Adam Lewis KC is widely recognised as the leading sports lawyer at the Bar.

He has been involved in most of the key disputes of recent years acting for participants, clubs, leagues, governing bodies and commercial partners in matters involving the full range of sporting, disciplinary, regulatory and commercial issues raised in all sports. He is co-editor of the leading sports law textbook, now in its 4th edition.

Recent work includes acting for many national and international governing bodies that have faced quasi-public law and competition law challenges to their attempts to enforce their rules regulating amongst other things financial fair play, salary caps, ownership, intermediaries and participation in unsanctioned competitions.  Adam has also advised extensively on rule changes designed to improve the operation and regulation of several sports including football, rugby, golf and cricket.  These have recently included the Premier League, UEFA, The FA, the EFL, World Rugby, Premier Rugby Limited, the WRU, PGA European Tour and the ECB.  Adam has also been involved in a significant number of cases arising out of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, and in relation to continuing issues arising out of the aftermath of the Covid 19 pandemic.

Significant recent work includes: 

  • Premier League v Manchester City: acting for the league in disputes concerning potential breach by the club of the league’s financial regulations 
  • ECB Disciplinary Procedures: acts for the England & Wales Cricket Board in review
  • PGAET and LIV Golf: acted for the European Tour over creation of an unsanctioned competition
  • Newcastle United v Premier League: acted for the league in various proceedings over proposed sale of the club
  • World Rugby and World 12a: acted for World Rugby in relation to proposed new competition format, based on the IPL
  • Premier League and European Super League: acted for the league in relation to aborted attempt to create a new, European Super League
  • Premier Rugby v Saracens: acted for Premier Rugby in proceedings against Saracens for breach of the salary cap
  • Chaired Independent Review of Integrity in Tennis

Adam Lewis was named Sports Silk of the Year 2023 at the Legal 500 Awards. Adam is recognised by both of the main independent legal directories as the leading sports law counsel at the Bar. Recent comments include:

  • "Exceptional knowledge of sports law, strong work ethic, tactical thinker, and a team player."- Legal 500, 2024
  • "Adam Lewis KC has an extremely sharp and fierce intellect. His written work deals with new and complex areas."- Chambers and Partners, 2023
  • "Adam Lewis KC is a leader in his field."- Chambers and Partners, 2023

Previous comments include:

  • "Adam is a go to barrister for sports law and his knowledge of all areas is outstanding."- Legal 500
  • "A leading light in the sports sector."- Legal 500
  • "Adam Lewis QC is widely regarded as the leading sports barrister in the UK, whose dedicated focus has led to him having an unrivalled knowledge and experience in the sector."- Chambers UK

Experience

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Sport

Adam Lewis has for some time been widely recognised as the leading expert on sports law at the Bar, and is ranked as the only Star Individual in this area by Chambers UK 2021.  He has acted in many of the leading cases. He co-edits the principal textbook, Lewis and Taylor, Sport: Law and Practice, 4th Edition Bloomsbury Professional 2021 and in 2016 also published Lewis, Taylor, De Marco and Segan, Challenging Sports Governing Bodies, Bloomsbury Professional. He teaches on the BASL De Montfort Sports Law Course. He regularly sits as Chair on various sports tribunals, and as an arbitrator in a wide range of sports matters.

He served in 2017 and 2018 as the Chair of the Independent Review of Integrity in Tennis, leading a panel comprising Beth Wilkinson, a former US Attorney and trial lawyer, and Marc Henzelin, a Swiss trial lawyer and judge. In 2019 and 2020 he undertook an independent internal investigation in relation to a sports governing body’s actions and processes in dealing with a potential breach of its rules by staff. Adam was appointed to the Sports Resolutions Panel for 2024-2027.

He has used his experience in the fields of Arbitration, Civil Liberties and Human Rights, EU and Competition, and Public and Regulatory, to develop the content and application of the law in the context of Sport.

He regularly advises, acting for participants, clubs, leagues, governing bodies and commercial partners, and acts on their behalf before the courts and tribunals (national and the Court of Arbitration for Sport) and regulatory authorities. He has acted matters arising in the full range of sports. His sports law work equally covers the full range of issues arising from the legality of governing bodies’ rules and actions to regulatory, disciplinary and drugs related work to, and from player/club disputes to the commercial exploitation of sport through broadcasting, sponsorship and merchandising. His specialism extends to all of the arbitration, human rights, EU and competition, and administrative law aspects of sports law.

Cases

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Arbitration

Adam Lewis frequently appears before arbitrations and sits as an arbitrator and Chair of disciplinary tribunals, chiefly in the context of Sport. He appears regularly before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne and Shanghai, and before domestic arbitral tribunals. He sits as an FA Rule K arbitrator and as a Sport Resolutions arbitrator.  

He served in 2017 and 2018 as the Chair of the Independent Review of Integrity in Tennis, leading a panel comprising Beth Wilkinson, a former US Attorney and trial lawyer, and Marc Henzelin, a Swiss trial lawyer and judge. In 2019 and 2020 he undertook an independent internal investigation in relation to a sports governing body’s actions and processes in dealing with a potential breach of its rules by staff.

He is a contributor to Arbitration in England, Julian Lew et al, 2013 Wolters Kluwer, and was previously an editor of the Arbitration section in Halsbury’s Laws.      

He has been involved in a number of cases in the last three years testing the parameters of arbitration, including:

Cases

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EU & Competition

Adam Lewis’ practice covers both EU and domestic Competition law including anti-competitive practices, mergers, the state aid rules, free movement, public procurement, VAT and trade and customs law, and the application of sector-specific EU legislation. He has in particular been involved in a large number of recent cases where complainants have sought to use the competition law rules as a basis for challenge to sports governing bodies’ regulatory rules and actions.   

Adam Lewis began to develop his EU and Competition law specialism before he started practice at the Bar. Between 1985 and 1987 he worked at in particular Wilmer Cutler & Pickering (now Wilmer Hale), a United States law firm with an established Competition and EU law practice and a Brussels office. In 1991 and 1992 he worked for the European Commission in the Cabinet of the European Commissioner responsible for Competition and Financial Institutions. Thereafter he was based in Brussels, working exclusively on competition and EU law related matters in a firm that is now merged with White & Case.

Particular cases in the last three years include:

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Public & Regulatory

Adam Lewis acts in a wide range of Public law matters, both for and against public bodies. He has developed a particular expertise in the application of public law principles at the boundary between public and commercial contexts, including EU law issues, public procurement, VAT, telecommunications and charging for policing. He has also worked on numerous matters involving the extension of public law principles to the activities of quasi-public bodies, such as sports governing bodies, whose decisions are not subject to CPR Part 54 Judicial Review but fall to be reviewed by reference to similar standards.  

Particular cases in the last three years include:

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Civil Liberties & Human Rights

Adam Lewis regularly deals with issues involving Civil Liberties and Human Rights in the context of his EU and Competition, Public and Regulatory, and Sport law practice. In particular he has frequently had to address fair trial rights in a wide range of public law matters, both for and against public bodies.  

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Professional Discipline

Adam Lewis regularly acts in Professional Discipline matters. Examples of his recent work in this area can be found below.

Cases

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Achievements

Publications

  • Lewis and Taylor, Sport: Law and Practice, 3rd edition 2014 Bloomsbury Professional, the principal UK sports law text. 
  • Sports arbitration chapter in Arbitration in England, Julian Lew et al, 2013 Wolters Kluwer. 

Lecturing

  • British Association for Sport and the Law and De Montfort University Sports Law course.  
  • Regularly speaks at conferences. 

News

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