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John Shea

Principal Associate

What can I do for you

John specialises in commercial litigation and arbitration with a particular focus on the sports sector. His primary focus is on sports related dispute resolution, but he has significant experience of advising clients in the sports sector on a broad range of legal issues including:

Disputes in the civil courts as well as sport specific arbitration tribunals such as the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the FIFA Football Tribunal
Regulatory compliance and disciplinary investigations for alleged regulatory breaches and on-field misconduct
Domestic and international football transfers
Football manager and coaching staff appointments.

What do others say

John has been described by my clients as “having great knowledge of contractual and regulatory matters, remarkable business acumen about the football industry and an extensive network with clubs, agents and peer lawyers” and “a great external adviser who has become an extension of our in house team”.

Supporting your ambitions

John has advised on several high-profile football transfers and manager appointments including Raphael Varane’s transfer from Real Madrid to Manchester United, Ange Postecoglou’s appointment at Tottenham Hotspur and Frank Lampard’s appointment at Everton.

He has also acted on some important cases including representing footballer Marc Bola in relation to an FA misconduct charge for an historic social media post and successfully representing Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in connection with a dispute with Malaga FC over a sell-on clause.

John also regularly represents rugby players in disciplinary hearings before RFU and European panels.

What else should you know?

John is ranked as a star associate in Sport by Chambers and Partners and by Legal 500 as a rising star in Sport.

He is also a member of Sport Resolutions’ panel of arbitrators for the period 2024-2027 and a Spanish speaker.

What our clients say about us

“I think Mills & Reeve are a wonderful firm. The support they have provided to us in a really difficult area has been brilliant, collaborative and commercially minded. The team were absolutely wonderful and a joy to work with. Amazing advice and support and a real collaborative effort with us. I can't thank them enough for getting us through some really tough times and doing so with an amazing can-do attitude.”

“They are friendly, fast, always available and always on top of the game. I tend to judge my legal team against the other side's legal team and never doubt Mills & Reeve is the better of the two.”

“All interactions have been very clear. Responses to questions have always been very swift and unambiguous. Our company, and my family, have used various services in Mills & Reeve with the same level of satisfaction.”

“I value the fact that Mills & Reeve are recognised as a good place to work in the UK Best Companies survey. This aligns with the values of our business and means that Mills & Reeve can share what is required to achieve this status with our business.”