Zach Ward

Zach is an Associate in Ward Hadaway's Sport and Commercial Litigation teams. He is an experienced litigator, acting for a variety of clients across a number of sectors on high-value and complex disputes. Zach trained at a boutique commercial firm in Leeds, before spending over 3 years at a global top 10 international law firm in the commercial dispute resolution team, part of the UK's largest litigation practice.

Zach is an integral member of Ward Hadaway's international sports team. His work highlights in the sports sector include:

Football:

• Advising football clubs in relation to player compensation rights, including disputes before the Professional Football Compensation Committee.
• Acting for a EFL Championship footballer on a critical disciplinary matter;
• Advising professional footballers based abroad on English FA Governing Body Endorsement Rules;
• Assisting a professional football manager in a dispute with a Club owner; and
• Conducting player and manager contract reviews;
• Advising players on transfers, including in respect of key contract terms; and
• Acting for a EFL club in relation to multi-million pound breach of warranty claim(s) relating to an Share Purchase Agreement, following a club takeover.

Other:

• Advising rugby league players in relation to contractual disputes with agents and clubs;
• Acting for various National Governing Bodies in a variety of matters, including disciplinary and selection committee proceedings;
• Advising athletes and clubs from a variety of sports on key contractual terms and negotiations, including playing, sponsorship, competition and agency agreements; and
• Assisting an MMA fighter with a promoter dispute and contract renewal.

As a passionate sports fan, Zach was eager to incorporate that into his education and career. At university, he studied aspects of sports history, regulation and governance at the International Centre for Sports History and Culture (De Montfort University), wrote a prize-winning dissertation on football governance and geo-politics and was awarded top of his class in the Sport and Media elective of the Legal Practice Course.

Zach also assist the sports team on all aspects of business development and leads on many initiatives, including Ward Hadaway's LawInSport membership!

Aside from sport, Zach assists with a broad range of matters but has particular experience dealing with shareholder/partnership disputes, contractual claims, Technology, Media and Telecoms disputes along with data privacy breaches, financial services litigation, employment related restrictive covenant issues and property disputes. He has also advised on and delivered training to businesses on corporate governance, risk management and mitigation strategies to reduce exposure and deal swiftly with potential issues / exposure.

He has acted for organisations across a number of sectors, including TMT, education, retail and consumer, industrials, transport, built-environment and finance. Zach’s down to earth personality and practical and commercial approach enables him to easily build relationships and provide pragmatic advice to clients. He regularly supports private individuals and key stakeholders, from in-house counsel in multi-national corporates and shareholders in SMEs, to MDs of small limited companies and sole traders.

Contact

• Telephone: 0784 525 6475 / 0330 137 3309
• E-Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Website: Zach Ward