SPFL appoints Shepherd and Wedderburn as legal adviser
Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP has been appointed as a legal adviser to the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL).
The appointment follows a competitive UK-wide tender process and will see Shepherd and Wedderburn advise the SPFL on a wide variety of corporate and commercial matters as part of a panel of four external legal advisers.
Neil Doncaster, Chief Executive of the SPFL said: “I am looking forward to working with a new team of legal advisers, which includes some of the best legal minds in sports law from across the UK.”
Danny Lee, the SPFL’s relationship partner at Shepherd and Wedderburn, added: “Our appointment to the SPFL legal panel is a significant milestone for our successful sports practice. We are truly excited at the prospect of working alongside a body which plays such a pivotal role in the development and promotion of Scotland’s national sport.
“We believe that emphasis on innovation, particularly in relation to the manner in which we deliver legal services and support our clients, is very much aligned with the SPFL’s approach. Having been appointed on the back of a competitive process involving a number of the UK’s leading law firms, we look forward to supporting the SPFL throughout what will be a challenging, but exciting, chapter in the Scottish game.”
Shepherd and Wedderburn’s leading business of sport practice, which is led by partner Paul Carlyle, supports clients including The R&A, the world governing body for professional golf; The Open, the world’s oldest professional golf championship; FanDuel, the world’s second largest fantasy sports company; Tartan Army Ltd; the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland (Team Scotland) and the Scottish Youth Football Association.
Commenting on the appointment to the SPFL’s legal panel, Paul said: “The business of sport continues to increase in value and Scotland punches above its weight on the international stage across most commercial sports. Our business of sport team has been an important partner for our existing sports clients in seizing commercial opportunities. We have built a position as the pre-eminent legal adviser to golf and have been expanding in other sports including football. We see our appointment to the SPFL as a huge success for the team and we are eager to bring our skills to benefit the SPFL.”