The DLA Piper team is an ‘excellent choice’ for major leagues, media companies and national governing bodies, frequently assisting with sports-related commercial partnership rights, media rights regulation and complex copyright litigation. Nick Fitzpatrick and Paul Gray co-lead the practice, with the former primarily specialising in brand exploitation and event organisation, while the latter is an expert in sports finance transactions. John Wilks covers IP matters within the sports and media spheres, Jon Kenworthy is an experienced M&A practitioner, and Samuel Churney is also noted. The practice was boosted in the spring of 2024 by the arrival of a team from Armstrong Teasdale, including Zane Shihab and James Thorndyke.
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘An excellent choice for TMT – sport. Years of experience in this field.’
‘Ruth Hoy (partner): excellent legal knowledge, great at client care and a pleasure to work with. John Wilks: a meticulous lawyer who always has his eye on the client's goals.’
Key clients
- The Football Association Premier League
- Football DataCo Limited
Work highlights
- Acting as the Premier League’s go-to advisers on a wide range of commercial and regulatory matters and have undertaken a great deal of IP enforcement work for the client.
- Advised leading international bank and wealth manager Investec on its partnership with European Professional Club Rugby.