Stephen Townley has been lucky enough to enjoy a career in law and business. In law he is a solicitor, where he has been senior partner and a seasoned ADR professional (FCIArb) whether appointed as an arbitrator, mediator or resolver. In business he has served as general counsel, board member and chairman. For the past 10 years Stephen has been involved in complex, high-value, cross-border litigation and high-profile reputational issues in sport in India and the Middle East. In law and ADR Stephen set up the law firm Townleys in 1984 and served as its senior partner for 18 years. The firm became recognised as the first and, for many years, the largest international sports law and media boutique outside the US. based SPV called SMPI, this was a joint venture between Horst Dassler of the Adidas family and Patrick Nally. It was the first in the world to package commercial rights of major sporting events. These included perimeter advertising, exclusive product supply to hosting venues, VIP tickets, travel and hospitality and merchandising. Television was the golden key that unlocked some of the early opportunities, starting with football. Clients included brands such as Coca Cola, Gillette and JVC. My role was to construct and help deliver these packages based upon IP and contracts. The changes in the industry have been profound. When SMPI first started working with FIFA, FIFA had a permanent staff of fewer than a dozen employees and a modest office. Today it is a business generating $7.7 billion in the 4-year cycle 2019/22. I built my professional firm, Townleys, with my talented partners and staff to fill a gap in legal resources that had previously not existed. The firm evolved with new departments to reflect the needs of the clients, starting with IP creation and licensing in sponsorship and ending with departments dealing with media rights, sponsorship, regulation and litigation. About Stephen Townley What initially led you to specialise in sport and media law? By luck rather than design, I happened to stumble into an area of law that was not developed. I often use the phase in describing my speciality in the early days as “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king”. I published the first legal/ commercial textbook on the sports industry outside the US in 1984 with friend and barrister Edward Grayson. I love certain sports, but I was never what you would call a ‘sports groupie’. Related to the above, what was it that led you to take up your new position with Stobbs? Stobbs are recognised disrupters and innovators in the intangible asset space. I have found them smart, passionate and solution-focused on delivering what the clients want and need in a changing world where intangible assets are increasingly valuable. They manage a huge volume of brand-related issues from legal to valuation to licensing to dispute management – right through, if needed, to litigation. Stobbs take a long-term relationship view with clients; they invest in developing and deploying technology and they comprise a multi-disciplinary team of lawyers and non-lawyers who are experts in the brand space. All of this mirrors my approach in Townleys and in Active Rights Management, so I have found a kindred spirit. Considering your successes to date, do you have any future career aspirations that you can share with us? My goal is to keep using and sharing my knowledge and experience to help sport and entertainment brands protect themselves from avoidable conflict, whether that is financial, organisational or reputational harm. I am working on a book project that will look in detail at this, as well as working through Stobbs and my conflict resolver roles. I find JAMS particularly innovative in their approach and support of international neutrals such as myself. I also certainly would wish to continue my work with WIPO, CAS, CIArb and the Singapore Sports Dispute Resolution Centre and to focus this on pioneering early dispute resolution solutions. MY LEGAL LIFE 27 Stephen Townley FCIArb, JAMS Mediator and Arbitrator www.jamsadr.com
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mjk3Mzkz