Functions of a sports lawyer essay sample
Though the athlete’s performance mostly depends on their own skills, people in sports usually need an employer and a few professionals working with them. Signing contracts and playing for different teams, athletes encounter plenty of legal and financial issues that lie beyond their competence. To handle all matters unrelated to playing sports, professional athletes hire sports managers and lawyers.
A sports lawyer has a plenty of tasks to do for their clients. First, they are official representatives of the athlete to coaches, team owners, sponsors, and managers. A player always has their legal and financial interests that the lawyer shall protect, either in negotiations or in court. Disputes frequently arise around salaries, extra conditions, unexpected complications that often happen in sports, and the lawyer is always with their athlete when such legal issues emerge.
Negotiating contracts is a routine for a professional athlete, but papers often contain plenty of legal pitfalls that act against the athlete’s interests. And it is the lawyer’s job to rearrange all dubious conditions to the best interest of their client. Sports are not all competitions and workouts – scandals often come with the huge prize, and there is no way for the athlete to handle the lawsuit without the qualified attorney. The athlete is always interested in saving their good name and a great part of the earned income, and the successful outcome almost completely depends on skills and proficiency of the sports lawyer. They also make the athlete’s life easier being their official spokesperson to the media.