I am a sports lawyer and a partner in our Sports Group, based in Sydney.
I have been advising clients in the sports industry for over 15 years, and have a unique combination of private practice and in-house experience having spent seven years as the General Counsel of Rugby Australia.
I began my sports law career in Bird & Bird's London office in 2004 and, after a seven year stint in-house, re-joined the firm in Sydney in early 2018. I am now in the early stages of building an Asia-Pacific sports practice to replicate what Bird & Bird's market-leading international Sports Group has achieved in other markets, and am excited about the opportunities and the momentum we are building in the region.
I advise on a wide array of commercial, regulatory and contentious matters in the sports sector. I have particular expertise in sports media and marketing rights, and advising on high-value and strategically important transactions and partnerships between sports and their stakeholders. I have a passion for sports governance and have assisted a number of sports achieve major governance reform and implement new governance structures which set a platform to transform the fortunes of the sport.
Having worked as an in-house lawyer in sport for seven years, I have a genuine understanding of the opportunities and challenges which are virtually unique to the industry. Over the years, I have developed this sector expertise working on some major sports events and other cutting-edge projects including sales and acquisitions of sports teams, joint ventures, collective bargaining and other stakeholder arrangements, and the implementation and enforcement of sports integrity policies and programmes.
I'm also co-author of the 'Image Rights' chapter in the leading UK sports law textbook 'Sport, Law and Practice' (Taylor and Lewis, Second Edition).