Noted CAS Arbitrator Stuart McInnes Joins Squire Sanders’ Sports Law Group
LONDON – Squire Sanders is pleased to announce that Stuart McInnes MBE, a well-known Arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, has joined its Sports Law Group as a full-time Consultant.
Stuart has been closely involved in the sports industry for over a decade and has sat on over 100 arbitrations at CAS since being appointed in 2004. He has heard such high-profile cases as Ashley Cole v FAPL (2005), FC Midtjylland v FIFA (2008), Australian swimmer Ryan Napoleon’s case against FINA (2010), and Matuzalem da Silva’s case against FIFA (2011).
Stuart was also one of the 12 CAS Arbitrators on the special ‘ad hoc’ division of CAS for the London Olympic Games this year. He was the sole UK representative on the panel, which sat continuously for five weeks leading up to the Games and throughout the Games, ruling quickly on any legal disputes that arose. Cases Stuart heard included: Peternell v South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee and others, an eligibility case concerning the country’s sole Equestrian Events competitor; Denis Lynch v Horse Sport Ireland and The Olympic Council of Ireland and others, concerning a dispute over de-selection from the Irish Equestrian Squad; and Swedish National Olympic Committee and Swedish Triathlon Federation v International Triathlon Union and others, which centred on a photo-finish between Gold and Silver positions taken by the Swiss athlete and the Swedish athlete in the Women’s Triathlon event.
Stuart joins the firm from Pritchard Englefield where he was Managing Partner of the firm. He was also joint head of the Dispute Resolution team and the Sports and Leisure sector team. He has broad experience of cross-border litigation involving multi-jurisdictional issues. He is a Visiting Professor to the Istituto Superior Derecho Y Economica in Madrid, where he has taught part of the world-renowned LLM Masters in International Sports Law for the past five years. Stuart was appointed MBE in 2006 for his charity work with DARE UK, which provides drugs education to children in schools.
The Sports Law Group at Squire Sanders is regarded as one of the premier sports law practices in the market. Headed by Stephen Sampson, it advises governing bodies, sports clubs and rights holders on the full range of issues affecting the sports industry, including commercial, regulatory and disciplinary matters, and also boasts a leading anti-corruption and anti-doping practice. In the UK, clients include Aston Villa FC; Blackburn Rovers FC; Chelsea FC; Fulham FC; the International Tennis Federation; London Irish RFC; and Lotus F1 Team, as well as individuals such as Alberto Contador, Ben Swift, Laura Trott and Geraint Thomas. US clients of the firm include American football team the Cleveland Browns and professional basketball player LeBron James.
Stephen Sampson said of Stuart’s appointment: “This was a unique opportunity to add a team member of Stuart’s standing, depth of expertise and experience. His arrival will give a new dimension to our global practice. We are delighted to have him on board.”
US sports partner Fred Nance, who was named earlier this year by Sports Business Journal as one of the top sports lawyers in America, said of Stuart’s appointment: “The addition of a seasoned practitioner of Stuart’s calibre underlines Squire Sanders’ commitment to assembling a top tier, global sports practice group capable of serving critical client needs throughout the world.”
Stuart McInnes said: “The Squire Sanders Sports Law Group has a superb reputation in the market and is known for its young, dynamic team of experts in all fields; litigation, arbitration, commercial, intellectual property, anti-corruption and anti-doping. I’m very happy to be joining them and look forward to helping them further develop their international client base.”
Contact: Samantha Rey, Media & Communications Manager, Squire Sanders; 020 76551397; samantha.rey@squiresanders.com