Sam Shurey

Sam Shurey is a barrister at 3 Paper Buildings (3PB) and is Deputy Head of 3PB’s Sports Law Group. He previously worked in-house at The FA as a Regulatory Advocate. Sam now specialises in disciplinary, safeguarding, and regulatory cases across a range of sports. 
 
1. When did you first come across ‘sports law’? 

I didn’t have any specific experience of ‘sports law’ prior to my work at The FA. I stumbled across the advert for the role online whilst I was at the criminal bar. I was motivated to apply, in part, by my love of football. 

2. Are there any specific areas of law that you think are particularly applicable to sport? 

I don’t think there is any particular area of law that stands out as the most applicable to sport. Sports law practitioners tend to come from a wide range of legal backgrounds. For example, I can think of prominent practitioners with backgrounds in criminal, commercial, and employment law. 

3. How did you start to gain instructions in sport? 

I think this came from developing three areas: a network of professional/industry connections, demonstrable sports law experience, and transferable skills from previous cases/other areas of work. I think these factors helped me to position myself as a genuine sports law specialist who can deal with sensitive and complex work. 

4. Please can you tell us more about your time at The FA? 
 
I was part of a small team of in-house barristers who advised on, and acted as the advocate in, a wide range of disciplinary and safeguarding cases in football. The team’s cases included on-field misconduct, betting, allegations of discriminatory conduct, anti-doping, misconduct of intermediaries (agents), and safeguarding. The caseload spanned from non-league football through to the Premier League. 

5. What makes working in the sports industry unique? 

For me, sports law is a unique opportunity to combine my work with my love of sport. Whilst I maintain that there is no specific legal background that is a prerequisite to working in sport, I do think that a genuine interest in sport is an absolute must. Enthusiasm for sport keeps the work enjoyable and is key to understanding the practical context surrounding a case. I think very few people are ‘experts’ on every sport but having a good general understanding as a starting point, combined with a willingness to immerse yourself in an unfamiliar sport, makes all the difference. 

6. What makes a good advocate? 

I have been very fortunate to watch, learn from, work with, and appear against, some truly exceptional advocates since starting pupillage back in 2015. The best have mastered what can feel like an impossible balance between attention to detail and simplicity. I think great advocates identify every point in a case, establish how those points are going to be deployed or addressed, and then package them up in a manner that appears so straightforward and logical that a Tribunal can’t help but be persuaded. Overcomplication from mismanaging detail leads to arguments that are difficult to follow and are, ultimately, less persuasive. In short, the best advocates leave you feeling that their argument is obviously right. 

7. What advice would you give to aspiring sports lawyers?

Above all, take every opportunity you can to build your knowledge of the sports industry. Being able to demonstrate that you understand the key objectives and pressures that a sports client might be managing in a case can really set you apart. You can never start this too early in your career and it isn’t onerous if you enjoy sport. 
 
I think there are two options for aspiring sports lawyers at the very start of their careers:
 
One route into sports law is a paralegal role / training contract with a sports law firm. Sports law is growing as an established practice area in its own right, with more specialist firms offering these sorts of opportunities. There are also opportunities to work with governing bodies and sports clubs in equivalent in-house roles. 
 
The alternative route is to develop a core underlying practice area (that isn’t sport) and a fundamental legal skill that you excel at, with a view to working in sport at a later stage. For example, if you want to conduct advocacy in sports disciplinary cases, experience of appearing before courts and other tribunals in another practice area will provide you with the core transferable skills. 

8. Please can you describe a typical day in your life? 
 
As a self-employed barrister, no two days are the same. The bar isn’t a ‘9-5’ profession and my daily routine is dictated by my workload. This obviously has its pros and cons. For example, I may have to work late due to a hearing starting in the evening or to meet a deadline but, when things are quieter, I’m not under any obligation to be at my desk for the sake of it. That said, there is a need to be available as a slower day can quickly speed up!
 
The majority of my work is now conducted online through Teams or Zoom (including hearings), which adds to the flexibility about when and where I work. 
 
3PB is quite unusual in having multiple offices around the country (London, Bournemouth, Winchester, Oxford, Bristol, and Birmingham). Whilst a 3PB barrister may have office space in one of the centres, we are all members of the national chambers, benefiting from the significant clerking and administrative support that this brings. In practical terms, this means I could utilise any of our locations to arrange meetings or provide facilities to support my conduct of a particular case.