June 10 2016
The first seminar in our 16/17 programme will look at reasoning and decisions of the IOC, IPC and CAS, both before and during this summer's Olympic Games in Rio.
We will analyse the different approaches taken in relation to eligibility of Russian athletes to compete in Rio and examine decisions of the CAS ad hoc division that sat during the Games.
Mark Hovell is a partner and Board Member at Mills & Reeve, with over 30 years’ experience of sports law.
Mark has represented athletes, player associations, clubs, leagues and Governing Bodies at regulatory, disciplinary and commercial appeals and tribunals and has been a CAS Arbitrator since 2002.
Mark is on the CAS General Panel of arbitrators and its specific Football Panel. Mark was appointed to CAS’s Ad-Hoc panels for the Rio Olympic games in 2016, the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and Glasgow and for numerous FIFA World Cups (men’s and women’s).
Mark is also on the Sport Resolutions arbitration panel, was on the board of the Manchester FA and is a regular lecturer on Sports Law around the world.
Jeffrey Benz, Esq., FCIArb, CEDS, is a dual-qualified English barrister and U.S. attorney as well as a sought-after ADR practitioner with JAMS based in London and Los Angeles. Following a career as a litigator with a large international law firm, Mr. Benz worked in-house at global sports, entertainment and technology entities, including in executive leadership positions. Since 2001, he has mediated and arbitrated several hundred complex, domestic and cross-border disputes.
Mr. Benz brings the high energy and unflagging persistence of a former competitive athlete to drive resolutions. As an arbitrator, he shapes the process with an eye for efficiency and fairness. Who’s Who Legal: UK Bar shared, he is “’widely recognised for his first-rate arbitration practice’ and clients note he is ‘in a class of his own’ when it comes to complex sports disciplinary disputes.” In 2016, the BBC noted that Mr. Benz is “widely regarded as amongst the most experienced judges” in world sport. He has been recognized as “Lawyer of the Year” for arbitration in Los Angeles and as one of the Best Lawyers in America (Best Lawyers, 2021, 2022). Mr. Benz was a member of the Court of Arbitration for Sport Ad Hoc Division at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.
