Sports Law Arbitration Moot (SLAM)

Sports Law Arbitration Moot Title Image

The international Sports Law Arbitration Moot (SLAM) is a world class competition, with the aim to promote greater knowledge of the values and rules of international sports arbitration, the go to dispute resolution mechanism in the sector.

SLAM provides students from around the world the opportunity to:

  1. Develop and showcase their legal and advocacy skills before the world’s leading arbitrators and practitioners virtually and in-person;
  2. Gain real world experience of international sports arbitration under the leading procedural rules;
  3. Receive training on writing submissions and advocacy from some of the world’s leading advocates and arbitrators in world sport.

The competition is open to all current students.

SLAM is organised by LawInSport, the world’s leading sports law knowledge hub and global community.

The cases for each round will be based on real world scenarios and the registered teams will need to familiarise themselves with CAS case law and sport rules that may be relevant to their arguments. Teams will also be arguing these real-world disputes at the hallowed halls of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The written submissions in the preliminary round will be evaluated by a selected panel of lawyers and CAS arbitrators. The successful teams will go through to regional rounds (see below for the regional classification) where the focus of the assessment will be on oral advocacy.

The four winners of the regional rounds will progress to the semi-finals of the competition. At each stage of the competition, the party for the team asked to advocate will be assigned randomly, which may mean acting for the same party more than once.

In cooperation with CAS, the competition will use the prevailing Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS/TAS) Code of Sports-related Arbitration (CAS Code).

To register a team, please click here.

Competition Timeline

  1. Competition registration opened - 30 Sep 2022
  2. Release of moot problem & moot rules - 10 Nov 2022
  3. Period for moot problem clarification questions - 1 Nov 2022 to 04 Jan 2023
  4. Written submission deadline (registration closes) - 31 Jan 2023
  5. Results of written submission - 10 Feb 2023
  6. Regional Oral Finals (online): 25 - 26 Feb 2023
    • Europe
    • North, Central & South America
    • Asia, Middle East & Oceania
    • Africa
  7. Quarter-Finals (online via ZOOM) - 04 - 05 Mar 2023
  8. Results of Quarter-Finals released and moot problem released for final rounds - 06 Mar 2023
  9. Clarification questions for problem for semi-finals and finals - 20 Mar 2023
  10. Finals & Semi-Finals, in person at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Lausanne, Switzerland - 22 - 23 Apr 2023

The Semi-Finals and Finals will be held in person at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Lausanne, Switzerland.

We will also be conducting training for written submissions and oral arguments for all participants, the dates for which shall be confirmed in due course.

Register your team here.

Regional Classification

Participants will be divided into the following regional groups to ensure equality of opportunity to students across the world:

  • Europe
  • North, Central & South America
  • Asia & Oceania
  • Africa

Entry & Eligibility

The entry fee per team is £100.

Financial assistance - a team can qualify for financial assistance to enter the competition please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to see if you are eligible for financial support. The forms of financial assistance that will be provided are waiver of the costs of the entry fee (whether in part or in full) or a reasonable contribution towards the cost of travelling (limited to flights/trains and accommodation) to the in-person semi-finals and finals of the competition for teams that qualify for these stages limited to an amount of £500 per team.

Student status - Students cannot enter if they have been licensed to practice law in any jurisdiction at the time of registration. Students must be registered as a student (full or part time) in an accredited institution of higher learning at the time of registration.

Team Registration

Teams consist of two team members per team. Multiple teams from a single university can register for the competition.

To register your team, click here.

Prize

The winning team will receive a prize of £1,500 and the runners-up a prize of £1,000. All four finalists from the two teams will also receive tickets to LawInSport’s Annual Conference or Football Law Conference.

About SLAM

SLAM is a not-for-profit competition with the entry fees being used to fund the administrative and organisational costs (including travel assistance for finalists if needed) as well as the education of participants.

SLAM has been designed to make sports arbitration more inclusive and diverse, so that no matter where you are located or your financial circumstances you will be able to participate.

SLAM was founded in 2019 by SportLex - Sports Law Institute (Ljubljana, Slovenia) and supported by LawInSport since its conception. SLAM has been a LawInSport event since 2021.

Blaz Tomazin Bolcar, founder of SportLaw and co-founder of SLAM said: “It was great to see students competing in the SLAM 2022 event with a true passion for sports law. This is the very essence of the competition. I am happy to see SLAM developing into one of the best law moot competitions in the world. ”

Sean Cottrell, Co-Founder of LawInSport, added: “Last year’s competition was a privilege to organise and host. We were able to give students from around the world the opportunity to develop and showcase their ability in front of the world’s leading advocates and CAS arbitrators. This competition is a showcase for the next generation of lawyers with an interest in law in sport no matter where they are from or where they are studying.

The CAS arbitrators commented on the high quality of advocacy and we are looking forward to finding more brilliant students in this year’s competition.

I would encourage students to apply to be part of this year's competition as this truly is a rare and valuable opportunity to learn and develop relationships in the industry.”

Last year's SLAM was a huge success with:

  • 70 teams enter from 20+ countries
  • 40 Teams attend written submission and oral advocacy training session
  • 30 CAS Arbitrators & 40 advocates, from 20 countries, judged the written submissions. 23 CAS arbitrators judged the oral rounds (which were all judged solely by CAS arbitrators)
  • The 8 teams in quarter-finals came from 6 countries

To find out more information on how to participate and support this competition, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Arbitrator Registration

If you are a CAS Arbitrator and would be interested in supporting this competition please complete the following registration form. We wish to ensure that we have enough Arbitrators to evaluate the written submissions, and we will need to fill at least 45 oral argument arbitrator positions.

The registration form seeks your interest in any of the phases of SLAM and your availability.

Register Your Team

To register a team, please click here.


3rd Edition of SLAM


3rd SLAM Finals

The 3rd SLAM Semi-Finals and Grand Final took place in person on the 22 April 2022 at the Royal Society of Medicine, London (UK). The finals judges were:

Lord Dyson

Former Justice of the Supreme Court & Master of the Rolls (President of the Court of Appeal in England and Wales, and Head of Civil Justice)...

Raphaëlle Favre Schnyder

Partner, Barandun AG & Alternate Judge at Appellate Court of Valais/Wallis...

Mark Hovell

Partner, Mills & Reeve LLP...

Prizes For 3rd SLAM

  1. All teams that entered had the opportunity to attend training from experienced arbitrators and advocates on:

    1. Writting submission
    2. Oral advocacy
  2. All quarter final teams received Plus Membership to LawInSport for 1 Year.

  3. The 2nd placed team received the above + £1,000 prize money + tickets to LawInSport's Annual Conference or Foobtall Law Conference.

  4. The winners of SLAM received £1,500 prize money + tickets to LawInSport's Annual Conference or Foobtall Law Conference.


Judges For 3rd SLAM

All the judges have extensive experience as either arbitrators at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and other arbitral bodies, or they are experienced advocates in sports dispute resolution and at CAS. The judges from the quarter-final rounds onwards are all experienced CAS arbitrators.

We would like to thank our judges for their overwhelming support and for giving-up their time freely to help the next generation of sports lawyers realise their potential.

CAS Arbitrators

Anthony Lo Surdo SC

Barrister, Arbitrator & Mediator, 8 Wentworth Chambers Anthony Lo Surdo SC is a barr...

Benoît Pasquier

Founder & Attorney at Law - BP Sports Law Benoît Pasquier is a Swiss qualified and regist...

Cameron Myler

Clinical Assistant Professor, New York University's Tisch Institute for Global Sports & Forme...

Christopher L Campbell

Senior Counsel, Tyson & Mendes and Olympic Medallist Christopher L. Campbell is Senior Co...

David Benck

Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Hibbett Sports Mr. Benck is a dual US/Luxembourg...

David Wu

Partner, Llinks Law Offices David is a Partner at Llinks Law Offices in China. He leads the s...

Dr. Dominik Kocholl

Attorney at Law, Kocholl Law Dr. Dominik Kocholl is an experienced Attorney-at-Law, Arbitrato...

Dr. Jakub Laskowski

Director of Legal & Sport Administration, Legia Warszawa dr Jakub Laskowski, attorney-at-...

Dr. Jan Räker

Senior General Counsel, VfB Stuttgart Jan has been full-time Seni­or Gen­er­al Co...

Dr. Leanne O’Leary

Senior Lecturer in Law, Edge Hill University Leanne is a Senior Lecturer in Law at Edge Hill ...

Emin Özkurt

Managing Partner, Özkurt Law Offices This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Emin ÖZKURT is Managing Partner at ...

Espen Auberg

Partner, Advokatfirmaet Nova DA Espen is a Norwegian attorney-at-law who specializes in sport...

Frans de Weger

Chairman, FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber & Partner/Founder, BMDW Advocaten Frans de Wege...

Gareth Farrelly

Senior Associate, Bermans Gareth joined Bermans in 2018, following qualification as a commerc...

Hon. Hugh L. Fraser

Mediator, Arbitrator and Referee/Special Master, JAMS, Former regional senior justice for the Eas...

Jack Anderson

 Professor of Law, University of Melbourne Jack Anderson is a Professor of Law and Direc...

James Carter

Senior Counsel, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP JAMES H. CARTER is a Senior Counsel...

Janie Soubliere

Principal, Soubliere Sports Law Janie acts as Legal Counsel and Consultant in anti-doping, sa...

Joshua Gordon

Faculty Athletics Representative, University of Oregon Joshua A. Gordon, JD, MA is a leading ...

Kwadjo Adjepong

Panel Member, Sport Resolutions Kwadjo Adjepong has been a lawyer for over 20 years and is an...

Laura Abrahamson

Mediator, Arbitrator and Referee/Special Master, JAMS Ms. Abrahamson has experience as an arb...

Lord Dyson

Former Justice of the Supreme Court & Master of the Rolls (President of the Court of Appeal i...

Maciej Bałaziński

Owner, Kancelaria Prawna Maciej Bałaziński I Współpracownicy Maciej Bałaziński is a Polish at...

Maidie E Oliveau

Counsel, Arent Fox Maidie is a counsel at Arent Fox. Her practice focuses on sports-related t...

Mark Hovell

Partner, Mills & Reeve LLP Mark is a highly experienced sports lawyer and insolvency prac...

Patrice Brunet

Founder & Managing Director, patrice.brunet.avocats Boasting three decades of experience,...

Prof Yoshihisa Hayakawa

Professor of Law, Rikkyo University Yoshihisa Hayakawa serves as a professor of law at Rikkyo...

Raphaëlle Favre Schnyder

Partner, Barandun AG & Alternate Judge at Appellate Court of Valais/Wallis Raphaëlle Favr...

Ricardo de Buen Rodriguez

Founder & Managing Partner, de Buen Rodríguez Abogados, S.C Founding and Managing Partner...

Roberto Barracco

Judge, NDRC/CNRD, Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) & Head of Research. CBF Academy ...

Steve Bainbridge

Partner, Squire Patton Boggs Steve Bainbridge is a partner in the Dubai office and head of Sp...

Takuya Yamazaki

Founder & Managing Partner, Field-R Law Takuya Yamazaki gained his LLB from Waseda Univer...

Xianyue Simon BAI

Managing partner of Grandall Law Firm Managing partner of Grandall Law Firm Tianjin Office Ed...

Advocates

Alistair McHenry

Director of Dispute Resolution, Restructuring & Sport, Walker Morris LLP Alistair is the ...

Andrew Moroney

Senior Associate, Squire Patton Boggs Andrew is a Senior Associate in Squire Patton Boggs’ gl...

Andrew Smith

Barrister, Matrix Chambers Andrew is a barrister practising from Matrix Chambers in London. ...

Ben Rutherford

Senior Director, Legal,  International Tennis Integrity Agency Ben Rutherford is Senior ...

Bryan Faulkner

Head of Legal (Football Regulation and Litigation) at The Football Association (England) Brya...

Cliodhna Guy

Interim Chief Executive Officer Head of Licensing, Legal & Compliance (Legal Counsel), The Ir...

Despina Mavromati

Attorney at Law, SportLegis Lausanne Despina Mavromati is a Swiss and Greek attorney with ext...

Hannah Kent

Associate, Onside Law Hannah works in the Disputes and Regulatory team at Onside Law. She act...

Harry Steward-Moore

Partner, Stewart-Moore Solicitors Harry Stewart-Moore is a Partner at Stewart-Moore Solicitor...

James Kitching

Independent Consultant & Former Director of Football Regulatory, FIFA James Kitching is a...

Jessica van der Meer

Barrister, 2 Temple Gardens Jessica’s sports practice specialises in anti-doping cases (WADA ...

Jim Bunting

Partner, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP Jim Bunting is a partner in the litigation g...

Jiri Janak

Attorney-at-law specialising in the fields of sports law, civil and procedure law, and business l...

Jodi Balsam

Professor of Clinical Law and Director of Externship Programs, Brooklyn Law School Jodi S. Ba...

John Shea

Senior Associate, Lewis Silkin John is deputy co-head of Lewis Silkin’s sports group and advi...

Josep Vandellos

Founder/Partner, Vandellos Sports Law Josep is an independent lawyer with extensive experienc...

Joshua Charalambous

Senior Associate, RPC Josh is a sports, disputes and commercial lawyer at the international l...

Kate Porter

Partner, Vela Wood P.C Kate Porter is a partner and head of the sports practice at Vela Wood ...

Kendrah Potts

Barrister, 4 New Square Kendrah is a Barrister at 4 New Square. Kendrah has a broad practice ...

Lindsay Brandon

Associate, Law Offices of Howard L. Jacobs Lindsay is a practicing associate at the Law Offic...

Louis Weston

Barrister, Outer Temple Chambers Louis is a Barrister practising from chambers at Outer Templ...

Lydia Banerjee

Barrister, Littleton Chambers Lydia is a practical and skilled advocate who integrates her pe...

Nan Sato

Partner, Fisher Phillips & Attorney, Field-R Law Offices Nan Sato is an attorney at Field...

Paul Greene

Founder, Global Sports Advocates Paul J. Greene, the founder of Global Sports Advocates, is r...

Prof Mark James

Professor of Sports Law, Manchester Metropolitan University Professor Mark James re-joined Ma...

Richard Bush

Partner, Bird & Bird LLP Richard Bush is a partner in the Sports Group at international l...
Richard Liddell QC profile image

Richard Liddell QC

Queen’s Counsel, 4 New Square Richard Liddell QC’s practice primarily covers four areas: comm...

Robert McTernaghan

Barrister, Bar of Ireland Robert is barrister in private practice, he works in both jurisdict...

Rupert Beloff

Barrister, 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square and King’s Chambers Rupert is a barrister and a member of 4-...

Rustam Sethna

Associate, Mills & Reeve LLP Rustam is an Associate on the sports law team at Mills &...

Sam Fellows

Lecturer & Teaching Fellow, University of Waikato Sam is based in Tauranga, New Zealand. ...

Sarah Hartley

Partner, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP Sarah Hartley is a Partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Pa...

Shaun Star

Associate Professor,  Associate Dean (International) & Director, Centre for Sports Law, ...

Sohail Ali

Partner, DLA Piper Sohail Ali is a litigation and arbitration lawyer who advises on high valu...

Steven Flynn

Barrister, Kings Chambers & 2 Temple Gardens Steven is a specialist sports law barrister ...

Sven Demeulemeester

Founder, Atfield Sven is the founder at Atfield. He is a labour and social security lawyer wh...

Theo Barclay

Principal Associate, Mills & Reeve LLP Theo Barclay is a commercial barrister at 4 New Sq...

Tim O’Connor

Barrister, The Law Library Tim O'Connor BL is a practising barrister at the Irish Bar with a ...

Tiran Gunawardena

Principal Associate, Mills & Reeve LLP Tiran is a principal associate at Mills & Reev...

Vidushpat Singhania

Managing Partner, Krida Legal Vidushpat is the managing partner at Krida Legal and is an advo...

William Clerk

Barrister, 2 Temple Gardens Will is a commercial barrister with an established, specialist sp...

Teams Entered - SLAM 2022

BPP University
Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA)
Chanakya National Law University
City Law School
Dublin City University
Edge Hill University
Erasmus University Rotterdam
University of Ljubljana
Ghent University
Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar
Hugh Wooding Law School
International University of Monaco
ISDE
Kenyatta University
King's College London
Leiden University
Moi University-Kenya
National law University Assam
Nelson Mandela University
O. P. Jindal Global University
Pepperdine School of Law
*Russian State University of Justice
SSBM Geneva
St. Petersburg State University
Stockholm university
The University of Melbourne
University of York
Universidad Europea
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)
Universitatea din Bucuresti
University of Cambridge
University of Dar Es Salaam
University of Delhi
University of International Business and Economics
University of Law
University of Lleida
University of Nigeria
University of Oxford
University of Rijeka
University of South Africa
University of the Witwatersrand
University of Zagreb, Faculty of Law
University of Zurich
West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences

*The Russian State University of Justice qualified for the quarter-finals, however, due to the unprecedented prevailing circumstances relating to the invasion of Ukraine, we regret that the team was not able to progress to the quarter-finals.


Supporters Of The 3rd SLAM

If you would like to be a supporter of the Sports Law Arbitration Moot (SLAM) please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..


Quarter-Finalists For 3rd SLAM

Faculty of Law in Ljubljana

O.P. Jindal Global University

BPP University

Hugh Wooding Law School

University of Cambridge

Kenyatta University

Leiden University

City University

* Note The Russian State University of Justice qualified for the quarter-finals, however, due to the unprecedented prevailing circumstances relating to the invasion of Ukraine, we regret that the team was not able to progress to the quarter-finals.

Semi-Finalists For 3rd SLAM

O.P. Jindal Global University

BPP University

Erasmus University/Leiden University

City University

Finalists For 3rd SLAM

BPP University

City University (Winners)

Judges

Quarter-Finals Judges

Panel 1

Laura Abrahamson, Mediator, Arbitrator and Referee/Special Master, JAMS
Patrice Brunet, Founder and Managing Director of Patrice Brunet Avocats
Espen Auberg, Partner, Advokatfirmaet Nova DA

Panel 2

David Benck, Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Hibbett Sports
Leanne O'Leary, Senior Lecturer in Law, Edge Hill University
Christopher L. Campbell, Senior Counsel, Tyson & Mendes and Olympic Medallist

Panel 3

Janie Soublière , Principal, Soubliere Sport Law
Steve Bainbridge, Partner, Squire Patton Boggs
Yoshihisa Hayakawa , Professor of Law, Rikkyo University & Partner, Uryu & Itoga

Panel 4

Emin ÖZKURT , Managing Partner, Ozkurt Law Office
Ricardo de Buen, Managing Partner, De Buen Law
Jan Räker, Senior General Counsel, VfB Stuttgart

Semi-Finals & Finals Judges

The Rt. Hon. Lord Dyson
39 Essex Chambers - former Justice of the Supreme Court in 2010 and Master of the Rolls (President of the Court of Appeal in England and Wales, and Head of Civil Justice)

Raphaëlle Favre Schnyder
Attorney at law, Partner - Barandun & Alternate Judge at Appellate Court of Valais/Wallis

Mark Hovell
Head of Sport & Partner, Mills & Reeve

Klaus Reichert SC
Barrister (Senior Counsel), Brick Court Chambers


Organising Committee

SLAM is organised by:

  • Sean Cottrell, CEO & Co-Founder, LawInSport
  • Manan Agrawal, Editor, LawInSport
  • Blaz Tomazin Bolcar, founder of SportLaw and co-founder of SLAM
  • Jeffrey Benz, Attorney, Barrister, Arbitrator, Mediator, JAMS/4 New Square Chambers/Court of Arbitration for Sport
  • Nina Goolamali KC, Barrister, 39 Essex Chambers

All organisers and judges give up their time freely and do not receive any financial remmuneration from their roles in the Sports Law Arbitration Moot (SLAM).

Courses

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