PBA excellence in sports law
Sports law governs every stage of your journey as an athlete: contracts, team selection, doping, governance. Whether you are a high-performance athlete, a club or a sport federation, we are your trusted legal teammates in Quebec, across Canada and internationally.
Athlete contracts to negotiate before signing, a suspension to challenge on tight deadlines, a dispute with your federation or a complaint to file: every legal situation in sport calls for a fast, strategic response. That is exactly what we deliver.
Our team of sports attorneys helps you reach your goals, whether you are an athlete or a sports organization. Legal strategy, doping cases, team selection disputes, governance, arbitration: we cover the full range of sports litigation, across all disciplines.
We can advise you, negotiate, arbitrate, act as mediator and represent you before the courts and specialized tribunals. For more than 30 years, our sports law firm has combined rigour, a transparent approach and high-calibre service.
Practice areas
From strategic and legal advice to representation before disciplinary committees, our sports attorneys act for professional and amateur athletes, coaches, sports agents, sports teams, soccer clubs, leagues and sport federations.
*We also assist soccer clubs recruiting foreign players, a process that sometimes requires a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).
Specialized tribunals
When a dispute cannot be settled amicably, sports arbitration in Canada and internationally becomes the preferred route. Our sports lawyers represent athletes, federations and sports organizations before arbitration bodies, in English and in French.
Me Patrice Brunet has been an accredited arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne since 1995 and at the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC) since 2002. This dual accreditation, rare in the country, gives our team of lawyers an intimate knowledge of the procedures, deadlines and expectations of these specialized tribunals.
A hearing is not always the best option. Mediation and conciliation often settle sports-related disputes faster, at lower cost and while preserving the relationships between the parties: a decisive advantage in a community where athletes, coaches and federations will keep crossing paths.
At the SDRCC, mediation is in fact offered at no cost in several types of cases, and an agreement reached at that stage avoids a full hearing. We assess the most effective strategy with you, from negotiated sports dispute resolution all the way to arbitration before the competent tribunal, and we prepare you for every scenario.
Every sports law file follows a clear, proven process, the same one that has allowed our firm to handle more than 3,000 files, designed to keep you informed at every step:
We hold a first consultation to understand your needs and the specifics of your sports law situation.
We define the sports law strategy and propose a transparent fee agreement.
If your file requires proceedings beyond a consultation, we gather the necessary information and documents, then file the proceeding before the competent body: sport federation, anti-doping authority, arbitration tribunal or court of law.
We provide rigorous follow-up within the anticipated timelines, with clear answers at every step.
FAQ
Here are our lawyers’ answers to the questions we hear most often from athletes, parents, coaches and sports organizations.
Sports law encompasses all the legal rules that govern the practice and organization of sport: contracts, doping, team selection, discipline, governance and disputes. It combines civil law, administrative law and the regulations specific to sport federations, at both the national and international levels.
Act fast: the deadlines to respond to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) or your federation are short. An anti-doping lawyer in Canada analyzes the sample-collection procedure and the circumstances of the positive test, and prepares your defence before the anti-doping tribunal. A doping suspension can be challenged, reduced or overturned depending on the evidence.
You can challenge a sports sanction or a team selection dispute before your federation’s internal bodies, then before the SDRCC or the CAS as the case may be. Procedural fairness must be respected at every step: the right to be heard, a reasoned decision, reasonable timelines. Our sports lawyers quickly assess your chances of success and the recourses available.
In most cases, yes: a professional athlete joining a Canadian team must obtain a work permit, subject to certain exemptions. Our analysis of the Ivan Demidov case illustrates these issues well. Through our immigration law services, we manage the entire process, up to permanent residence through the Quebec Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ).
Document the facts and consult quickly: Safe Sport mechanisms exist, including the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner (OSIC) for federally governed sports at the national level. We support you through harassment and abuse proceedings, whether you are the complainant, the organization or the person named, while protecting your rights and the confidentiality of the file.
Our complete sports law consultation costs $250 + taxes for 45 minutes by videoconference, with a satisfaction guarantee: if you do not receive satisfactory answers, we refund you in full. Mandates are then billed by the hour, under a fee agreement established from the outset.
What sets us apart
Sport is our passion, and excellence is our standard. With more than 30 years of experience, 850+ clients and 3,000+ files handled, our sports lawyers are regularly featured in the media to comment on sports law news. We also support athletes beyond the field of play, including when extending a work permit in Canada.
Our sports law firm in Montreal serves the sporting community in both official languages, with a multilingual team that also covers Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin and Russian. Get legal services that match your goals in sport.
Sport is our passion! Get legal services that match your goals.
Explore all your sports law questions.
Up to 45 minutes of videoconference consultation with a sports law attorney.
Our lawyers use plain language to clear up your legal doubts, so you leave with a complete understanding of your situation.
We propose solutions adapted to your situation and set out the steps to follow.
If you are a sports organization or a federation, get in touch with us!
