Department profile
Blackstone Chambers

Sport

UK Bar Guide 2026 : London (Bar)


Blackstone Chambers

Rankings

Chambers Review

Provided by Chambers

Sport - London (Bar)

Band 1

Band 1


What the Team is Known For

Blackstone Chambers is a market-leading set of barristers able to deftly support clients worldwide on all manner of sports law issues. The barristers, praised for their "outstanding breadth and depth of experience", frequently appear in all UK courts and in arbitrations regarding commercial disputes, disciplinary proceedings, broadcasting rights, sponsorship deals and other disputes. Sources say it is "the go-to set for sports law work", which is emphasised by recent instructions, including high-profile representations of governing bodies, including the FA, FIFA, the RFU, the ICC, UK Athletics, UEFA, the Horserace Betting Levy Board and many others. Members have experience and expertise regarding a wide variety of sports, including football, rugby, cricket, sailing and tennis.

Derek Sutton is senior clerk.

Strengths

Provided by Chambers

  • Blackstone Chambers are efficient, friendly, accommodating and pragmatic.

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  • They always provide high levels of responsiveness and detailed consideration.

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  • Derek Sutton heads the team and he is great. All clerks there are efficient and polished.

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  • They pick up the phone any time of day and sport never stops. They are really helpful.

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  • The clerks are quick to respond, friendly and sensible on fees.

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Notable Practitioners

Provided by Chambers

  • Star IndividualsAdam Lewis
    Star IndividualsAdam Lewis

    Adam Lewis

    Adam Lewis KC is widely regarded as the leading sports barrister in the UK, whose dedicated focus has led to him having unrivalled knowledge and experience in the sector. He utilises his expertise to assist major clients with a broad spectrum of sport-related matters, including those in football, tennis, athletics and numerous other sports.

    • Adam is the star of the Bar and literally wrote the book on sports law.

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    • Adam remains one of the most experienced sports law barristers around.

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    • Adam is one of the pre-eminent silks at the Bar for sport law work and a pleasure to work with.

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    • Adam's knowledge of sports law is unmatched.

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  • Band 1David Pannick
    Band 1David Pannick

    David Pannick

    David Pannick KC is highly regarded for his work in the sports law practice area. He is extremely well known for his representation of high-profile football clubs. He has impressive expertise in commercial disputes and breaches.

    • He works very hard, is always very well prepared and is very, very bright and quick. His advocacy is fantastic.

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    • Even in the most extreme of scenarios, David thinks ten steps ahead and is able to pick the key points and deliver them in an intelligible manner.

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    • David is one of the pre-eminent lawyers of the country. He is top of the market.

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  • Band 1Ian Mill
    Band 1Ian Mill

    Ian Mill

    Ian Mill KC is a superb operator who receives countless plaudits for his expertise in commercial, disciplinary and regulatory cases. He regularly represents football clubs and their owners as claimants and defendants, and is known for being a tenacious advocate. He is active in commercial matters, including fraud, forgery and breach of copyright.

    • Ian is hard-working and a winner.

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    • He is just a formidable litigator who is someone you want to see on your team rather than someone else's.

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    • Ian is a real class act. He is confident in his views, very user-friendly and a total team player. He is the perfect silk for fiercely fought matters.

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  • Band 1James Segan
    Band 1James Segan

    James Segan

    James Segan KC has a strong presence in the sports law arena, with instructions in commercial, disciplinary and regulatory cases. He has a particular focus on disputes involving competition law and contract breaches. He frequently acts in the football, golf and Formula 1 spaces.

    • James is a true team player, phenomenally bright and has a razor-sharp focus on the issues that will turn a case.

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    • James is a well-prepared, articulate and persuasive advocate.

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    • He is highly intelligent while being able to explain things to us non-experts so we understood.

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  • Band 1Jane Mulcahy
    Band 1Jane Mulcahy

    Jane Mulcahy

    Jane Mulcahy KC is a personable advocate who is widely praised for her bedside manner and pragmatic advice. She handles disputes and disciplinary hearings concerning sexual abuse allegations and discrimination, including betting claims. She has recently focused on safeguarding and employment matters.

    • Jane is excellent. She is very personable yet straight-talking, great at strategy and advocacy.

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    • Jane is extremely impressive and impressively pragmatic. She does not reinvent the wheel for the sake of doing so.

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    • Jane is a clear, concise and forceful advocate.

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    • Jane is a legend in the sports law world. She is fierce when she wants to be with opponents, and her advocacy is superb.

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    • Jane is a very effective practitioner and arbitrator.

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  • Band 1Kate Gallafent
    Band 1Kate Gallafent

    Kate Gallafent

    Kate Gallafent KC is singled out for her exemplary skills as an advocate in matters involving betting claims and disciplinary hearings. She is experienced in a broad range of sports, including football, rugby, horse racing and athletics. She is particularly knowledgeable on safeguarding in sport.

    • We can rely on Kate to provide practical advice in difficult situations. She is very good with clients and a pleasure to deal with.

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    • With Kate what you get is knowledge that is second to none in how best to approach matters. She went above and beyond with recommendations for future measures to prevent a similar scenario arising.

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    • Kate is very approachable and easy to work with. She is logical and very clear in terms of her explanations and she gets to the point quickly.

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  • Band 1Nick de Marco
    Band 1Nick de Marco

    Nick de Marco

    Nick de Marco KC is an outstanding practitioner and leading advocate with a widely held reputation at the Bar for being the foremost expert on football regulatory issues. He is regularly involved in cricket, boxing and rugby cases.

    • Nick is excellent in football matters. He is reliable and understands the football market.

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    • He has become the go-to silk for tricky regulatory issues regarding financial fair play.

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    • Nick has an encyclopedic knowledge of law in the sport sector. He is highly creative and fun to work with.

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  • Band 2Andrew Hunter
    Band 2Andrew Hunter

    Andrew Hunter

    Andrew Hunter KC is praised for his highly intelligent and controlled approach. His practice regularly entails disciplinary and contractual disputes in football, motor racing and cycling.

    • Andrew is an absolutely extraordinary advocate and team leader. He is a superb strategist with impeccable litigation instincts.

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    • He is the full package, maintaining a respectful tone and engendering trust and respect from the Bench, while being absolutely ruthless and razor sharp.

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    • Andrew is fiercely intelligent, gets on top of things quickly, has a great courtroom demeanour and is hugely commercially savvy. He gets the industry.

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    • His written work and advocacy are brilliant, and he has a fantastic nose for strategy. He is genuinely fantastic.

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  • Band 2Tom Mountford
    Band 2Tom Mountford

    Tom Mountford

    Tom Mountford is an impressive practitioner who receives increasing acclaim for his expertise in sports matters, with notable experience in anti-doping, corruption and ethics disputes. He has recently been active in commercial sports cases, as well as handling disputes between different regulators.

    • Tom can cover a wide range of sporting issues, but his background in employment and discrimination law makes him particularly knowledgeable and able in these areas in a sporting context.

      Sport respondentUK Bar
    • Tom was very knowledgeable and thorough. You always feel he is well and truly across the detail. He is very pragmatic in his approach to things.

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  • Band 3Celia Rooney
    Band 3Celia Rooney

    Celia Rooney

    Celia Rooney acts for a broad range of clients ranging from individual athletes to football clubs, and also has a strong practice appearing on behalf of sports governing bodies. Clients include the FA, the Lawn Tennis Association and the Premier League.

    • Celia is a good team player, a hard worker and has an excellent legal mind. She is down to earth, which makes her very accessible and part of the team.

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    • Celia is very knowledgeable and able to run with complex questions and come back with intelligible answers.

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  • Band 3Paul Goulding
    Band 3Paul Goulding

    Paul Goulding

    Paul Goulding KC is a leading figure in the employment law world. He is instructed in a variety of sport-related matters involving contract disputes, terminations and trade secrets. He is particularly active on matters relating to football as well as Formula 1.

    • He is very approachable, extremely sharp and thorough, and a delight to work with.

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    • Paul is simply superb. His legal knowledge and skills are profound. He is genuinely interested in and knowledgeable about a variety of sports.

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  • Band 3Ravi Mehta
    Band 3Ravi Mehta

    Ravi Mehta

    Ravi Mehta is a high-quality junior who is gaining prominence for his sound advice on the regulatory frameworks in various sports. He has advocated before the CAS in disputes regarding football, rugby and athletics, as well as acting on related competition and contractual matters.

    • He is very good - diligent and knowledgeable.

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    • Ravi was very good at dealing with complex issues in sports law. He offered very good analysis and very good reporting.

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    • Ravi's sports sector knowledge combined with his legal ability is a perfect combination for us. He provides clear and concise advice and is on top of the detail.

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  • Band 3Thomas de la Mare
    Band 3Thomas de la Mare

    Thomas de la Mare

    Thomas de la Mare KC is noted for his expertise in cases at the intersection of sports and European and competition law. His cases include disciplinary proceedings and betting cases.

    • One of the brightest and most knowledgeable counsel.

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  • Band 4Luka Krsljanin
    Band 4Luka Krsljanin

    Luka Krsljanin

    Luka Krsljanin is a well-regarded practitioner with notable expertise in sports matters, particularly appearing in high-profile football-related disputes. He is frequently instructed as sole counsel in cases and also has significant experience of acting in arbitrations.

    • He is very bright, very user-friendly and gives good insight. He presents confidently and he deals with matters on his feet.

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    • Luka was excellent - very quick and quite creative and open to collaboration.

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  • Band 4Shane Sibbel
    Band 4Shane Sibbel

    Shane Sibbel

    Shane Sibbel boasts a broad sports disputes practice. He is well versed in domestic and international matters including large-scale arbitrations. He is frequently sought by a wide range of clients including regulators, clubs and agencies.

    • Shane is a details person; he gets on top of it incredibly quickly and presents it in a digestible way. He is a real asset to our team.

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    • Shane is incredibly bright and hard-working. He has superb drafting skills and is technically excellent.

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    • Shane is extraordinary in his ability to delve into the detail of the case and produce succinct written work and clear strategies from highly complex issues.

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  • Band 4Tom Hickman
    Band 4Tom Hickman

    Tom Hickman

    Tom Hickman KC is noted as a strong advocate by instructing solicitors. He is instructed in a range of sporting disputes, including anti-doping, commercial matters and player transfers.

    • Tom is a very user-friendly silk who is able to distil complex arguments with ease.

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    • Tom is very strong technically, has good commercial awareness and is a formidable advocate.

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  • Band 4Tom Richards
    Band 4Tom Richards

    Tom Richards

    Tom Richards KC is a valued adviser on a range of contentious sports law matters, including arbitration proceedings. He has considerable experience of acting for football clubs in disputes against agents and players. He is also experienced in handling competition law disputes.

    • Tom Richards is very good and effective.

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  • New SilksDavid Lowe
    New SilksDavid Lowe

    David Lowe

    David Lowe offers clients a wealth of experience in high-profile sports disputes and frequently acts for Premier League football clubs and golfers.

    • David was great. He was always available and pragmatic.

      Sport respondentUK Bar
    • David is a fantastic technical lawyer and a great draftsman. I was impressed with his calm but authoritative manner

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  • New SilksJason Pobjoy
    New SilksJason Pobjoy

    Jason Pobjoy

    Jason Pobjoy KC is recognised for his impressive involvement in the sports law arena. He is active in a range of football disputes and regularly interacts with the Premier League, FA and EFL.

    • Jason is an excellent strategist; he has great command of the bigger picture and the detail.

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    • Jason Pobjoy provides highly commercial, deeply thoughtful advice. He is a pleasure to work with and is excellent on his feet.

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    • Jason is fiercely intelligent and his advice is incredibly commercial. He's incredibly available as well. You always feel like he is on top of stuff.

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    • Jason offers superb written work and very astute and clear advice. His ability to distil complex issues and formulate clear and simple strategies is excellent.

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Ranked Barristers at Blackstone Chambers (19)

London (Bar)

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