Richard Yates

Richard Yates is an Associate in the Commercial and Sports and Media Law departments at JMW Solicitors. He possesses extensive experience across the sports sector and has represented a number of high-profile sportspeople including Premier League footballers and Olympic gold medallists. Richard is regularly instructed to advise on legal issues in relation to playing contracts, sponsorship agreements, agency agreements, anti-doping violations, regulatory disputes, disciplinary issues and funding and selection appeals. Richard is a former professional athlete himself and has regularly represented both Great Britain and England, winning a Commonwealth bronze medal in the 4×400 metre relay in Delhi in 2010. He is also an elected member and Vice-Chairperson of the UK Athletics Athletes' Commission.
 
1. When did your interest in sports law begin? 
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When I opted to embark on a career in law in 2004, which marked the final year of my studies at Manchester Grammar School and transition to Leeds University, I decided that given my strong background in sport, combining both law and sport would be a natural career path for me. Mindful that some people dispute that “sports law” is actually a thing, I decided that whatever area of law I ultimately chose to specialise in, I would retain as much of a sporting element as possible, whether that be pursuant to my client base or the nature of matters being worked on. I have always found that some areas of law can be particularly dry and boring, whereas I felt that if I was working on a legal matter in the industry of sport or which involved a sporting connotation, I would find it much more interesting and stimulating. This has certainly been the case since I qualified as a solicitor in 2014. 
 
2. What is the most interesting sports-related case that you have worked on? 

I would say that the most interesting recent case that springs to mind is an extremely high value legal dispute between an international kit manufacturer and an Olympic Champion pursuant to the wording and clauses of a sponsorship agreement between those respective parties and whether a bonus payment would or would not be triggered. The kit manufacturer had originally sought to withhold the bonus payment and I acted for the athlete in disputing this. We discovered a legal loophole to success on the basis of how one of the clauses of the sponsorship agreement had been drafted, which meant that the Olympic Champion was entitled to a hefty pay-out which the clothing company had originally attempted to withhold. It served as both a moral and financially rewarding victory for our client and the bonus payment hugely assisted the athlete to continue to compete at the highest level of the sport. 

3. How has having a career as a professional athlete helped your transition into the world of sports law?

Having a background in sport personally, as I am sure a lot of aspiring sports lawyers do, has helped me massively upon my ultimate transition into the legal profession. I feel that I have a very strong knowledge of the sporting industry generally and I am able to fully understand the perspective, aims and motivations of an athlete/sportsperson when they instruct a legal professional to assist them in a sports-related legal matter. It is not always about recovering the highest sum of money possible, but rather managing their reputation or securing them selection to an international team or assisting them in recovering from injury and returning to the field of play as quickly and as safely as possible.  
 
Additionally, my previous career as an athlete has led to me building up an impressive amount of sporting contacts which have subsequently converted into formal clients or proved invaluable links to governing bodies, journalistic forums, kit manufacturers and sporting clubs and teams. I also believe that my athletic background has helped my own reputation generally and has served to personally set me apart from other lawyers in the same field due to the unique perspective that I possess in also having experienced matters from the athlete/field of play angle. 

4. What do you see as the biggest legal developments in sport at the moment? 
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I have recently been directly involved in a very interesting legal debate in the sport of athletics relating to Caster Semenya who was assigned female at birth, raised as and identifies as a woman but has XY chromosomes and exceptionally high testosterone levels (hyperandrogenism) due to an intersex condition. Semenya competes in the female category, but in 2018 World Athletics introduced controversial new regulations which effectively prevented her from competing in events from 400m up to a mile unless she takes testosterone-reducing medication. Semenya challenged the regulations initially to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and then to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland but lost. It is unlikely that we have heard the end of this from a legal perspective in addition to the wider issues that this is likely to throw up relating to transgender participation in sport generally. 

It also goes without saying that COVID-19 already has and is due to have a large impact on sport moving forward. Fortunately, the Premier League and Championship football seasons of 2019-20 were completed (albeit without fans) and are now back underway for 2020-21. There would have undoubtedly been a number of legal challenges had the 2019-20 season not been completed and a points-per-game formula been adopted to decide promotion and relegation. There were some minor player contract issues caused by the extension of the 2019-20 season and the recent Lionel Messi dispute with FC Barcelona showed how such extension to the season affected contracts which had previously not envisaged the global pandemic. 

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics has been postponed until 2021 but it remains to be seen as to what further impact COVID-19 will have generally over the next 9 months, which again leads to some critics believing that the Olympics will not take place in 2021, or at the very least, without a full complement of spectators. Those involved in elite sport are having to adapt in order to adopt an innovative and largely different approach to what we have seen previously. It is now very difficult to travel from country to country without issue or restriction and the virus has hit governing bodies, sporting clubs and kit manufacturers hard on a financial level. In the absence of an immediate vaccine (which currently seems unlikely), the world of sport is preparing itself for a ‘new normal’. 
 
5. What advice would you give to aspiring sports lawyers?

Sports law is an incredibly attractive phenomenon to be involved in and a lot of students/lawyers decide that they want to ultimately practice in this area. Aspiring sports lawyers therefore need to set themselves apart from likeminded candidates. I suppose my unique selling point in this respect is that I am not only a lawyer, but I am also a former international athlete, having represented Great Britain and England over a number of years in the sport of athletics and the 400 metres hurdles discipline. 
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Aside from the above, I believe it is very important to develop your own personal network, whether that be in the world of sport with sports-related contacts such as athletes, governing bodies, and sports clubs, or on a more general basis in the legal industry and beyond. I am not saying that I agree with this phrase, but a lot of people have said to me along the way that “it’s not about what you know, but more about who you know”. If you can get yourself involved with a charity, secure a non-executive role or be actively involved as part of a committee, a coaching group or some kind of panel for example, it will massively enhance your CV, add another string to your bow and help to set you apart from other candidates in the same field. Other than that, work hard and get the best grades you can. You get out what you put in!