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Katie Smith
Associate
Katie Smith is an associate in our Litigation team based in London.
Katie specialises in contentious, regulatory and commercial matters with a particular focus on the sports sector, working within our Sports & Entertainment Industry Group. Her clients include football clubs, sports agencies, high profile athletes, and sports governing bodies.
Katie’s broad sports practice and regulatory expertise sees her working together with colleagues in finance, corporate, tax, employment, commercial and intellectual property to provide sector-specific tailored advice on a range of complex and high value sports matters.
Outside of the sports sector, Katie is instructed in relation to multijurisdictional disputes (litigation and arbitration), investigations, enforcement, advisory work and regulatory matters.
Katie has completed secondments at a global talent agency, a football club and two international sports federations. She has acted as registrar on sports ethics commission appeal proceedings and co-leads our dedicated Women’s Sport Group.
- Acting for an agent in a dispute with a high-profile Premier League football player involving allegations of breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty.
- Advising New York based hedge fund Knighthead Capital on the purchase of a 45% equity stake in Championship football club Birmingham City and full ownership of St. Andrew’s stadium.
- Acting for a sports data business in the defence of complex, multijurisdictional tort claims linked to alleged unlawful data collection activity.
- Advising Sheffield Wednesday Football Club in relation to arbitral and disciplinary proceedings, including an appeal between the EFL and the club relating to the sale of Hillsborough stadium and the EFL Profit and Sustainability Rules.
- Acting for FC Nantes in the arbitration brought by Cardiff City FC relating to the player Emiliano Sala (CAS 2019/A/6594 Cardiff City Football Club Limited v. SASP Football Club de Nantes).
- Acting for a sports agency business in its defence of a multimillion-pound High Court claim brought against it by a former executive.
- Advising an investor on its purchase of a minority stake in a team competing in the Hundred cricket franchise.
- Advising Premiership Women’s Rugby on elements of its establishment as an independent corporate entity for the elite women’s domestic rugby competition.
- Acting for football clubs in defence of FA disciplinary proceedings, including breaches of FA Rule E20 (mass confrontation) and E21 (crowd control).
- Acting for a First-Class County cricket club in connection with allegations of historic discrimination and institutional racism.
- Advising a football club in FA Rule K proceedings involving a dispute with its former manager.
- Appointed as independent investigator by a national sports governing body concerning allegations of serious misconduct involving a senior individual.
- Advising a football club in FIFA tribunal proceedings in respect of a FIFA training compensation claim.
- Representing a sports client in coronial proceedings, including appearing on behalf of the client at the final inquest hearing.
- Appointed by a national sports governing body to carry out a wide-ranging governance review.
- Counsel to Premier League and European football clubs in connection with the assignment of entitlement to transfer compensation fees and related settlement terms.
- Acting for a large retailer on a long-running equal pay dispute.
- Acting for a Premier League football club in a claim before the Professional Football Compensation Committee.
- Advising an F1 team in relation to its corporate restructuring.
- Advising Nottingham Forest Football Club in relation to proceedings brought against it by the Premier League in respect of the Profitability and Sustainability Rules.
- Advising a rights holder and event operator in relation to unauthorised drone activity, including in respect of trespass, statutory and regulatory breaches, and economic torts.
- Advising on all aspects of player transfers on club, agent and player sides, including high-profile and complex overseas transfers.
Education
- BPP University, L.P.C., 2018
- BPP University, G.D.L., 2017
- University of Warwick, Ph.D., 2016
- University of Warwick, M.A., 2013
- Oxford University, B.A., 2012
Admissions
- England and Wales, 2020
- “Katie Smith is a real superstar in the making”. Legal 500 UK 2023
- “Katie Smith is a brilliant associate in the team”, Legal 500 UK 2024
- “Katie Smith has taken time to build a really good relationship with our teams. We know we can always rely on her for really thorough, high-quality work and advice”. Legal 500 UK 2026
- Co-author, “Immigration and Governing Body Endorsements”, Football and the Law, Bloomsbury, 2022.