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Lawyers BERTRAND
sports attorney lawyer

Sports attorney

At the service of athletes

COMPLETE SUPPORT AND MANEGEMENT FOR THE PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE

For more explanation on the difference between a sports attorney and a sports agent

See the article "sports agent or representative"

Since the Law of March 28, 2011, the lawyer is expressly authorized to act as a sports representative. Cabinet Bertrand supports, in this capacity, its professional sports clients (athletes, players and coaches) in the follow-up of their sports careers.

The activity of sports agent lawyer defined by the Law of March 28, 2011 is distinguished from the activity of sports agent fixed by article L. 222-7 of the Sports Code.

Cabinet Bertrand registers its activity as a sports agent within the framework of a more global legal relationship with its client.

AT THE SERVICE OF ATHLETES FOR THE NEGOTIATION AND CONCLUSION OF THEIR CONTRACTS

An expertise since 1973

The intervention of Cabinet Bertrand, lawyers of many professional players and coaches (in particular football) since 1973

Since the early 70s, Cabinet Bertrand has been developing recognized know-how and expertise in sports law through legal practice in the sports world.

We support athletes, coaches and professional players on a daily basis in all their legal issues, whether it is team sport (football, futsal, basketball, rugby, handball, volleyball, etc.) or individual (tennis, boxing, swimming, track and field, ...).

Advice, negotiation and contract drafting 

  • Employment contract,
  • Transfer contract,
  • Contract for participation in sports events,
  • Partnership contract,
  • Sponsorship contract, sponsorship,
  • Image license agreement (and more broadly personality attributes).

Legal assistance and advice 

  • Advise and answer any question that may arise in the monitoring and evolution of the professional and sports career of his clients
    • sports law and national and international sports regulations,
    • labor law,
    • civil and commercial contract law,
    • family law,
    • real estate law,
    • fiscal law,
    • patrimony,
    • ...
Our expertise is also based on a case law database specific to the Firm based on 50 years of practice.

To this, it is advisable to add a permanent watch to the legislative texts, to the sports regulations emanating from the National or International Federations, without forgetting of course the case law including that specific to sport.
athlete support and management
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Fees of the athlete's attorney
The sports attorney must be paid by his client and his fees may not exceed 10% of the amount of the contract mentioned in article L.222-7 of the Sports Code:

"In the mandate given to a lawyer for the conclusion of one of the contracts mentioned in the first paragraph of Article L. 222-7 of the Sports Code, the amount of his fees is specified, which may not exceed 10% of the amount of this contract. When, for the conclusion of such a contract, several lawyers intervene or a lawyer intervenes with the assistance of a sports agent, the total amount of their remuneration may not exceed 10% of the amount of this contract. The lawyer acting as agent of one of the parties interested in the conclusion of such a contract can only be remunerated by his client."

article 10 of the Law of December 31, 1971, inserted by article 4 of the Law of March 28, 2011
Why a special text?
During the discussion of the Law in the Senate (meeting of December 8, 2010), the Rapporteur said:
"The law of June 9, 2010 [ACT n ° 2010-626 governing the profession of sports agent] was passed because the profession of sports agent was effectively practiced by people sometimes without faith or law, who had no ethics and which were not subject to any body of professional discipline. It was therefore necessary to intervene to regulate and supervise this profession. Admit that the profession of lawyer has a particularly developed and long-standing ethics. It has disciplinary bodies , subject to review by the court of appeal (...) The system adopted allows a lawyer to act as an agent of the athlete, the coach or the club, without having to obtain an agent's license In fact, we can consider that the lawyer has sufficient qualifications to exercise such an activity, without having to obtain a license, which would add nothing. "
Mr. Micher Mercier, Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice and Freedoms, added :
"the Government shares your desire to moralize the sports community, which guided your work during the examination of the proposed law governing the profession of sports agent. The legal certainty of agreements can only be reinforced by the intervention of a lawyer, who is a specialist in legal advice and contracts: no one can deny that this is his basic profession. This legal professional works within a well-known ethical framework, with principles of independence and prohibition of conflict of interest. Its presence in the sports field is therefore likely to protect athletes and clubs (...)."
professional guarantees of lawyer
In its professional and extra-professional relations, the oath constitutes the basis of ethics and recalls the essential principles of the profession.

  • The principle of independence,
  • The principle of loyalty,
  • The principle of confidentiality,
  • Respect for professional secrecy,
  • A duty of information, advice and diligence,
  • A vigilant professional order,
  • Professional liability assured,
  • An ad-nutum revocable mandate.
Guarantees in the context of sports agent activity
In addition to mandatory compliance with the Code of Ethics and the essential principles of the profession, the Law of March 28, 2001 sought to further strengthen the guarantees necessary for the intervention of the lawyer as a sports representative.

Thus, failure by a lawyer to comply with his obligations in terms of pricing or professional secrecy as well as those relating to the conclusion of a sports contract with a minor is punishable by two years' imprisonment and 30. € fine as provided for in article L.000-222 of the Sports Code.


The amount of this fine may be increased beyond € 30 up to double the sums unduly received in the event of a violation of the rule prohibiting the fixing of fees based solely on the judicial result.


Violations of the rules concerning remuneration of any kind received for the exercise of a sporting activity by children of sixteen years and under subject to compulsory schooling are punishable by a fine of € 7.


Concerning the remuneration of the sports representative lawyer, as for the licensed sports agent, the amount of the lawyer's fees may not exceed 10% of the amount of the contract signed by the sportsperson or the trainer.


When several lawyers, or a lawyer and an agent, are involved, the total amount of their remuneration may also not exceed 10% of the amount of the contract.

Only the lawyer's client can remunerate him.

The lawyer and sports federations
As part of the parliamentary debates on the Law of March 28, 2011, some had expressed the wish to subject lawyers to the agent license issued by sports federations.

Rejecting these proposed amendments, the legislator only requires lawyers to communicate the contracts mentioned in the first paragraph of article L. 222-7 of the Sports Code, as well as the mandate contract, to delegated federations or professional leagues (amended article 66-5 of law n ° 71-1130 of December 31, 1971).


Finally, the Law specifies that the sports federations have the obligation to inform the president of the bar to which the lawyer is registered if they find that the latter has disregarded the obligations relating to the content and communication of these contracts and the mandate. that he received.


The chairman may initiate disciplinary proceedings under the conditions provided for by the texts governing the profession of lawyers (new article L. 222-19-1 of the Sports Code).

The Law of March 28, 2011 and the Sports Code
"Lawyers may, within the framework of their own regulations, represent, as an agent, one of the parties interested in the conclusion of one of the contracts mentioned in the first paragraph of article L. 222-7. of the sports code"

article 6ter of Law n ° 71-1130 of December 31, 1971
Read the Law of March 28, 2011
The lawyer is therefore expressly authorized to be the agent of a player, a coach or a sports club, to represent him and to negotiate on his behalf with a view to the conclusion "a contract either relating to the paid exercise of a sports or training activity, or which provides for the conclusion of an employment contract for the purpose of the paid exercise of a sports or training activity"

Article L.222-7 Sports Code
Read article L.222-7 of the Sports Code

Labor and contract law

Sports and doping litigation

Sporting Career

Taxation of athletes

Image rights and sponsorship

International law and CAS