Chris Lavey

Chris Lavey is a solicitor advocate in the Sports Group in London, with a primary focus on Sports Law. He advises clients — primarily international federations, governing bodies and event organisers — on a variety of sports regulatory matters.

In recent years, he has acted for clients in high-profile disputes before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the UK National Anti-Doping Panel and a number of national and international sports disciplinary tribunals, with strong experience in anti-doping proceedings. He advises on commercial disputes, challenges to regulatory decisions, and other regulatory and disciplinary issues, including match-fixing and doping, and assists with regulatory investigations into possible rule breaches and unethical or improper conduct.

He also works closely with clients to draft rules and regulations addressing on- and off-field discipline, integrity, anti-doping and ethics across a range of sports, including athletics, tennis, football, cricket, rugby union and motor sport. He has specialised expertise in issues around the eligibility of athletes for competition — including on the grounds of nationality, sex and gender, and the classification of para-athletes — and the regulation of technology and equipment in sport.

He trained with the firm and qualified in 2017. He has undertaken secondments with an international sports governing body, where he prosecuted anti-doping cases and drafted regulations, and a national association, where he assisted with a large-scale regulatory investigation and the drafting of commercial agreements. Before joining Bird & Bird, he managed the resolution of sports disputes at Sport Resolutions (UK).