Robert Jones

Robert Jones is a Senior Associate at TSC Legal, a boutique sports law firm based in London. Rob advises clients in the sports industry on various corporate, commercial/IP and governance matters and has been highlighted by The Legal 500 as offering “niche expertise on event hosting agreements”.[1]

1) How would you describe “sports law”? 

It’s a very good question. The term is a bit misleading, I’ve always found, because you would think that sports law includes a multitude of laws that are exclusive to sport. In reality, there are very few such laws in the UK. You have some sport specific regulations like anti-doping regulations which apply exclusively to sport stakeholders, but the reality is that “sports law” is just a term that refers to a context that incorporates a variety of laws that also apply to other sectors, not just sport. For example, the Companies Act applies to companies whether they’re in the sports sector or not. You have contract law that applies to a sponsorship agreement for a football club but also contracts outside of the sports context. You also have employment law, that would govern the hiring and firing of a football manager, but it would also govern my employment contract. I always think there’s a useful parallel with image rights - there is no “image rights law” in E&W but athletes can protect the use of their image through a nexus of intellectual property rights like copyright, trademarks, passing off. 

2) How would you describe the work of a sports lawyer? What makes working on commercial and corporate matters in the sports sector unique? 

So, the work of a sports lawyer would really depend on what type of work you specialise in. As I mentioned previously, being a “sports lawyer” could include delivering a variety of legal services like contract, corporate, employment, IP, litigation, tax etc. The work required would differ for each. Regardless though, if you enjoy sport then any work you do within that context is always going to be more interesting. That is why working in the sector is so popular. There isn’t really anything unique about working in commercial / corporate matters within sport. Like in any legal sector, the better you know the context the more effective advice you are able to give. 

3) How did you start working as a sports lawyer? 

So, the first opportunity I had to work in a sport and legal context was as a paralegal for Sport England. By that stage I already had a training contract at Squire Patton Boggs, which was called Hammonds at that time, and the reason why I applied to that firm was predominantly because they had a sports team. I then went on to do a sport seat at Squires and a few years later in 2018, I joined TSC Legal which had just been set up as a stand-alone law firm. 

4) Please can you explain the connection between The Sports Consultancy and TSC Legal? 

Yes of course! It’s something that I have to explain quite a bit internally and externally as it’s a unique model in the UK. The Sports Consultancy (TSC) was created nearly 20 years ago by former lawyers. It had its own clients. It offered effective Consulting advice to sporting stakeholders on a range of commercial, operational and governance matters, using the legal, commercial and operational knowhow and experience of its founders. Just over 5 years ago, TSC created a subsidiary called TSC Legal, which is a regulated law firm. That enabled lawyers at TSC Legal to offer legal advice to third party clients and build its own client base. It gives TSC a dual offering of consulting and legal, a unique offering in sport in the UK. At the same time, we at TSC Legal continue to be the day-to-day legal advisors to TSC. So, where TSC enters into an agreement to provide services, its consulting services for example, to any rights-holder, whether it’s NFL or Major League Baseball or The FA, I will be reviewing those terms under which TSC will deliver specific consulting services. At TSC Legal, we also continue to work side by side with TSC on dual consulting and legal projects. 

5) How have you found moving from larger firms, in terms of headcount, to a practice with a much smaller team? 

Well, and this will be the answer that I imagine lots of people will provide, there are pros and cons. In general, I have had more responsibility at small firms, both when delivering work and when marketing and winning work. I am much closer to the management of TSC Legal than I have been at other bigger firms but that is also a reflection of my growing experience. There is also no comparison between the amount of HR and marketing support that you get in a big firm, like Squire Patton Boggs and that we get at TSC Legal. It’s a personal preference really. For me, there’s a net benefit in working within a smaller practice because you are perhaps more in control of how you want to progress and shape your career, whilst handling a variety of work. For me, it’s very rewarding having such a knowledge of the sports sector that allows me to win work for either TSC and/or TSC Legal. I enjoy being engaged in the commercial context rather than purely the legal advisory, something I’m so close to here working alongside TSC. I was a trainee at a big firm, and now I’m a Senior Associate at a small firm though, so I haven’t had the experience of holding a similar position at both large and small firms. 

6) What helps sports lawyers and firms, such as yourself and TSC Legal, attract and retain clients? 

Our USP at TSC Legal is that we work within a consulting firm who deliver consulting advice to an incredible array of clients across so many jurisdictions and sports, ranging from the NFL to Padel, there’s a huge breadth there, and because of that you learn the commercial context of the particular landscape of a sport, and that really makes your advice that 10-20% more effective. We’re also able to offer a more efficient and more cost effective legal and consulting service as a result. For example, if we were in a co-delivery project, with TSC Legal and Consulting, our client would work with TSC Consulting but if we, TSC Legal, weren’t here, or the client didn’t have its own lawyers, then the client would have to engage a completely unrelated third-party law firm to deliver any legal services required. That law firm won’t know the background and probably don’t know the industry or client as well as us.

7) What has been your proudest professional achievement to date? 

I have worked for both the event owner and host of an inaugural international cycling event taking place this year. When we were working for the international federation, we were responsible for designing a new event hosting model, where certain event related commercial rights and revenues would be pooled together and shared. Due to our reputation and expertise in the sports industry, we were also asked to advise the host of the event on some commercial and operational matters. I am proud that we are able to do that - it just shows how much our expertise is valued. 

8) Please can you tell us about a case that you have worked on recently?

A good example would be the work that TSC and TSC Legal delivered for the NFL. The NFL wanted to expand their international presence through staging NFL matches in overseas territories (in addition to London). In particular, they wanted to go to Germany. They recognised the contacts we had within cities, clubs and leagues in that territory and asked us to manage what we call here as an event host procurement process. We identified appropriate cities / stadiums that fulfil NFL’s operational, commercial and financial strategy / criteria. Not every stadium can host an event. Unfortunately, the reality is that my football club, Portsmouth, would not have the facilities or capacity to interest the NFL. I drafted the event host agreement template, that was sent to all the bidders, and which I then negotiated between the various cities and clubs involved in the process. At the end of this process, each candidate submitted a signed agreement. It is then up to the NFL to evaluate and decide, in a fair and transparent way, who they want to host their events - looking at various operational and commercial factors. Our management of the process gives hosts more comfort that it’s being handled professionally, transparently and fairly - that it’s worth their while bidding to host this particular event. 

9) What advice would you give to aspiring sports lawyers? 

I would read articles, and which ones depends really on which kind of area that you are most attracted to, maybe it’s competition law so you could read some articles on LIV Golf / PGA Tour, for example, or if it’s commercial then having a look at some recent sponsorship deals and some issues that brands or other sport stakeholders have come across, things like matching rights, which was highlighted in a case between Liverpool and New Balance a few years. This knowledge then puts you in a good position when speaking to as many contacts in the industry as you can (not just lawyers), which is my second bit of advice. Whether it’s a relative or a friend of a friend of a friend, it’s worth speaking to people in the industry. It’s quite a small industry and you will see people again. A conversation may not bear any fruit for you personally in the first few years, but may well later down the line. It’s important to get out there and meet people and be able to show your interest by discussing some relevant topics. A third piece of advice would be patience and perseverance. There are so many lawyers looking for jobs in sport. If you’re not offered a role in the first year or couple of PQE years, that doesn’t mean you’re a bad candidate. There are lots of good candidates and a finite amount of positions available and so I always say to people not to get disheartened. 

10) Please can you describe a typical day in your life? 

A typical day would involve a mix of the work I mention above - working with and for both TSC and also third party clients. Usually, I’ll be reviewing or drafting contract terms, speaking with clients about those terms and our response, and then also having a call or meeting up with an existing or potential client to touch base with them or talk about a particular issue we may be able to help them with. I also attend quite a few sports events through work. A couple of weekends ago I was in Dublin for the Heineken Champions Cup Final and Challenge Cup. Our client is EPCR which owns those two events. We brought together potential bidders for the 2025 and 2026 editions of that event to Dublin for what we call an observer programme. The potential bidders experience the event first hand, receive information about the benefits in hosting the event and have an opportunity to ask questions. 
​
[1]https://www.legal500.com/c/london/tmt-technology-media-and-telecoms/sport/