Becoming a sports lawyer: LawInSport mentee journal - Emily Ablitt

This is a journal of Emily Ablitt, Trainee Solicitor at Shoosmiths, a mentee from the inaugural LawInSport Mentoring Scheme which was launched in September 2018. Emily was part of a mentee from 2018 to 2019. This journal has been published with Emily’s permission as a helpful learning aid for other aspiring sports lawyers and future mentees.

October 2018

Sports law webinar: “Welcome to Mentoring Scheme”

A positive first call in which Sean [Cottrell – LawInSport’s CEO] explained how the mentoring scheme would work, how often we should be in contact with our mentors, and how we should approach the year ahead. Since I am at the beginning of my training contract, it is important to get as much out of the coming year as possible.

Email introduction to head of Sports Law Team at Shoosmiths.

I emailed Richard Millington, the Head of the Sports Law at Shoosmiths, to introduce myself and to see how I could get involved. Richard was happy to have me on board and welcomed me to the sports law update, a monthly phone call where lawyers from different practice areas throughout the firm discuss updates, work streams, and what events they plan on attending.

November 2018

Call with David Murray

After speaking with the Shoosmiths Sports Law team and joining the monthly call, I reached out to David Murray, former Head of Sports Rights at BBC Sport. We schedule a time to discuss my career. Currently, David works as a consultant for law firms, corporates and sports teams, specialising in broadcasting. It was interesting to speak to David, who works very closely with Richard, and discuss how he felt I could support the Sports Law team at Shoosmiths. Although working out the best way to get buy-in from partners was challenging as a trainee,

Networking event with LawInSport workshop attendees

David Murray invited me to the networking event following his half-day LawInSport workshop on Negotiating Commercial Contracts. There I caught up with Sean and some other lawyers who attended the workshop, and met Yama Otung and Sophie Wilkinson. We discussed their backgrounds and current roles, and I will be sure to connect with both of them on LinkedIn and at future events.