2016 will be another year of major sporting events: the Olympic Games in Brazil, the European Football Championship in France, and, of course, annual highlights such as the Tour de France and Super Bowl.
Events like these demonstrate how much the sports market has professionalized in recent decades—and how strongly it is legalized today. Debates of whether to allow sponsorship of professional football jerseys have long since given way to conversations that focus on how best to manage such rights and marketing—how to close agreements with sponsors and right holders that ensure a team will enjoy the best possible deal. It is increasingly clear that this sector is in need of well-trained lawyers who bring key skills in negotiation and the drafting of contracts.
Bucerius Law School has recognized this need and introduced a new program in 2016 for young lawyers from Germany and abroad: the Bucerius Summer Program in Sports Law. Working in small groups, participants will learn the specifics of this developing area of law and devote themselves to various practical questions: What special features have to be included in contracts with athletes? How are transmission rights for sporting events governed? How do athletes oppose the actions of powerful associations? The rich diversity of sports law is taken into account with courses taught by renowned faculty from academia and practice.
Dr. Carsten Jungmann, the academic director of the program: "The practical approach makes the program particularly attractive for advanced students and young professionals. Participants will immediately put their newly acquired knowledge to the test by working in teams to design contracts, simulate negotiations and organize a sporting event in Hamburg."
