC represented then-Toronto Wolfpack rugby league player Ryan Bailey, who was found to not be at fault for refusing a post-match drug test; the player suspected that bottles of water provided by the Canadian anti-doping authorities may have been interfered with. Kendrah Potts acted as sole counsel defending England cricketer Alex Hales in ECB disciplinary proceedings after his highly publicised involvement in a brawl after he and team-mate Ben Stokes intervened in a homophobic attack; Stokes was acquitted of affray in a criminal case arising from the same incident. Notably, a number of the set's members have experience of elite sport themselves –Saoul QC is a former elite rowing cox, Graeme McPherson QC has had success as a race horse trainer, and Diarmuid Laffan is a former U21 Ireland rugby union international loose forward.”

To see the full list of our Sports specialists please visit the 4 New Square website.