Our friend, and guest speaker at the last UKSN event, Richard Ayers, has announced that his growing sports digital media company Seven League has partnered with leading sports law firm Couchmans. Richard has been keeping very busy as a leading adviser to clients including BT Sport, Manchester City FC, Harlequins RFC, ECB, RFU and MLS.

The two businesses will be pooling Couchmans’ sports and digital legal skills with the commercial , strategic and operational expertise of Richard and his team.

Over the next few years there are going to be fascinating, challenging and complex developments in sport around the use of social media – whether at fan, player, club or governing body level. This collaboration will enable Seven League to enhance their offering to clients by pooling their commercial, strategic and operational skills with Couchmans’ legal expertise.

Nick White, head of Couchmans’ sports digital practice, said:

“We are delighted to be working with Richard and his team at Seven League, who really ‘get’ the sports  digital space. This collaboration will be available to our respective clients on a ‘horses for courses’ basis. Some of them will need Richard’s expertise primarily and some will need ours. The idea behind the tie up is that it will be easier for clients to get integrated and complementary commercial and legal advice on their digital media projects. It is innovative and we think it is a winner.”

Richard Ayers, founder and CEO of Seven League, said:

“Finding enlightened lawyers isn’t always easy and with Nick and Couchmans I think we’ve got a team that understands very well where sports law and the digital realm intersect. Too often we hear evangelists getting over-excited or naysayers prophesying digital doom  – neither have a sense of what’s practical, legal and commercially sensible. That’s where this collaboration comes in, and we are very pleased to be part of it.

Well done Richard…