Leading Irish law firm Byrne Wallace Shields has announced the formation of a specialist sports law group.
The firm was formed in January with the merger of Byrne Wallace and LK Shields Solicitors in what was the largest legal merger to have taken place in the Irish market. The group now employs 430 staff, including 220 solicitors.
The sports unit will be headed by Peter McKenna, who is a former Irish rugby international and a partner at the firm. He played 41 times for Leinster between 1997 and 2003 and was capped for Ireland against Argentina in 2000.
The group will advise sporting groups, athletes, event operators, sponsors and “technology innovators”, it said.
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Among the group’s clients are Athletics Ireland, Horse Racing Ireland and International Rugby Players, which describes itself as the “global representative body on issues of importance to professional rugby players”.
The firm said it would advise clients on all legal issues in sport from governance and regulatory compliance to contracts, sports tech, image rights, data privacy and commercial partnerships.
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The new sports unit was launched by former Ireland rugby international and Lions player Peter O’Mahony on Wednesday, although he will not have a role with the group going forward.
Feargal Brennan, managing partner with the firm, said Mr McKenna joined the partnership recently and would lead a “multidisciplinary team spanning a wide variety of practice areas”.
Mr McKenna said the decision to set up a dedicated group to focus on sports law reflected the “increasingly complex environment” in which the sports industry operates.
“The Irish sports sector is dynamic, ambitious and evolving amidst new legal and commercial pressures,” he said.
“Our sports law group is designed to meet that challenge – providing expert, tailored advice to enable clients navigate the complexity, manage the risk and realise their full potential.”
