What does the future of anti-doping in sport look like following IAAF & Essendon Scandals? #LISConf16
The effectiveness of global anti-doping programmes has been brought into question following the IAAF and Kenyan athletics scandals. There are diverging opinions of how anti-doping programmes should be applied and administered to sports following the Essendon case. Central to these discussions is the protection of the welfare of athletes and the integrity of sporting competitions.
On Thursday 25 February 2016 LawInSport will host a discussion on these key issues as part of the ‘Understand the Rules of the Game’ conference with:
- Olivier Niggli, General Counsel / Chief Operating Officer, World Anti-Doping Agency
- Brent Nowicki, Legal Counsel, Court of Arbitration for Sport
- Norman Wain, General Counsel, Chief of Business Affairs, USA Track & Field
- Gemma Collis, 2012 Paralympian. 2x World Cup Medallist, Wheelchair Fencing British Champion
- Marjolaine Viret, Attorney, World Anti-Doping Code Commentary Project, University Neuchâtel, Switzerland and Member of UCI Anti-Doping Commission
If you have an interest in anti-doping this is a discussion you will not want to miss. View the full programme and register here.
Olivier Niggli, General Counsel / Chief Operating Officer, World Anti-Doping Agency
Prior to holding his current position, Olivier Niggli was a partner with the law firm Carrard & Associés in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he was active in sport, arbitration and commercial law. He possesses extensive experience in the fight against doping, including his time as WADA’s Legal Director and Chief Financial Officer from 2001-2011.
Olivier Niggli holds a Master of Laws (LLM) from the London School of Economics (LSE) and an MBA from McGill University, and is fluent in both English and French. With his background and experience, he brings expertise to WADA in the legal, financial and governance areas.
Brent Nowicki, Legal Counsel, Court of Arbitration for Sport
Brent John Nowicki is currently Legal Counsel at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland. He joined the CAS in 2013 after 7 years as an attorney with the law firm of Hodgson Russ LLP in New York. He received his undergraduate degree from Fairfield University, where he was a member of the Division I lacrosse program, and his Juris Doctor from the State University of New York, University at Buffalo, with honours.
Mr. Nowicki has extensive and unique experience in the field of sports law. He has represented various parties while in the private practice of law, and served as a consultant for a number of clients in the sports industry. While in private practice, Mr. Nowicki represented various parties in contract negotiations, rights of publicity, as well as legal representations of grievances, hearings, and appeals. On an international level, Mr. Nowicki has currently been active in the anti-doping movement in Olympic sports, handling several major doping cases in his role as Legal Counsel to the CAS. His current work at the CAS exposes him to virtually every sporting dispute between sporting federations, associations (FIFA and UEFA), leagues, teams, and players. Notably, Mr. Nowicki is the first North American attorney to act as Legal Counsel at the CAS.
Mr. Nowicki routinely speaks on the issues of anti-doping and sports law, is regularly quoted in major newspapers and periodicals, and has acted as a political advisor in the area of sport doping. He also serves on the International Committee of the Sports Lawyers Association, the Board of Directors for the Police Athletic League of Buffalo, New York and is the Men’s Lacrosse Coach for Switzerland’s National Lacrosse Team.
Marjolaine Viret, Attorney, World Anti-Doping Code Commentary Project, University Neuchâtel, Switzerland and Member of UCI Anti-Doping Commission
Dr Marjolaine Viret is an attorney admitted to the Geneva bar (Switzerland) who specialises in sports and life sciences.
She gained considerable experience in litigation and international arbitration as a senior associate in one of Switzerland’s leading law firms, frequently appearing before the Court of Arbitration for Sport and advising clients - including major sports federations - on doping and other regulatory matters. She has also held positions within interdisciplinary expert groups or committees in sports organisations, currently as a member of the UCI Anti-Doping Commission.
Marjolaine participates as a researcher for the Swiss National Science Foundation in the WADC Commentary project at the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland), under the direction of Prof. Antonio Rigozzi, with the goal of producing the first comprehensive legal commentary of the 2015 World Anti-Doping Code. She holds a PhD from the University of Fribourg (Switzerland). Her doctoral thesis dealt with the interplay between scientific and legal components in doping regulation. She has also obtained a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Health Law, specifically on the regulation of therapeutic products, research and innovation.
In her legal consultant and research activities, Marjolaine’s interests focus on interdisciplinary approaches to anti-doping and other science-related domains. She is actively involved in developing strategies in the fight against doping and in the implementation of the 2015 World Anti-Doping Code. She is regularly invited to lecture or speak internationally, to both legal and scientific audiences. Her book “Evidence in Anti-Doping at the Intersection of Science & Law” has been published in 2015 through T.M.C Asser Press / Springer.
Norman Wain, General Counsel, Chief of Business Affairs, USA Track & Field
Norman Wain is presently employed as General Counsel, Chief of Business Affairs at USA Track & Field, Inc., the national governing body for the sport of track and field, long distance running, and race walking in the United States. His responsibilities include managing all business and legal matters for the organization (e.g. negotiating all contracts, managing corporate governance, handling anti-doping matters, monitoring of the agent program, litigation oversight, etc).
Prior to Norm joining USA Track & Field, he was the Vice President – Corporate Legal Affairs at The Finish Line, Inc., a billion dollar publicly traded athletic specialty retailer in the United States, where he was responsible for the management and administration of the legal department. He also worked in the Business & Legal Affairs Department at Writers & Artists Agency, Inc., a prestigious Los Angeles talent agency (later purchased by Paradigm) and spent some time at Fox Sports and in private practice (litigation).
Norm is an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University where he teaches a graduate sports law course. He was the founding chair for the recently formed sports & entertainment committee for the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), where he also served on their national board of directors. In addition, Norm sits as one of the inaugural advisory board members for Law In Sport, the largest international sports law legal publication. He has spoken at both domestic and international conferences and seminars on many sports law related topics. Norm received his B.A. Degree from the University of California at Berkeley, along with Phi Beta Kappa Honors, and his J.D. Degree from the Pepperdine University School of Law.
Gemma Collis, 2012 Paralympian. 2x World Cup Medallist. Wheelchair Fencing British Champion
Growing up Gemma was very athletic and participated in a variety of sports, competing at national level in Figure Skating and representing her county in Hockey and Athletics. By the age of fifteen, she was county triple jump champion and had high ambitions of competing for her country.
However, in 2008, Gemma’s dreams were cruelly dashed when she was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, a progressive nervous system disease that affects the functioning of the nerves in her right leg. Gemma was devastated and believed that her sporting career was over.
Determined to remain involved in sport, Gemma began coaching, officiating and volunteering at sports events, discovering more about disability sport in the process. Gemma began playing Wheelchair Basketball in 2010, competing for the Newcastle Eagles and Wales. It was not until she started her Law degree at Durham University that Gemma tried Wheelchair Fencing for the first time, after being spotted by a GB coach. Gemma loved the sport immediately and her potential was clear.
Three months later Gemma represented Great Britain at her first international competition, the 2012 Malchow Wheelchair Fencing World Cup, and, just ten months after taking up the sport, competed at the London 2012 Paralympics. She competed as part of the women's Team Epee, alongside Gabi Down and Justine Moore, and the trio finished in 8th place.
In spite of a serious illness affecting her ability to eat which caused her to take an entire year out of the sport in 2013, Gemma has bounced back and now has her sights firmly set on Rio 2016. Having won her first two World Cup Medals last season, she has shot up the world rankings and currently sits 9th in the World.
