Phil Hutchinson

Principal Associate

photo for Phil Hutchinson

What can I do for you

Phil is a commercial litigator and specialist in sports litigation and sports regulatory matters, with a particular focus on the football industry. He has significant experience in working on match fixing and doping cases across a variety of sports, having acted on some of the biggest cases in the industry.

Phil also has expertise in advising on player transfers in football, most notably where work permits are required, and has represented players, agents and clubs on deals totaling hundreds of millions of pounds. 

Phil is also the only UK member of the Independent Ethics Board of the World Anti-Doping Agency, an inaugural Board tasked with implementing and adjudicating cases brought under the WADA Code of Ethics.

Having undertaken a secondment at the UK's leading luxury automotive manufacturer earlier in his career, Phil also regularly advises clients in the automotive industry on all aspects of litigation.  

What do others say

"Phil Hutchinson is quickly becoming one of the UK's top sports disciplinary lawyers. He has an excellent list of clients and has been involved in some of the biggest cases in the last year or two. He always goes above and beyond what you would expect for his clients. He is market-leading when it come to betting cases" Legal 500 2021

Phil is ranked as a Rising Star in the West Midlands by Legal 500 and an Associate to Watch in Chambers UK.

Supporting your ambitions

Phil represented Daniel Sturridge and Kieran Trippier in their respective high profile cases brought by The FA in relation to alleged breaches of The FA betting rules. 

He has also successfully represented a prominent football manager in a multi-million pound breach of contract claim against the manager's former club. Phil advises a number of leading sports agencies on regulatory and litigious matters. 

He has advised one of the biggest football clubs in Scotland for several years on its international player transfers where work permits have been required by the Scottish Football Association.

What else should you know?

Phil speaks German and is also a Trustee of Sport Birmingham.
 

jigsaw

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.”