We’re recruiting – Sports Disputes & Regulatory Lawyer (NQ – 2 PQE)

Key Responsibilities

As a lawyer within the Disputes & Regulatory Team, your responsibilities will include:

• Drafting and reviewing correspondence including pre-action letters, breach and termination notices, and other legal documents.
• Reviewing and advising on contractual clauses including governing law and jurisdiction, termination, liquidated damages, indemnities and liability exclusions.
• Advising sports organisations and individuals on regulatory and governance issues.
• Supporting clients in internal investigations, crisis management, and integrity-related enquiries, sometimes working with external service providers.
• Researching and preparing advice notes on legal issues that arise for clients.
• Preparing instructions and collating documents for provision to external counsel.
• Assisting at all stages of contentious matters, including reviewing documents and disclosure, preparing first drafts of evidence and submissions and preparing bundles (with the assistance of paralegals).
• Taking ownership of matters, with supervision from more senior members of the team, working directly with clients.
• Working alongside other team members including supervising and working with the team’s paralegal.
• Keeping up to date with legal and regulatory developments in sports law and sharing insights with clients and colleagues. Creating and updating departmental know-how documents, templates and resources.
• Developing strong relationships with clients and contributing to the team’s business development initiatives.

Essential Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

• Minimum 0-2 years PQE as a UK qualified lawyer with experience dealing with contentious matters (dispute resolution and/or regulatory matters).
• Trained and qualified as a lawyer at a leading law firm (e.g. City, US or boutique law firm) and benefited from high quality training and supervision.
• Excellent written and oral skills.
• Confident and proactive in providing sound legal advice.
• Capable of working independently.
• Able to handle varied workload and can manage and prioritise multiple workstreams simultaneously and effectively, delivering results under pressure to a deadline.
• A keen interest in sports and a commercial approach to advising clients in the industry.
• Happy to take ownership of and responsibility for their own workstreams and are proactive problem-solvers.
• Pride themselves on having a high degree of attention to detail and a thorough approach to work.
• Team player who understands the importance of building relationships with clients, colleagues and external partners.
• Enthusiastic, with a strong “can-do” attitude and a willingness to expand their skillset.

Desirable Knowledge, Skills and Experience:

• Experience of working in sport. Experience working with or advising national and international sports governing bodies, clubs, or athletes.
• Familiarity with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) procedures and other sports dispute resolution mechanisms.
• Knowledge of anti-doping regulations and integrity-related frameworks.
• Experience in any the following: IP (e.g. trademarks), employment, insolvency, competition and regulatory, High Court litigation, arbitration.
• Foreign language skills would be beneficial.

Why Join Onside Law?

• Opportunity to work with some of the biggest names in sport and entertainment and potential for client secondments when available.
• Exposure to high-profile, complex, and international disputes.
• A collaborative and entrepreneurial work environment.
• Access to industry events, networking opportunities, and conferences.
• Engaging and intellectually stimulating work in a niche and evolving sector.
• Competitive salary and benefits package, including attending sporting events.
• Strong commitment to diversity, inclusion, and well-being initiatives.
• Hybrid working arrangements.

Our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion

At Onside Law, we understand the importance of ensuring and promoting equality, diversity and inclusion in everything we do and within the sporting and media communities we serve and in which we operate. We believe that success is best achieved when teams are built around diversity of background, experience, thought, personality and opinion, without any discrimination, disrespect or unfair treatment. Accordingly, we will operate a fair and open recruitment process.

Next Steps

If you are a motivated and talented lawyer looking to build a career in sports law, we would love to hear from you. Please submit your CV and cover letter to sienna.hamilton@onsidelaw.co.uk

The closing date for applications for this role is Friday 21^st March 2025.

We are only able to consider applicants who have the right to live and work in the UK.