ABOUT ME

I am a working class lad from a town called Grays in Essex. I have always had a keen interest in sport having played football regularly in my youth, and being fortunate enough to played for various youth teams at Crystal Palace FC for two years between 1994-1996 (who I still support for my sins). As well as this I am a keen (but very average) club cricketer with my local club, Orsett and Thurrock Cricket Club where I can often found at a weekend embarrassing myself on the cricket pitch.

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I came to the legal world late, having only started my legal studies in 2015 when I was looking for modules to top up my Foundation Degree in Business at the Open University. Having been nearly talked out of it by the course administrators, I signed up to study contract and tort (i.e. negligence etc) law and found I had a passion for all things legal. I graduated from the Open University in 2017 with first-class honours and then completed the Graduate Diploma in Law at BPP University in 2018. I am now indulging both of my passions by doing an LLM in Sports Law at De Montfort University where I graduated with Merit in 2021.

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I am now undertaking a PhD at the University of Westminster, where I am researching whether the design of football club ownership regulations adequately take into account the fan perspective of what constitutes a good football club owner.

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Outside of my studies, I work at University College London at the Institute of Clinical Trials and Methodology as a Research Contracts Officer, where I negotiate, draft, and advise on the contracts that underpin clinical research. Eventually, my aim is qualifying as a Solicitor specialising in Sports Law, particularly dispute resolution, private client, and governance. I also sit on disciplinary panels for various County Football Associations, and act as a Trustee for a range of charities.

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I founded Sport and the Law: Mark's Musings with the aim to provide simple analysis and explanations of the big legal issues affecting sport.

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Take some time to explore the blog, read something interesting, and feel free to reach out if you would like to collaborate on a project together.