Internationally recognised sports lawyers and consultants
We established Livida Sport in 2020, having built our reputation as leading sports lawyers during our combined 25 years with a top London law firm.
Liz is a highly experienced sports lawyer and consultant. She has been a trusted advisor to sports clients for nearly 20 years, and has been consistently recommended as a ‘Leading Lawyer’ in the legal directories. She was described in Legal500 as “probably the best sports lawyer in the country”. In 2021, Liz was named in the Leaders’ List of Global Leaders in Sport Under 40, and was ranked 13th in the Independent’s inaugural list of the 50 Most Influential Women in Sport.
Liz founded the Sports Law Group at international law firm, Mishcon de Reya LLP, establishing it as one of the leading specialist sports practices in the UK. She has acted on some of the most high profile cases in sport and been involved in some of the biggest transfers. Liz has worked on hundreds of football deals around the world for clubs, players and managers, involving the likes of Jude Bellingham, Roberto Firmino, Yaya Toure, Beth Mead MBE and Emma Hayes OBE.
Her clients include athletes, agents, owners, governing bodies and global sports businesses. She also provides consultancy at government level. Clients turn to Liz for practical, commercial and strategic advice, as well as guidance during times of crisis. Liz is a qualified mediator through the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), the Civil Mediation Council (CMC) and the International Mediation Institute (IMI).
She has a Masters in Sports Management & the Business of Football, a diploma in Sports Law and holds advisory board roles within sport, including with Women In Football where she is a Non-Executive Director. She is a licensed FIFA football agent, having been the youngest female agent when she qualified in 2005. She is a lecturer on the Professional Footballers’ Association Business School, and author of Livida Sport’s Global Guide to Football Transfers.
Yama is a specialist sports lawyer who represents clients in cases before FIFA’s Dispute Resolution Chamber, the Court of Arbitration for Sport and other national and international sport tribunals. She helps athletes across a broad range of sports navigate complex and time-critical disputes such as anti-doping, disciplinary, contractual and reputation management matters. Her extensive experience includes defending and advising top international athletes in investigations and proceedings across sports including football, boxing, rugby, cricket, tennis, athletics, swimming and cycling. Her time at Morgan Sports Law was focused on athlete-side anti-doping work.
Having been recognised by the Legal500 for her drive and determination in acting for her clients, Yama prides herself on her commitment to advancing athlete rights by providing fair and accessible representation, and her holistic and commercial approach to meeting client needs. This has led her to be included in the Athlete Legal Aid Program of the US Olympic and Paralympic Association.
Yama trained at leading media law firm, Carter Ruck, where she acted on regulatory, advisory and commercial dispute matters, advising celebrities, heads of state and other high-profile individuals on defamation, privacy and reputation management concerns. Yama has also worked with private equity and financial institution clients on numerous high-value and sensitive deals.
Yama is a Trustee of Women In Sport, having previously sat on the board of Crystal Palace FC’s charitable foundation. She is a contributor to LawInSport, the leading resource for sports lawyers, and has been on its Editorial Board. She is also a lecturer on the Professional Footballers’ Association Business School.
Lin has worked in international investigations for nearly 40 years. She began her career in the Taiwanese Police, before moving to Interpol. She established First Approach Limited in 1999, advising international businesses on fraud investigations and due diligence, particularly with a Middle Eastern and Chinese focus. Her successes include identifying and securing the confession of the fraudsters behind a billion dollar pyramid scheme, and leading a global financial institution’s multi-million dollar internal fraud investigation.
In a world where regulatory and compliance demands have such prominence, Lin is an invaluable resource. Over the past 20 years she has reported on nearly 10,000 companies and individuals for clients who need an independent view on their business associates from the Far East and elsewhere.
She is fluent in Mandarin, a tenacious investigator, and a skilled negotiator. She is also a black belt in judo.
Valerie is a highly knowledgeable corporate and commercial lawyer who now focuses on sport and media transactions. She has extensive experience in private equity, institutional investing and fundraising, and has developed a particular interest in multi-club ownership models.
She was formerly a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, a top global law firm, and has over 13 years’ experience in private practice and a further two years’ experience in-house with the world’s largest technology fund, the Softbank Vision Fund.
Valerie assists sports clients involved in complex, international transactions, advising on and helping reduce transactional, regulatory and reputational risks.
She holds a BA in Political Science and History from Berkeley and an MSc from the University of Oxford. Despite having grown up in Los Angeles, Valerie is a keen Liverpool supporter and season-ticket holder. Her passion for the sport has led to her creating The Women’s Football Finance Podcast – the first to be focused on the business of the professional women’s game.
Lee works with Livida Sport on a consultancy basis for projects with a finance angle. This includes club acquisitions, raising funds and working with investors.
Lee is the CEO of Fight For Peace, an international not-for profit organisation that uses boxing and martial arts combined with education and personal development to realise the potential of young people in communities that suffer from crime and violence. He is also the founder of Player LENS, tagged the ‘Linkedin of Football’, an online network that connects over 600 clubs and hundreds of agents globally to communicate about transfer activity, incorporating data and analytics for the purpose of player assessment.
Prior to working in sport, Lee had a 20 year career in investment banking, based in London, Hong Kong and Sydney, advancing to the Head of Equity Sales and Trading for Asia at global institutions such as Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs. He was responsible for 70+ people globally, covering 800+ clients and generating annual revenues in excess of $300 million.
Lee has an MBA from the University of Liverpool with specialisation in the football industry, providing learnings in strategy, finance and the structural governance and management of football clubs and sports industry institutions.
Sheikh is a sports lawyer, working with clients including clubs, owners, sport executives, promotors, athletes and agents. He provides strategic advice on a broad range of matters, with a particular focus on the development of football and broader sports business opportunities in the Middle East.
Having trained at magic circle law firm, Clifford Chance LLP, and then worked at Eversheds Sutherland, Sheikh is experienced in advising major businesses and financial institutions on complex and time-sensitive transactions, M&A deals, corporate restructuring, regulatory and ESG matters, and all aspects of corporate and commercial real estate, including direct and indirect acquisitions and disposals.
Sheikh has been on secondment with Livida client, Matchroom Sport, where he assisted their senior legal team across the group, working for Matchroom Boxing, World Snooker and the Professional Darts Corporation. Alongside Liz, he is presently working with Essex County Cricket Club on the development of the women’s team for the inaugural professional women’s cricket league.
Prior to pursuing a legal career, Sheikh worked under the tutelage of leading business executive, Rene Carayol MBE, where he worked with senior executives and public figures across the world on leadership, cultural and strategic issues.