Sports Attorney in Montreal - Lawyers for Athletes and Sports Organizations
Your Sports Lawyers in Quebec, Trusted Teammates
DISCOVER OUR SERVICES
PBA Excellence:
Solid Expertise in Service
of Your Athletic Career
Sports law governs every stage of your journey as an athlete: contracts, team selection, doping, governance. Whether you are a high-performance athlete, one of the soccer clubs and sports teams we advise, or a sport federation, we are your trusted legal teammates in Montreal, in Quebec, across Canada and internationally.
Athlete contracts to negotiate before signing, a suspension to challenge on tight deadlines, a dispute with your sport federation or a complaint to file: every legal situation in sport calls for a fast, strategic response from experienced sport lawyers. That is exactly what our sports lawyers deliver to athletes, coaches and sport organizations.
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.
Sport Law Services for Athletes, Coaches and Sports Teams
Athlete Contracts, Sponsorship Agreements and Image Rights
- The contracts that govern your name, your image rights and your performance deserve the same rigour as your training. Our sports lawyers handle every stage of contract negotiation for the sports and entertainment world:
- Drafting, reviewing and negotiating athlete contracts, endorsement and sponsorship agreements
- Structuring advertising contracts that protect your brand image
- Safeguarding your image rights, intellectual property and commercial interests
- Strategic and legal advice for high-performance athletes and sports organizations
- Before you sign, our sports attorneys make sure the fine print protects your career: from contract negotiation to litigation over sponsorship agreements or advertising contracts, in Quebec and across Canada.
Anti-Doping Defence, Selection Disputes and Sports Governance
- When results, funding or a spot on the national team are at stake, disciplinary matters rarely wait. We defend athletes in anti-doping proceedings and doping cases, contest selection disputes and carding decisions, including in the lead-up to the Olympic Games, and challenge disciplinary sanctions through recourses and appeals grounded in procedural fairness, whether the hearing takes place before your sport federation, the SDRCC or the CAS.
- We also act for the sports organizations themselves. Our sports lawyers guide national sport organizations, provincial sport organizations and other governing bodies through sports governance reviews, policy development, risk management, conflict resolution, disciplinary investigations, internal investigations and Safe Sport complaints, and we appear before the arbitrators, mediators and disciplinary committees that decide sports-related disputes, from mediation to sport arbitration.
Legal Services for Soccer Clubs in Quebec
- Soccer clubs in Quebec face their own legal framework. Our sport lawyers support soccer clubs through the national club recognition program and the provincial club recognition program, and we help you maintain the licence once obtained.
- We also assist soccer clubs recruiting foreign players, a process that sometimes requires a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) before a work permit can be issued to the athlete.
Sports Arbitration and Mediation: The CAS and the SDRCC
When a dispute cannot be settled amicably, sports arbitration in Canada and internationally becomes the preferred route. Our sports lawyers represent athletes, coaches, federations and sports organizations before arbitration bodies, in English and in French.
Me Patrice Brunet, Accredited Arbitrator at the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the SDRCC
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 dual CAS and SDRCC accreditation is rare in Canada, and it works in your favour.
Mediation and Sports Dispute Resolution
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, leagues 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, in mediation as in sport arbitration.
How Our Sports Law Firm Handles Your File, Step by Step
1
Initial meeting and needs assessment.
We hold a first consultation to understand your needs and the specifics of your sports law situation.
2
Start of the mandate.
We define the sports law strategy and propose a transparent fee agreement.
3
Handling of your file.
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.
4
Follow-up of your case.
We provide rigorous follow-up on your sports law file within the anticipated timelines, with clear answers at every step.
What challenges can we tackle with you?
Sports is our passion! Get legal services that match your goals.
FULL CONSULTATION
250$ + taxes
Give yourself the opportunity to explore all your sports law questions.
This service includes:
Detailed consultation :
Up to 45 minutes of videoconference consultation with a sports law attorney.
(*) Satisfaction Guarantee
If you do not receive satisfactory answers to your questions during the consultation, we will fully refund you.
Terms and Conditions
In case of a delay to the appointment, the time allocated will be counted from when the consultation was supposed to start. The time slot cannot be extended.
FAQ: Your Questions About Legal Issues in Sport
Here are our lawyers' answers to the questions we hear most often from athletes, parents, coaches and sports organizations.
Why Choose Patrice Brunet Avocats to Defend Your Rights in Sport
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, doping cases and sports arbitration. We also support athletes beyond the field of play, including when extending a work permit in Canada for a professional athlete.
Our sports law firm in Montreal serves athletes, coaches, sports teams and sport organizations in both official languages, in Montreal and everywhere in Quebec, with a multilingual team that also covers Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin and Russian.
One Consultation, Clear Answers: Explore All Your Sports Law Questions
A detailed 45-minute videoconference consultation with a sports attorney, precise answers in plain language and tailored strategies. It is the ideal starting point, whether you are facing an urgent sports-related dispute, a doping allegation or an upcoming contract negotiation.