Women's sport

The Equaliser - specialist legal offering to the women’s sports sector.

The popularity of women's sports has been increasing rapidly over recent years. Delivered by one of the country’s leading women’s sports law practices, The Equaliser will support this continued growth. It combines specialist sports law advice and deep know-how across all disciplines, but with a creative approach recognising the commercial challenges faced by sportswomen and organisations. Available to you whether you're an elite athlete or playing at grassroots level, including professional and amateur athletes, sports teams and governing bodies, and brands investing in women’s sport.

What is The Equaliser?

A free hour of preliminary consultation (either via a telephone or face-to-face)
Advice led by our specialist team members with a wealth of experience in women’s sports
Mentoring of athletes who want to qualify into a legal career utilising our experience of working with women’s sports
Invites to regular sports roundtable discussions and similar events where you can share your insights on the sector and connect with peers
Access to our network of leading sports industry clients and contacts
Participation in our sports conferences and seminars
Fixed legal fees for projects
All in a tailored and affordable package

Our experience

We work with some of the most important and valuable cases in women's sport including:

Eni Aluko in her action for bullying and racism against the FA and the former England women’s head coach
On and off field support for the likes of Steph Houghton, Lucy Bronze, Leah Williamson, Lauren Hemp and Ellen White
The England Lionesses in the negotiation of their central contracts with The FA
Advising on the negotiation of the standard terms of the Women’s Super League playing contract
Establishing an independent tribunal to hear the final stage appeals of female athletes regarding an Olympic selection dispute

We have niche expertise in reputational management and have advised household named national and international female players on a range of reputational issues. Matters include defamation, privacy and press disputes involving the top media organisations. We've also implemented protective strategies because of iCloud hacking and personal sensitive data breaches.

We're founding members of Women in Sports Law, a not-for-profit organisation which provides opportunities for female sports lawyers. The national sports team is led Carol Couse who is widely recognised (including in the legal directories and Who's Who Legal). Her and the team regularly speak on issues affecting women in sport.

Our expertise

FIFA Football Agent Regulations

Horse racing and bloodstock

Insurance in sport

What our clients say about us

Mills & Reeve has been a great support with all my personal legal needs on contractual and commercial work. Mills & Reeve has also been important to the negotiation and execution of the England Women Central Contracts.
Steph Houghton MBE
England and Manchester City women's footballer and captain
The profile and commercial power of women's sport is obviously on an upwards trajectory, with an increased demand for legal support. I have seen first-hand how some female athletes feel more comfortable dealing with female lawyers, especially on sensitive personal matters, and Mills & Reeve has the expertise and personnel to readily address these client needs.
Matthew Buck, Director
PFA Player Player Management