Sports law

Bär & Karrer Ltd.

Client Satisfaction

Fielding a wide-ranging practice that encompasses litigation, arbitration and mediation, the ‘absolutely stellar’ Bär & Karrer Ltd. is noted for its contentious and non-contentious work for a diverse multitude of football, tennis, and other sports organisations. ’One of the top experts’, Michele Bernasconi spearheads the practice with his substantial experience in handling commercial and transactional work for a range of domestic and international clients, and the team is further bolstered by arbitration expert Saverio Lembo. Other names to note include the ‘highly knowledgeable’ Emanuel Cortada, who possesses a strong grounding in disciplinary sanctions and disputes, and the ’very talented’ Jonáš Gürtler, who excels in sports, media and entertainment matters.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

‘Michele Bernasconi is certainly very experienced and one of the most prominent CAS arbitrators worldwide.’
‘The experience and network of Michele Bernasconi is certainly good.’
‘Bär & Karrer's team is one of the most efficient and responsive legal teams we had the pleasure to work with. Their advice is always to the point. Further, the team is impressive for the experience and the spectrum of services they can provide. Their expertise in sports law is unmatched - absolutely stellar.’
‘The leader of the team, Michele Bernasconi, is without doubt one of the top experts in Europe for sports-related matters. He has experience in a wide range of matters and his advice and support is always very valuable and reliable. His experience in litigation matters, in contractual arrangements and in sports-related business projects is unique.'
'Emanuel Cortada is a very committed and highly knowledgeable lawyer. Jonáš Gürtler is a very talented lawyer, with huge ability in the court room, both in state courts and arbitration.'
'Michele Bernasconi is one of the leading world experts in the field of sports law. His long-standing experience, and especially as a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) arbitrator with an active role in some of the most influential decisions, in my opinion, is of paramount importance for this legal firm. It is an outstanding thing to have such an expert in the team.’
‘Excellent professionals, very knowledgeable and extremely kind.’
‘The team at B&K is a standout in the international sports law market. They are commercially savvy, and client focused. They have extensive connections within the industry and can apply this knowledge effectively to assist clients.’

Key clients

Union des Associations Européennes de Football (UEFA)
World Aquatics
Felipe Massa
European Aquatics (LEN)
Olympic Council of Asia (OCASIA)
World Skate
CONMEBOL
NK Olimpija Ljubljana
International Wushu Federation (IWUF)

Work highlights

Assisted European Aquatics in all disciplinary and regulatory matters and in the implementation of the program of reforms installed by the new European Aquatics Executive Body and the recently newly elected President of European Aquatics.
Represented CONMEBOL in all proceedings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport which are related to disciplinary sanctions imposed by CONMEBOL on South American football clubs.
Assisted UEFA in all regulatory matters and in particular in all disputes before the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the Swiss Federal Tribunal, e.g. in disciplinary cases, cases related to Financial Fair Play, match-fixing etc.

Lawyers

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