Manchester City beat Premier League in legal battle — meet the £5,000-an-hour barristers who won it
The result is finally in from one of the most hotly anticipated Premier League match-ups in years — not played on grass, but argued in the courtroom. Manchester City, the club that have dominated the competition in recent seasons, have prevailed in their legal battle against the league, and the identity of the legal heavyweights who fought it out is now coming into sharp focus.
As befitting such a heavyweight clash, both sides fielded an impressive team of lawyers. From £5,000-an-hour silks to magic circle firms, here is how the legal teams lined up for one of the most expensive and closely watched disputes English football has ever seen.
Manchester City's legal line-up
Leading the City team was David Pannick KC, one of the foremost barristers of his generation, renowned for representing the rich and powerful. Previous clients include Queen Elizabeth II, Boris Johnson, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and more than one billionaire sheikh. Lawyers may not earn as much as Erling Haaland's £500,000 a week, but Pannick charges a none too shoddy £5,000 an hour. In 2019, Pannick charged £407,250 for defending Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, a former Qatari prime minister, in a two-day trial which the crossbench peer did not attend.
Paul Harris KC, a leading sport and commercial silk, also led City's successful appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against Uefa's Champions League ban on the club for alleged breaches of financial fair play rules. He is said to have been a trusted adviser to the club for more than 20 years.
Another silk on the team was Philip Marshall KC, who specialises in complex commercial disputes and commercial fraud, while magic circle firm Clifford Chance was also involved in the case.
The Premier League's legal line-up
Adam Lewis KC is widely regarded as the country's pre-eminent sports barrister and co-authored the leading textbook in the field. His significant cases include acting for Chelsea at CAS when they successfully halved a two-transfer-window ban imposed by Fifa. He also represented Premiership Rugby at an independent tribunal where champions Saracens were found to have breached salary cap regulations.
Paul Hunter KC's prominent sports cases include rugby's “bloodgate” scandal and Formula One's spygate scandal, when McLaren were fined $100m (then £50m) and docked all their points in the constructors' championship after being found in possession of documents belonging to Ferrari.
Jason Pobjoy KC represented the Premier League alongside Lewis, as he did when Everton were docked points for breaching financial rules. Pobjoy argued that Everton's “unreasonable conduct in the proceedings unnecessarily and significantly increased” costs for the league, which sought to recover £4.9m in lawyers' fees. Everton, however, argued the costs were “eye-watering” and were ordered to pay only £1.7m. Pobjoy has also represented the Football Association but is best known for his civil liberties, public and human rights law cases, including substantial pro bono work.
With silks of this calibre on each side, this was always going to be a marathon rather than a sprint. In the end, it was City's £5,000-an-hour champion, David Pannick KC, who emerged with his reputation — and his client's — intact.